Global brands expanding into new markets face an ever-shifting challenge: how do you connect with modern consumers across cultural lines?

Especially with Gen Z, a generation that doesn’t just want to buy a product. They want to feel something.

Welcome to 2025, where selling the experience is more important than ever.

Search any Gen Z-heavy social feed in 2025 and you'll find it: the unboxing. The suspense, the reveal, the dopamine rush of not knowing what you'll get. Brands aren’t just competing on product features anymore, they’re competing on emotional experience.

That’s what makes selling the experience more than a trend. It’s a shift in buyer psychology, especially among Gen Z and millennial consumers. And few companies have nailed it quite like Pop Mart, the global blind box sensation.

In this global business case study, we’ll break down how Pop Mart became a multibillion-dollar cultural phenomenon and what your brand can learn about experience-driven growth.

This is part of our Trends & Insights and Case Studies series. For more, read: Why Global Expansions Stall—and How Smart Brands Recover

Gen Z doesn’t just want value for money, they want value for feeling.

They’re:

• Collectors of identity

• Investors in experience

• Seekers of surprise, nostalgia, and novelty

The takeaway? Selling the experience means giving your product emotional depth:

• The thrill of the unknown

• The aesthetic worth sharing

• The community it connects you to

Nowhere is this clearer than with Pop Mart.

The Problem

When Pop Mart first entered new markets, they faced a challenge every global brand recognizes:

• How do you scale a niche cultural product without losing local relevance?

• How do you tap into Gen Z’s emotional world without becoming gimmicky?

Blind Box Strategy: At the core of Pop Mart’s success is the blind box: a sealed package containing a mystery collectible. Customers don’t know which character they’ll get until they open it. This element of surprise created built-in suspense and collectability.

Character Licensing + Emotional Resonance: Pop Mart licensed known characters (Disney, Pixar), but the real win was their creation of original characters that resonated deeply with fans.

Cultural Adaptation by Market:

• Japan: Before entering, Pop Mart asked local Gen Zers what collectibles felt culturally and emotionally relevant. They partnered with local artists like Labubu to co-create characters. That collaboration became their top-selling product line in Asia.

• United States: In the U.S., they teamed up with artist Libby Frame to launch the Peach Riot series, which quickly became their highest-selling North American line.

Physical Expansion Across Regions: After launching successfully in Asia, Pop Mart expanded into:

• North America

• Europe

• Southeast Asia

• Australia

First through vending machines in malls and airports, and now with flagship stores that let fans walk into immersive worlds filled with beloved characters and blind box displays.

Unboxing = Shareable Experience

The genius of the blind box? It’s made for content.

Influencers and fans began sharing their unboxings on TikTok and Instagram: close-up shots, slow reveals, genuine joy or playful frustration depending on what they pulled. It was suspenseful. Addictive. Shareable.

Viral Momentum: This content didn’t just entertain, it sold. Blind box hashtags racked up billions of views. Pop Mart rode the wave with targeted influencer campaigns, creator collabs, and social storytelling that deepened fandoms.

This wasn't just user-generated content. It was user-generated anticipation.

1. Design for Surprise

Build the reveal into your experience. Pop Mart’s genius wasn’t just in the product but in the feeling of opening it.

2. Partner with Local Creators

Collaborate with artists, creators, and culture makers who live the market. Labubu and Peach Riot weren’t just product lines, they were co-created cultural bridges.

3. Make Your Product Shareable

Would someone film themselves using or opening your product? If not, how can you increase emotional velocity?

4. Start with Experience, Not Just Product

From packaging to platform to personality, design the full journey. Pop Mart sells joy, identity, nostalgia, and discovery.

Too often, brands enter new markets with:

• Translated copy, but not adapted messaging

• Product, but no cultural story

• Goals, but no local guide

Pop Mart didn’t just scale, they adapted. Thoughtfully. Collaboratively. Strategically.

Gen Z expects more than a product, they want meaning. Community. Excitement. Surprise.

Pop Mart didn’t dominate by being loud. They dominated by being emotionally smart.

If you're expanding into new markets, remember: You don’t need to build a blind box empire. But you do need to understand the emotional experience your brand creates.

Selling the experience is what turns a product into a story and a buyer into a loyalist.

