China's culture-rooted IP brands gain global market traction

The brief

Context

Chinese "designer toy" and character-based intellectual property (IP) brands, led by Pop Mart, are growing fast by fusing traditional and local Chinese culture with what is being called the "emotional economy" — consumption driven by companionship, healing and self-expression rather than material need. The story is anchored in Pop Mart's new, largest domestic flagship store beside West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, which weaves its Twinkle Twinkle characters into local landmarks. Chinese policymakers at national and provincial levels have begun writing "emotional value" and IP development into official plans and work reports. Global recognition of these IPs, from Labubu at the FIFA World Cup opening to overseas surveys, is the second half of the story.

Key facts

• Pop Mart's Hangzhou flagship, its largest in China, spans over 1,000 square metres across three floors at the Hubin Yintai in77 mall near West Lake.
• A local resident surnamed Du said he reached the store by 8 a.m. for Twinkle Twinkle flying chess but found over 100 people already ahead of him.
• Pop Mart's 2025 financial report showed 'The Monsters' series featuring Labubu earned revenue of 14.16 billion yuan, up 365.7 percent year-on-year.
• iiMedia Research projects China's emotional economy will exceed 4.5 trillion yuan (about 665 billion U.S. dollars) by 2029, almost double its 2024 value.
• A Boston Consulting Group report this year found 74 percent of global respondents had heard of Chinese IPs, with trendy toys most recognised at about 91 percent.
• A YuY pop-up store at Hangzhou Center drew over 100,000 visitors in nearly two months and generated more than 5 million impressions on Xiaohongshu.
• China's per capita GDP rose from 10,000 U.S. dollars to over 13,000 dollars between 2021 and 2025.
• A Pew Research Center survey in July found a median of 46 percent across 20 countries held a favourable view of China, up from 32 percent in 2023.

Timeline

1. 2021-2025China's per capita GDP rises from 10,000 U.S. dollars to over 13,000 dollars, shifting consumption toward experiences.
2. 2023Hangzhou Center mall opens, focusing on emotional needs and trendy preferences of young consumers; Pew's 20-country favourability baseline for China is 32 percent.
3. Early 2025A creator in her 20s begins drawing the YuY character, which grows organically from online illustrations and stickers.
4. 2025A government action plan calls for incorporating Chinese cultural elements into original IP brands and expanding markets for domestic cultural products.
5. January (plan release)A policy plan calls for new growth areas in service consumption, including 'emotion-driven and experience-based services'.
6. This yearHubei, Jiangxi and Chongqing include 'emotional value' and 'emotional economy' in government work reports; BCG releases its Chinese IP awareness report.
7. June 11, 2026Labubu mascots perform at the opening ceremony of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Mexico City Stadium.
8. September 3, 2026Pop Mart touring exhibition draws visitors at the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai.
9. Saturday (recent)Pop Mart's largest China flagship store opens beside West Lake in Hangzhou after long queues form.

Who has a stake

• Pop Mart — Revenue and global brand-building; 'The Monsters'/Labubu series earned 14.16 billion yuan in 2025 and it is expanding into experiential flagship retail.
• Young Chinese consumers — Buy these IPs as companionship, healing and self-expression; a white-collar worker said YuY's soft image relieves anxiety.
• Independent creators such as YuY's artist — Organically grown characters can become commercial phenomena without blind-box marketing machinery.
• Chinese policymakers and local governments (Hubei, Jiangxi, Chongqing; Hangzhou's Shangcheng District) — Using IP and 'emotional economy' policy to lift domestic consumption and shift retail to immersive formats.
• Malls and commercial districts (Hubin district, Hangzhou Center) — Footfall and relevance depend on moving from traditional retail to emotion-driven, experience-based consumption.
• Overseas consumers and markets — 74 percent global awareness of Chinese IPs and rising cultural affinity make them a target market for sustained consumption.
• Researchers (BCG, iiMedia, Zhejiang University's Xia Xuemin) — Framing whether cultural distinctiveness becomes commercial strength and how awareness converts to spending.

Why it matters

The story shows a large economy trying to convert cultural assets into consumer demand and export earnings at a time when household spending, not just manufacturing, is being sought as a growth engine. It also illustrates soft power in commercial form: BCG found 91 percent recognition of Chinese trendy toys abroad, and Pew recorded favourability toward China rising from 32 percent in 2023 to a median 46 percent. For India, it is a live case study in how design, characters and narrative can add value to consumer goods and cultural exports.