French beauty brand Lancôme recently teamed up with collectible toy brand Bearbrick in a fun-filled campaign aimed at young Chinese consumers.
The collaboration features a white Bearbrick with sketches of hearts and Lancôme’s iconic rose made in red lipstick. Under the slogan “Call me happy”, the beauty brand released 3 joint gift boxes and invited global spokesperson Lily Collins as well as famous Chinese celebrities including singers Wang Ziyi, NINEONE, Vinida, and dancer Kyoka to showcase the products on social media.
On Weibo, the hashtag for the collaboration accumulated over 61 million views. According to JingDaily, this was partly due to some netizens misreading “Bearbrick” as Blackpink, however this does not take away from its popularity that has taken the nation by storm.
Collecting imported toys has become a popular hobby among Chinese youngsters. The trend first began in 2019 when famous Chinese celebrities began to showcase their own Bearbrick toys to fans, which further fueled the popularity of the brand. Flash forward to 2020, and the price of the collectible toys surged by 30-50%, with some of the most expensive editions selling for up to hundreds of thousands of RMB.
Currently, more people are starting to snap up the imported toy for its exclusivity and high value. Some have even started to buy Bearbricks expecting to sell it at a higher price and gain a profit.
Luxury fashion houses such as Coco Chanel have already jumped on the trend, with resale value topping at 132,186 RMB ($19,000) despite retailing at 17,316 RMB ($2,500). Several Chinese contemporary artists have also collaborated with the brand, adding extra value to these one-of-a-kind collectibles.
For brands of all industries, Bearbricks present the ultimate win-win collaboration machine, acting as a blank slate that anyone can draw on and embellish. What’s more, the toy brand’s blind boxes has won the hearts of China’s young luxury consumers for its exciting element of surprise.
Overall, Lancôme’s collaboration with Bearbricks shows the potential for players across various industries to jump on the Bearbricks bandwagon that has taken off in China. Brands who decide to collaborate with Bearbricks will not only benefit from the booming trend, but it will also be part of a legacy that transcends fashion and time.
