Shopkins

 
Shopkins were 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 (which are designated as common, rare, ultra rare, special edition, limited edition, and exclusive) also had expanded into lines of clothing, trading cards, and other related merchandise.
The toy line began in 2014. As of 2021, there are fourteen seasons of the toys and additional series like seasons such as Halloween, Easter, and Christmas, as well as spin offs, with the current being the “Kindi Kids” line, released in August 2019. The line was discontinued in late 2020.
History.
Shopkins were designed and developed by Moose Toys in Melbourne in April 2013. 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 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 toys.
Figures.
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 Fruit & Veg or Bakery. They can be found in 2, 5, 8, 12, and 20 packs of Shopkins.
Rarities.
Shopkins are collected and valued based on their rarity. Moose classifies the Shopkins degrees of rarity as “Common” (White (Purple in Seasons 12 onwards)), “Exclusive” (Turquoise), “Limited Edition” (Gold), “Rare” (Green), “Special Edition” (Blue), and “Ultra Rare” (Pink). The “Special Edition Shopkins can only be found in 8 or 12 packs of Shopkins.
Materials.
Materials used for Shopkins were rubbery-plastic, brought from China, and from Season 10 onwards, the plastic is from Vietnam.
Seasons.
Season 1.
The first season of Shopkins, was released in June 2014. The season came out in major retailers. The first season of Shopkins contained over 150 characters to collect, all based on grocery store items. Some of the teams include Fruit & Veg, Bakery, Sweet Treats, and more. The Limited Edition Shopkins come in a metallic finish.
Season 2.
The second season of Shopkins was released in December 2014. The season featured new teams including Baby, Homewares, Cleaning & Laundry and Shoes. The Limited Edition Shopkins were covered in bling.
Season 3.
Season Three was released in June 2015. The new teams, Stationery, International Food & Hats, were added to the season. The Third Season is the first season to have its Limited Edition Shopkins have their own specific theme, with the team name for the Limited Editions being the “Cool Jewels” Shopkins.
Season 4.
Season Four was released in December 2015. This season introduced Petkins, which are Shopkins with faces that resemble animals. Other new categories include Party Time, Petshop, Garden, and Accessories. The Limited Edition Shopkins in the season are the “Perfume Pretties” Shopkins.
Season 5.
Season Five was released in May 2016. New categories include Charms, Tech, Music and Sport. The Limited Edition Shopkins are the “Tiny Toys” Shopkins.
Season 6.
Season Six, also known as Chef Club, was released in October 2016. Instead of having specific teams, Shopkins were food ingredients for various recipes, meaning they belonged to multiple ones at once depending on their type. The Limited Edition Shopkins are the “CUTEtensils” Shopkins, and are based on utensils instead of food. The sixth season is the first season to have Shoppies in the season, with for this season, under the Chef Club line.
Season 7.
Season Seven, also known as Join the Party, was released on February 5, 2017. The special edition Shopkins for this season are the Topkins, which can be stacked on top of each other. Also, instead of coming in recipe books, they come in presents. The Limited Editions in the season are the “Hollywood” Shopkins.
Season 8.
Season 8, also known as “World Vacation” was released in June 2017. The season was divided in three waves for its 3 respective continents, the first wave for Europe released in June 2017, which features the countries France, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, and Spain. The second wave is from Asia and features the countries China, Japan, Australia (despite not being an Asian country,) and India. The third wave features the Americas which features both of the continents North America and South America respectively, and features the countries Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Brazil, however, unlike the first two waves which had one country have Ultra Rares, a different theme was given for the Ultra Rares which were the “Gleamtastic Holidays” Shopkins, based off several holidays found in the countries, such as Valentines Day and Independence Day for example. This time in this season, the Shopkins now come in hotel rooms. The Special Edition Shopkins in this season are the “Bag Charms” while the Limited Editions are the “Shimmering Snow Globes” Shopkins.
Season 9.
