Shopkins are a range of tiny, collectable toys, manufactured by Moose Toys. Based on grocery store items, each plastic figure has a recognisable face and unique name. They also have special finishes like translucent, glitter, or squishy. The collectable toys also have lines of clothing, trading cards, and other merchandise. The toy line began in 2014. As of July 2020, there are thirteen seasons of the toys and additional seasons like Halloween, Easter, and Christmas.
History
Shopkins was designed and developed by Moose Toys in Melbourne. Co-chief Paul Solomon credits his mother Jacqui Tobias, director of girls’ products, for the idea of Shopkins. Moose Toys had success with their line of Trash Pack and Grossery Gang collectible figurines which were geared towards boys, but overall lacked a market for girls. Shopkins was produced initially as a similar product for girls — however, it appeals to both genders.
Shopkins universe
Characters
Shopkins figurines are roughly 1 inch in height and 1/2 inch in width, roughly the size of a United States Quarter. Each figurine has a face, name, and its own personality. They are distributed in bright coloured packaging with bubble letters. Shopkins are based on grocery items such as a sweet apple named Apple Blossom, a chocolate bar named Cheeky Chocolate, a lipstick named Lippy Lips, and a chocolate chip cookie named Kooky Cookie. There are hundreds of Shopkins in the Shopkins World. Shopkins are organized into categories such as Sweets or Bakery. Shopkins are collected and valued based on their rarity. Moose toys classifies the Shopkins degrees of rarity as Common, Exclusive, Limited Edition, Rare, Special Edition, and Ultra Rare.
Books
Moose Toys launched a series of children's books about Shopkins including Scholastic's Shopkins: Welcome to Shopville.
Collector cards
Moose Toys released their first trading card set in 2015.
Shopkins movies
An animated film called Shopkins: Chef Club was released on DVD 25 October 2016 by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment to promote the sixth season of Shopkins toys. The movie had mostly positive reviews, although some reviewers had concerns at the overt consumerism. Two sequels, Shopkins: World Vacation and Shopkins: Wild, were released on October 11, 2017 and April 17, 2018.
Web series
In August 2014, Moose Toys built brand awareness with their Shopkins short cartoon videos on their YouTube channel Shopkins world, but it was the YouTube videos of consumers unwrapping and playing with the toy that helped bring the line to mainstream prominence.
Shopkins Direct
From May 2017 to March 2018, a licensee of Shopkins/Moose Toys, "Shopkins Direct", offered a subscription box with exclusive Shopkins accessories and merchandise, which was described as a quarterly/seasonal subscription service delivering accessories, apparel, and other exclusive merchandise featuring Shopkins characters. Box contents included Shopkins brand items such as plushies, lip balm, and limited-edition figures.
Counterfeit Shopkins
Shopkins began to surface around mid-2015, including those with "Funny Sweet" or "Shopkinsins" on the packaging, which can refer to Shopkins in colours which Moose Toys never officially produced, such as Boo Hoo Onion being in light blue and Chee Zee in orange. The arms and other parts might be broken, and the paint chips off easily. A number of sellers on websites offer counterfeit Shopkins, which can include item pictures which have the "Shopkins" branding, most likely as a way to avoid the listing being taken away under intellectual property policies of the website and/or store.
Cases
Two factories in Yiwu producing counterfeit Shopkins toys were raided by local police in China in mid-2015, and Moose Toys stated they will take legal action against anyone selling counterfeit Shopkins, which included a chain of Thriftway businesses selling counterfeit Shopkins.
