Pokemon, Keroro, Janmang Loopy... Active 'Character Marketing'

Using Characters to Evoke Warmth and Nostalgia
Including Various Goods Like Ddibuddibussiil to Stimulate Collecting Desire

Models are posing while holding Digimon Jelly and Jjangu Jelly. Photo by GS Retail

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Character marketing in the distribution industry continues unabated. Nostalgic cartoon characters are being included as goods such as keyrings and jelly alongside food products, stimulating consumers' desire to collect.

A notable example of character marketing is the Pok?mon bread, which was released earlier this year and gained sensational popularity. Since its launch on February 24, Pok?mon bread has continuously experienced shortages, sparking what is called the "Pok?mon Bread Craze."

In some stores, "open runs" (lining up before the store opens to enter as soon as it opens) have appeared to purchase the bread, and active secondhand trading has emerged as consumers try to collect the 159 types of Pok?mon Tibu Tibu Seals (stickers) included. According to SPC Samlip, the cumulative sales of Pok?mon bread reached about 44 million units by the end of last month.

On the 19th, convenience store CU announced that the "Doguri" collaboration series, launched last month in partnership with NCSoft, surpassed 2 million cumulative sales. Products using the Doguri character image include ready-to-eat meals, HMR (Home Meal Replacement), and beverages. Doguri is a pink raccoon character released by NCSoft last year, themed as a new employee.

The character's clumsy appearance as a young worker resonated strongly with people in their 20s and 30s, gaining popularity. Additionally, CU released the "Janmang Luffy Cheese Sprinkled Tteokbokki Snack," a collaboration with Luffy, one of the friends from the cartoon "Pororo the Little Penguin," and "Keroro Bread," featuring characters from the Japanese cartoon "Sergeant Keroro."

Convenience store GS25 also reported that character jelly sales from the 1st to the 14th of this month increased by 314.4% compared to the same period last month. Since its release in May, "Jjanggu Keyring Jelly" has sold over 500,000 units, and "Pok?mon Keyring Jelly," released in June, has sold over 800,000 units to date. Additionally, the two types of jelly, "Unstoppable Jjanggu Jelly," released at the end of July, and "Catch Tinyping," released earlier this month, recorded sales exceeding 400,000 and 100,000 units respectively. Purchasing jelly allows consumers to obtain various character goods such as keyrings and stickers.

Four types of Digimon bread released on the 24th of last month. Photo by Seven Eleven

Seven Eleven's Digimon bread, launched on the 24th of last month, has also caused a shortage, recording sales of 250,000 units within a week. The "Digimon" series is a nostalgic cartoon that aired in the 2000s and achieved a peak viewership rating of 28.7%. Additionally, Seven Eleven introduced "Pok?mon Snacks" and "Pok?mon Jelly" earlier this month through its private brand (PB) "Seven Select." These products include circle chips featuring 55 types of Pok?mon characters.

The industry views the craze for character breads like Pok?mon as recently spreading to other products such as jelly. Using nostalgic animation character images evokes familiarity and nostalgic sentiment, while various character goods stimulate the desire to collect. There is also analysis that the trend of collecting character goods has become a new play culture among young people.

Experts see character products as playing a role in attracting consumers to convenience stores. Professor Lee Eun-hee of Inha University's Department of Consumer Studies explained, "Convenience stores gather many products in a small space, so they are not places that provide comfort or enjoyment in shopping," adding, "The launch of character products offers consumers new enjoyment, encouraging them to keep visiting convenience stores."

She also predicted that character marketing in the distribution industry will continue for some time. Professor Lee said, "Continuous releases of character products may cause confusion or boredom among consumers," but added, "For customers visiting convenience stores, these products will act as another source of enjoyment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.