Kawaii Consumerism: The Digital Demand and Marketing of Hello Kitty in Online Communities

Written by Zoë Malega

Photographed by Claire Boumstein

Modeled by Ebony Love, Kadence Schaecher, Kait Patton and Liz Eike

For over fifty years, the beloved character of Hello Kitty has evolved from merely being a simple design to becoming the mascot for one of Japan’s largest entertainment companies. Being a timeless phenomenon, the design has had the ability to consistently charm audiences and serves as a nostalgic figure that inspires contemporary media and trends. As a brand, Hello Kitty uses a blend of cuteness, distinctiveness, and specific marketing strategies to show the intersectionality that can be formed between mass consumerism and online communities. 

In the digital world, Hello Kitty’s presence reaches far past just the store shelves and is able to successfully thrive on platforms such as TikTok. The app’s “Hello Kitty Girl” fandom illustrates how the online community is connected through the visual and cultural appeal, as well as through the hyper consumption of media built around her character. Hello Kitty’s journey through these platforms plays an integral part of the digital folklore surrounding the Hello Kitty Girl fandom.

Designed in 1974 by illustrator Yuko Shimizu, Hello Kitty was commissioned by the Japanese entertainment company Sanrio to appear on a clear, vinyl coin purse marketed towards girls and young women. After noticing the increase in sales for merchandise that depicts a cute design, Shimizu was instructed to design a character that would represent the brand’s motto of “social communication.” Originally going by the simple name Kitty, she was later renamed to Hello Kitty in order to better represent Sanrio’s message. 

In addition to her greeting, she was also depicted as a British baby cat living with her parents and twin sister in the suburbs of London due to Western culture trending in Japan at the time. It wasn’t until the 1990s that Hello Kitty began trending in the West due to increased marketing strategies that targeted teenage and young adult women overseas. By 2010, the character was estimated to earn around five billion US dollars a year and increased to eight billion by 2013.

In one video analyzing how the character was able to take over the Western market, a TikTok content creator and member of the community, Mochi, also known online as Sailormoonchix, discusses how Hello Kitty as a brand is able to successfully distance itself from other competitors. 

“I think that overconsumption in the ‘Sanrio-Kawaii-Hello-Kitty-Space’ is so rampant because she is literally on everything…you can get plushies, accessories, jewelry, handbags, and even get Hello Kitty toilet paper- That’s what sets Hello Kitty apart from her peers!” 

She adds on to this, explaining that “(Hello Kitty) is like the final boss of kawaii overconsumption.”

In general, there is consensus among most members of the community on what brands are considered to be in the same realm of “cuteness” that is on par with Kitty herself. For example, Sonny Angels are a collection of plastic figurines that incorporate many of the same overly emphasized features such as a small frame, wide, naive eyes, and a pleasant but monotone expression depicted on its face. Many members of the fandom, myself included, have a shared interest in products that appeal to the same visual aesthetics but recognize that there is a distinctive reason as to why Hello Kitty Girls may gravitate more towards Sanrio.

In order to further understand how Hello Kitty became a metaphorical marketing gold mine, it is also important to understand the historical meaning of the adjective “kawaii” in both the literal sense and the cultural interpretations. While the direct translation means cute, kawaii it is often used in association with childlike features. One article written by Matthew Burdelski, a professor of Applied Japanese Linguistics at Osaka University, Japan and edited and translated by researcher Koji Mitshuhashi, explores the use of the word in a cultural context. In their research, they state that in Japan: “(Kawaii) is used to describe things, such as animated characters, infants, animals, and natural objects, that have certain qualities and features…” Furthermore, they go on to expand on the sociological components of the use of the adjective: “Kawaii is rooted in a sociohistorical aesthetic for things that are small, delicate, and immature” (Burdelski et Mitsuhashi, 2010). Ironically enough, kawaii has seemed to develop a different connotation when associated with Hello Kitty in the West that of which is associated with Sanrio’s marketing of the character during the 1990’s. For example, with the rise of celebrities–such as Mariah Carey–donning Kitty’s design and her face beginning to appear on various articles of female clothing, it is no wonder that her trendiness in countries like the United States has morphed the fans’ contemporary perspective of the word into a blend of cuteness, individuality, and irony. After seeing the differences between the two definitions of the word, it seems that in the Hello Kitty community, the character serves as a cultural bridge that has played a significant role in reshaping the concept of kawaii within the fan culture.