Global brands expanding into new markets face an ever-shifting challenge: how do you connect with modern consumers across cultural lines?

Especially with Gen Z, a generation that doesn’t just want to buy a product. They want to feel something.

Welcome to 2025, where selling the experience is more important than ever.

Search any Gen Z-heavy social feed in 2025 and you'll find it: the unboxing. The suspense, the reveal, the dopamine rush of not knowing what you'll get. Brands aren’t just competing on product features anymore, they’re competing on emotional experience.

That’s what makes selling the experience more than a trend. It’s a shift in buyer psychology, especially among Gen Z and millennial consumers. And few companies have nailed it quite like Pop Mart, the global blind box sensation.

In this global business case study, we’ll break down how Pop Mart became a multibillion-dollar cultural phenomenon and what your brand can learn about experience-driven growth.

This is part of our Trends & Insights and Case Studies series. For more, read: Why Global Expansions Stall—and How Smart Brands Recover

Gen Z doesn’t just want value for money, they want value for feeling.

They’re:

• Collectors of identity

• Investors in experience

• Seekers of surprise, nostalgia, and novelty

The takeaway? Selling the experience means giving your product emotional depth:

• The thrill of the unknown

• The aesthetic worth sharing

• The community it connects you to

Nowhere is this clearer than with Pop Mart.

The Problem

When Pop Mart first entered new markets, they faced a challenge every global brand recognizes:

• How do you scale a niche cultural product without losing local relevance?

• How do you tap into Gen Z’s emotional world without becoming gimmicky?

Blind Box Strategy: At the core of Pop Mart’s success is the blind box: a sealed package containing a mystery collectible. Customers don’t know which character they’ll get until they open it. This element of surprise created built-in suspense and collectability.

Character Licensing + Emotional Resonance: Pop Mart licensed known characters (Disney, Pixar), but the real win was their creation of original characters that resonated deeply with fans.

Cultural Adaptation by Market:

• Japan: Before entering, Pop Mart asked local Gen Zers what collectibles felt culturally and emotionally relevant. They partnered with local artists like Labubu to co-create characters. That collaboration became their top-selling product line in Asia.

• United States: In the U.S., they teamed up with artist Libby Frame to launch the Peach Riot series, which quickly became their highest-selling North American line.

Physical Expansion Across Regions: After launching successfully in Asia, Pop Mart expanded into:

• North America

• Europe

• Southeast Asia

• Australia

First through vending machines in malls and airports, and now with flagship stores that let fans walk into immersive worlds filled with beloved characters and blind box displays.

Unboxing = Shareable Experience

The genius of the blind box? It’s made for content.

Influencers and fans began sharing their unboxings on TikTok and Instagram: close-up shots, slow reveals, genuine joy or playful frustration depending on what they pulled. It was suspenseful. Addictive. Shareable.

Viral Momentum: This content didn’t just entertain, it sold. Blind box hashtags racked up billions of views. Pop Mart rode the wave with targeted influencer campaigns, creator collabs, and social storytelling that deepened fandoms.

This wasn't just user-generated content. It was user-generated anticipation.

1. Design for Surprise

Build the reveal into your experience. Pop Mart’s genius wasn’t just in the product but in the feeling of opening it.

2. Partner with Local Creators

Collaborate with artists, creators, and culture makers who live the market. Labubu and Peach Riot weren’t just product lines, they were co-created cultural bridges.

3. Make Your Product Shareable

Would someone film themselves using or opening your product? If not, how can you increase emotional velocity?

4. Start with Experience, Not Just Product

From packaging to platform to personality, design the full journey. Pop Mart sells joy, identity, nostalgia, and discovery.

Too often, brands enter new markets with:

• Translated copy, but not adapted messaging

• Product, but no cultural story

• Goals, but no local guide

Pop Mart didn’t just scale, they adapted. Thoughtfully. Collaboratively. Strategically.

Gen Z expects more than a product, they want meaning. Community. Excitement. Surprise.

Pop Mart didn’t dominate by being loud. They dominated by being emotionally smart.

If you're expanding into new markets, remember: You don’t need to build a blind box empire. But you do need to understand the emotional experience your brand creates.

Selling the experience is what turns a product into a story and a buyer into a loyalist.