Sanrio History

Do you know Sanrio? At this day and age I would think most of us -fanatics and general consumers- have all been exposed to Hello Kitty in our everyday lives, at some point, whether you've seen her in a drug store, grocery store, or the mall.

Picture courtesy of Nadine C.

Picture courtesy of Tampa Bay Times, Mark Albright

 

Picture courtesy of Patrick Mercy

What is Sanrio? Sanrio is a Japanese company notoriously known for producing and designing products that are considered cute, or kawaii. Their products are heavily Japanese pop-culture based. Their products range from stationary and plushies, to cook ware and clothing. As aforementioned, Sanrio's best-known character is Hello Kitty. She is a cat girl, with a red bow. 

Probably less known to people is the fact that Sanrio is also a publishing and movie production company. 

In 1960, Shintaro Tsuji founded Sanrio as the Yamanashi Silk Company. Later, Tsuji expanded the company and opted to use rubber sandals in place of their silk counterparts, and included painted flowers on them. The marketing maneuver was successful, and Tsuji took note of how significant such a small change -such as adding something cute to a design- could have on a product.With his epiphany, Tsuji enlisted cartoonists to design more cute characters to expand his brand, thereafter. 

Hello Kitty made her debut in 1974, and while her sales have dropped over the years, she remains one of the highest contributors to Sanrio's success. Along side her, other popular characters include the Little Twin Stars, My Melody, Keroppi, Tuxedo Sam, Bad Badtz-Maru, Chococat, Cinnamoroll, Sugarbunnies, Jewelpet, Wish Me Mell, and others being added to the character lineup, often.