JAPAN TRENDS

 

The Nintendo game character Kirby now has its own pop-up cafe and official store.

Kirby Café and store opens August to September in Osaka, with a concurrent store opening in Nagoya’s Parco department store. The cafe is also set to open in Tokyo at Tokyo Skytree Solamachi at an unannounced later date.

 

Kirby is something of a retro character whose video game incarnations are the stuff of the 1990s, but he continues to inspire new games and toys. This year a new Nintendo 3DS game was released, selling 300,000 copies. In 2017, Kirby also celebrates its 25th anniversary, so expect more tie-ups and releases.

 

Naturally, the Kirby Café has an exclusive Kirby-themed menu of food and drink, inspired by the Kirby game characters and items.
Not to mention branded merchandise like bags, badges, and cushions.

 

The explosion of these themed cafes has become of the big marketing trends of the past two or three years. Every month there seems to be a new pop-up dedicated to yet another franchise, attracting fans through a special menu and limited-edition merchandise.

 

From Puyopuyo!! Quest to Rilakkuma and Pokémon, it seems you are not a respectable franchise unless you have your own pop-up at least once.

 

This isn’t just homegrown franchises and brands like Sanrio, Sailor Moon, or Ghibli. We have also seen overseas character franchises such as Peanuts, Sesame Strett, and Miffy get in on the act, too.