Season 9, also known as “Wild Style” was released in January 2018. The theme for the season is animals, which include dogs, cats, bunnies, tigers, cows, monkeys, skunks, pandas. and unicorns. The teams in the season are considered “tribes”, which in each one contain new Shopkins with their own team’s finishes, which also include returning Shopkins, like Apple Blossom and Cupcake Queen. They can be found in pet-pods. The season also introduces “Shoppets”, which are fuzzy, anthropomorphic animals. During Season Ten (the next season), a wave 2 of Shoppets were made. Shoppies in the season are also returning characters but now with animal themes. A new Shoppie for this season, Mystabella, was released as a Limited Edition Shoppie. There were also bundled sets of Shoppies and Shoppets available. The limited editions in the season are the “Shimmery Unicorn” Shopkins, which come in a metallic finish and a unicorn theme.
Season 10.
Season 10, also known as “Mini Packs” was released in June 2018. In this season, all of the Shopkins from Seasons 1, 2, and 3 are rereleased, but now with the same colours as their own static art and colored irises, and come in mini packs. Some also come with new finishes including the “hot spot” finish, which features Shopkins with spots on them. The limited editions are all metallic.
Season 11.
Season 11, also known as “Family Mini Packs” was released in January 2019. Similar to the previous season, the season also comes with mini packs of their own, but now features Shopkins as “families”. Each team is considered a “family”, which contains new Shopkins (which contain a Father, Mother, a Sibling or Relative) and a new kind of Shopkin, called a “Babykin”, was released as smaller Shopkins to look like “babies” in the family. The limited editions are the “Bubs N Spices” family Shopkins.
Season 12.
Season 12, also known as “Real Littles” was released in August 2019. The mini packs are themed after real brands, mainly from food such as Kellogg's, Welch’s, and more, with the exception of the Special Editions (which are the Sketchers shoes Shopkins.)
Season 13.
Season 13 was released in January 2020. The “Real Littles” theme keeps on going, but now comes in a theme of various food from the freezer aisle.
Season 14.
Season 14 was released in August 2020. The “Real Littles” theme also keeps on going for this season, but the line was rebranded to just be “Real Littles” instead on Shopkins itself. In this season, some of the Shopkins from Seasons 12 and 13 are rereleased (similar to Season 10 when they rereleased the Shopkins from the first 3 seasons itself,) and this season is given a vending machine theme. This is the last season in the franchise before it was discontinued.
Media.
Web series.
In August 2014, Moose Toys built brand awareness with their Shopkins short cartoon videos on their YouTube channel “Shopkins World” (Now known as “MooseTube Squad” to promote other toys by Moose), but it was the YouTube videos of consumers unwrapping and playing with the toys that helped bring the line to mainstream prominence. Canadian-based WildBrain distributes the webisodes on the WildBrain - Cutie Cartoons channel.
Movies.
An animated film called “Shopkins: Chef Club” was released on DVD October 25, 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.
A sequel, “Shopkins: World Vacation” was released on October 11, 2017, to promote the toys for Season 8. Another sequel, “Shopkins: Wild”, was released on March 1, 2018 on theaters in Australia and April 17, 2018 on DVD to promote the toys for Season 9.
The Shopkins movies were also available on Netflix, however all Shopkins movies were removed on November 15, 2020. There were only available for 24 months.
Website.
Moose made a website to promote the line of Shopkins in 2014. In the website, there were sections where visitors can meet the characters, watch videos, download media (such as coloring pages, wallpaper or songs) and more. In late 2020, the website closed down and redirected to Moose's website showing the current Shopkins products.
Spin-offs.
Shopkins Shoppies.
Shopkins Shoppies, the first spin-off of Shopkins being released in October 2015, is a line of 5-inch dolls, featuring teenage girls with brushable, colourful hair, accessories, exclusive Shopkins entitled “Shopkins B.F.F.S.” and are themed after stuff such as food, flowers, and fashion. The original line consisted of three dolls, “Jessicake” “Bubbleisha” and “Popette” respectively, later add 2 new Shoppies, “Peppa-Mint” and “Donatina” in December 2015. Separate lines of the dolls were also produced, including Core Shoppies and Style Shoppies. Some were also found in various seasons. Special Edition dolls were also made, with the first being “Gemma Stone”, named after the audition Shopkin of the same name, was released as a Walmart exclusive in November 2016 for a Black Friday sale. Beginning in 2018, with 2nd Special Edition Shoppie “Chandelia”, Special Edition Shoppies were released every year, starting in October, and as Target exclusives. Starting in 2016, Limited Edition Shoppies were also available during events in San Diego Comic-Con, until 2018
Happy Places.