The nature of TikTok as a platform encourages and primarily focuses on the rapid intake and creation of content by its users. Its algorithm is described as a “For You” page, which feeds users an endless supply of short videos specifically tailored based on the amount of time and engagement spent on different “genres” of videos. While content is typically diverse, it excels in quietly embedding topics of interest throughout the time spent interacting with (later referred to as scrolling) the app. This allows niche communities, such as the Hello Kitty community, to form and engage with one another.

One of the largest communities centered around Hello Kitty is the “Hello Kitty girl” aesthetic on TikTok. This term represents a specific group of individuals, typically feminine presenting, who engage with Sanrio content, creators, and other members through the TikTok app. A video from a TikTok user by the name of “GetNeonSupply,” a page dedicated to exploring and researching current trends on the app, simply describes the definition of a member of this community: “A Hello Kitty girl is just someone who is obsessed with Hello Kitty merch” (GetNeonSupply, 2024). Characterized by a love for the character, the Hello Kitty girl incorporates themes of contemporary self expression with nostalgia, oftentimes taking inspiration from the Western definition of kawaii and blending that with merchandise that is trending on the app. The role of content creators is a crucial component of passing down knowledge of these items through creative outlets. Common types of content that I actively engage with are outfit inspirations, collection tours, and unboxing/haul videos from the TikTok shop. These types of videos showcase the rituals members of the community participate in on a regular basis, furthering the interconnectedness and building of identities of individuals who share these interests.

The integration of advertisements through TikTok shop into Kitty-related content has seamlessly blended and become an integral part of the fandom and its folklore as a whole. Many content creators use creative means in their videos to push products, as TikTok shop promotes its influencers to affiliate with brands and earn a commission through posting relatable content. Graceannryu, a TikTok influencer, explains this process in a video giving advice to members of niche communities on how to earn commission as an affiliate: “All you do is make a video and add that link (to the brand) to your video at the very end… you can just promote anything.” By linking their videos with the specific item they are marketing, they are able to drive more traffic to not only the stores themselves, but also to increase interaction in the Hello Kitty girl community as a whole. I have seen–and also participated in–discussions in the comments of various videos advertising a specific product. For example, we discuss subjects like whether we like the product being presented and, if so, why we would want to buy it and add it to our collection. By presenting the merchandise in a relaxed way, it encourages members to feel more connected to the advertisements and thus more likely to purchase them. Due to these ritualistic practices of engagement with content and the community, participation often extends past simply admiring the collections members have of Hello Kitty and other Sanrio characters; it also involves the active consumption of goods to align with expectations set by what we see on the algorithms. Digital folklore includes staying up to date with the latest trends and cannot be achieved through passive interaction. For many members as well as myself, there is an underlying pressure to acquire the newest Sanrio items as it shows a level of dedication to the brand, and therefore the fandom as a whole. Not owning certain products may create feelings of exclusion and reinforce the cycle of mass consumption through the means of online, personalized and community centered advertisements. 

Despite this, one of the primary ways individuals engage with the folklore is through fashion-related content and videos through TikTok. Making these videos provides a positive creative outlet, allowing for knowledge, inspiration, and collaboration to be expressed and shared online. Through these traditions, the community ties Sanrio’s original message of encouraging social communication with the creative and feminine aspects that the Hello Kitty character represents. A common theme in these videos include bright, pink colors with original depictions of the character incorporated in most, if not all aspects of the outfits. While many pieces are bought with Hello Kitty already on them, they will oftentimes be customized to showcase aspects of the wearer’s personal identity or to better “match the aesthetic” of both the video and final look. An English and Black TikTok creator, Tiana—also known on the app as “ItsTianaKun”—is a prominent figure within the Hello Kitty Girl community and creates content centered around Sanrio-inspired fashion. She uses her platform as a way to innovatively blend her personal identity as a Black woman with kawaii culture. In one of her videos, she shares a series of outfits inspired by Sanrio characters such as “Cinnamorol,” “My Melody,” and “Hello Kitty,” and later states on her page that “I couldn't afford dolls when I was younger, so I turned into one.” This is a common practice within the folklore of this space, as personal expression is mixed with the consumption and arrangement of these pieces of clothing to create original wardrobes. As a result it motivates other users in this space to follow the same practices, further strengthening the community overall.

Throughout its existence, Hello Kitty’s branding has successfully adapted to global markets by leveraging cuteness and originality. Through TikTok, the Hello Kitty Girl community intertwines fandom, commerce, and creative expression, raising questions about how online spaces shape identity and participation in consumer-driven subcultures.