Sanrio Expands Hello Kitty, Adds Characters

New products and activations will be produced to grow Hello Kitty, Aggretsuko, Gudetama and Mr. Men Little Miss.

Sanrio has revealed plans to drive programs for Hello Kitty, as well as Mr. Men Little Miss and two new characters.

Hello Kitty will move into experiential markets, including food, with the Hello Kitty Café truck and the Hello Kitty Café pop-up container. Plans for expansion of the Café concept include additional locations and formats. Sanrio is also exploring additional opportunities in the world of food, food service and consumer packaged goods. This also includes new restaurant promotions and the expansion of character-themed treats from the Hello Kitty Shop at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla. Sanrio will work with Universal Studios Orlando to expand its merchandise at retail and include designs with classic Universal titles.

Sanrio and Snapchat will continue to collaborate on themed lenses for both Hello Kitty and Little Twin Stars this year; while existing digital partners Budge Studios and Swyft Media will develop digital offerings for a younger demographic, as well as teens and young adults.

More partnerships are in the works for Hello Kitty, including programs with clothing label Lazy Oaf, Stance socks, hats from New Era, Nylon magazine, LootCrate subscription box service, JuJuBe bags and sunglasses from Crap

Eyewear, among others. Sanrio will also host several major league sports promotions this year.

Launched during holiday 2016, Hello Sanrio, the company’s lifestyle brand, continues to bring multiple characters to its fans through products and digital content. Additional retail programs, promotions and digital partnerships will launch for the brand throughout the year.

Sanrio also introduced two new characters to its roster this year. Aggretsuko is a red panda who is an office associate in the accounting department of a highly respected trading company by day and who hits the karaoke bar after hours to take her frustrations out through heavy metal. New programs for Aggretsuko are in the works.