IP Peripherals: The Next Big Thing in Fashion Consumption

Imagine saying a “magic spell” to your phone, and it automatically turns on the selfie mode and takes a beautiful photo. This is the world of IP peripherals, where technology meets fashion and creativity. At the launch conference of Walt Disney Greater China’s 2025 Consumer Products Division, Upstream News reporters saw many novel and interesting co-branded products that attracted the attention of young people.

Joint ventures are not only a reshaping of the brand image but also a transmission of brand values. In 2023, the market size of China’s joint venture economy will exceed 100 billion yuan. Young people who are willing to pay for “grain” have made “grain” a hard currency in social networking around many animation IPs.

Millet is Becoming the Hard Currency of Generation Z

Xiao Guo, a “guzi circle member,” spends her free time visiting offline guzi stores to buy her favorite “baji.” In her words, “After buying one, I want to buy the whole set. After finishing the box, I want to open the big and small hidden. I can’t stop. Once I enter the guzi circle, my wallet is no longer mine.”

Many “grain” enthusiasts told Upstream News that most of the “grain” they collected were peripheral products of animation IPs and film and television dramas. They are more interested in expanding the “grain” circle through social networks, expressing their love for animation characters and idols to more people, and expanding their circle of friends by exchanging “grain.”

Multi-Brand Anchor IP Joint Market

Many brands have begun to launch customized and seasonal products by cooperating with classic IP images, animation IPs, and cultural and creative IPs. Pechoin cooperated with “Love and Producer” to create an exclusive gift box with the male protagonist in the game as the theme. Heytea, Shanghai Auntie, Baifen Tea, etc. have also successively cooperated with game and film and television IPs to launch milk tea cups, stickers, cup sleeves, and other peripheral products to attract young people to consume.

At the launch conference of Walt Disney Greater China’s 2025 Consumer Products Division, Upstream News saw a lot of co-branded products, including dolls and ornaments co-branded by MINISO and Strawberry Bear; Epson co-branded printers with “Frozen”; Marvel toy ornaments; “Toy Story” co-branded bookends and night lights; and large dolls co-branded with Pop Mart.

Cross-Border Collaborations Affect the Cultural Tourism Market

According to the latest Global Licensing Market Report released by Licensing International, global sales of licensed goods and services will reach a record high of US$356.5 billion in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 4.6% compared to 2022.

The Global Licensing Expo Shanghai brings together many licensors and authorized agents such as Universal, Warner, IMG, MINISO, Cool Play, Sanrio Family, Fengshen Trilogy, Mango TV, The Legend of Zhen Huan, Peppa Pig, SMILEY, Joy of Life, Garfield, Chinese aircraft carrier FLEET18, Inter Milan, Playboy, Big Mouth Monkey, Zhu Jingyi, Picasso, Cute Ruby, “Canglan Jue”, Demon Slayer, Milk Dragon, Rourou Sauce, Astro Boy, etc.

Expert Advice

Liu Chunsheng, associate professor at China University of Finance and Economics, said that co-branded cooperation has become a popular marketing method between brands, especially in fashion, technology, food, and other fields. By combining different brand cultures or IPs, brands can create unique products to attract the attention of target consumer groups.

Wang Peng, an associate researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, mentioned that the co-branded market is in a stage of rapid development, the market scale is constantly expanding, and the trend of normalization of cross-border cooperation is obvious. In the next few years, the co-branded economy will continue to maintain a rapid growth trend.

Wang Peng believes that the key to retaining customers through co-branded products is product quality. If the quality of co-branded products does not meet consumer expectations or has quality problems, it may have a negative impact on the co-branded brand. Brands need to strictly control the quality of co-branded products to ensure the quality of co-branded products.