Here's How Your Business Can Use The Pop Mart Phenomenon

This guy is all over the news. I’ll tell you why, and how it matters to you.

I am going to talk about three things specifically today:

1. What’s this new Pop Mart phenomenon?

2. Why is it working?

3. How can you implement this strategy in your business (product or service based)

1. What’s this new Pop Mart phenomenon?

Adults lining up at 6:30AM for a $30 toy they haven’t even seen yet. That’s the Pop Mart effect.

This is a Chinese retail brand and their core product are ‘Blind Boxes’.

People don’t know what they’re buying.

And they love it.

2. What exactly worked?

The Known and The Unknown

It’s not total mystery, buyers know they’ll get one from a curated set, which makes the surprise feel exciting, not risky. BUT customers have a 1 in 72 chance of getting a rare ‘secret’ toy. That chance is the hook. That almost moment keeps people coming back.

The Urge to Complete the Set

Every product line is part of a collection. People don’t want just one, they want the whole set.

Original Collection, not Licensed IP

85% of their sales come from exclusive characters developed with niche artists, not Disney or Marvel. This gives them creative control, margin advantage, and fan loyalty.

Turning the Product into an Experience

This is what experiential retail actually means: the store becomes the event.
The store sets the stage for people to interact. There is anticipation, community, and emotional payoff on-site.

3. How Can You Use This?

Product Businesses

• Make It Fun:
  Include a mystery item in your offering. Run a monthly secret drop for a subset of your customers.

• NEVER promote One Time Purchase:
  Create a series that people want to own fully. Limited prints, seasonal versions, or rotating artist collabs. Think out of box.

• Give fans bragging rights:
  Showcase rare or exclusive variants on your site. Add scarcity to drive repeat purchases

Service Businesses

• Gamify your process:
  Instead of a flat offer, can you make your service feel like an unlockable journey? Think: surprise bonuses, milestone rewards, or hidden tiers.

• For wellness coaches:
  Mind-Body Quest Week" - Each day unlocks a surprise theme (e.g. Stillness, Strength, Gratitude), paired with a mini workout, journal prompt, and challenge. Clients don’t know what’s coming next.

• Drop something unannounced:
  Bonus webinars. Limited-time assessments. Secret coaching sessions. People love a plot twist.

• For Kids - Run a “Brain Box Adventure” Each week, kids unlock a surprise learning challenge tied to a bigger theme (like space, wildlife, or ancient history), earning badges and building toward a final mystery mission.

The Real Takeaway

Pop Mart didn’t win by better pricing, better logistics, or celebrity endorsements.
They won by making people ‘feel’. Curiosity, excitement and ownership.

What’s the emotion you’re selling?
How can you inject surprise into the experience?

Because once you turn your product into a moment, you stop competing on price and start building something people want to be part of.