Another spin-off of Shopkins, “Happy Places” was released in August 2016. The line features many playsets such as houses to schools. The furniture sets in the line featured shopkin faces on them, and are themed after various animals. Smaller Shoppies were also made, entitled “Lil Shoppies”. A Disney version for the series was also produced. The series also has store-exclusive playsets, including the “Sparkle Hill” playsets (Walmart exclusive) and the “Movie Night Besties” pack with exclusive Jessicake and Popette Lil’ Shoppies (Big W exclusive). The slogan was “Decorate your Place with a Cute Lil’ Face!” later changed to “Turn Any Space into a Cute Place!” With only 8 seasons produced, the line was discontinued in 2020.
Cutie Cars.
The third spin-off, “Cutie Cars” was released in August 2017. The line featured cars with Shopkins faces on them, also themed after stuff like food or fashion, along with mini Shopkins to ride on. There were also Limited Editions produced prior to Season 3, as well as an exclusive set from San Diego Comic Con in 2018. Starting in Season 3 onwards, Moose developed “Color Changing Cutie Cars”. The slogan is “I Heart QT CARS”. With only 4 seasons produced, the line was also discontinued in 2020.
Lil’ Secrets.
The fourth spin-off, “Lil’ Secrets” was released in August 2018. The line features lockets, which were playsets, that came with “Tenny Shoppies” and “Tenny Shopkins”. Regular-sized Shoppies were also produced. Starting in Season 3, mini stores and houses were released, under the name “Secret Shops”. The theme for Season 2 is “Party Pop-ups” and for Season 3, “Shop-key-pers”. With only 4 seasons produced, the line was also discontinued in 2020.
Real Littles.
Despite Shopkins’ discontinuation in late 2020, the Real Littles brand keeps going, but now as its own franchise, in which they make bags with miniature stuff inside. In Season 1, there were backpacks with school supplies inside. In Season 2, there were handbags with accessories inside.
Kindi Kids.
“Kindi Kids” is the fifth and ongoing spin-off of Shopkins released in August 2019, featuring the Shoppies dolls as toddlers, with the slogan being “Yay! Let’s Play!”. The line featured ten-inch dolls of the Shoppies dolls as toddlers, featuring a bobble-head, glittery eyes and two exclusive Shopkins, with the first line featuring the Shoppies “Jessicake”, “Marsha Mello”, “Peppa-Mint”, and “Donatina” as part of the “Snack Time Friends” line respectively. In Season 2, the Shoppies, “Rainbow Kate” and “Summer Peaches” were released in January 2020 and March 2020, respectively. In Season Three, the Shoppie, “Mystabella” was released, (Though some people often call her “Mysta Bella” respectively) and a new character, “Cindy Pops”, were both released in August 2020 as part of the “Fun Time Friends” line. In Season 4, the Shoppies “Bella Bow” and “Pirouetta” were released January 2021. Various Playsets were also released under the “Kindi Fun” name tag.
Web series.
Just like the Shopkins web series, Kindi Kids also gained an official CGI animated web series featuring some of the Kindi Kids characters, as well as some recurring Shopkins, like Apple Blossom (Season 1) and Buncho Bananas (Season 6), with a overall of 3 seasons and a total of 15 episodes being produced, featuring animation by Relish Digital inc., and voices by Bang Zoom! Entertainment, based in Burbank, California.
Kindi Kids Minis.
Since Shopkins’ discontinuation in late 2020, Kindi Kids became its own franchise (despite that they still state that the line is "Shopkins" themselves on the bottom of official packaging) and made a spin-off, called "Kindi Kids Minis" featuring miniature versions of the ten-inch dolls, but still with the bobble-head feature and glittery eyes, only 8 characters were made, along with a previous Shoppie who was not in Kindi Kids, but was made into a Mini, with the Kindi Kids being “Marsha Mello”, “Donatina”, “Rainbow Kate”, “Summer Peaches”, “Cindy Pops”, “Pirouetta” and the pervious Shoppie, “Lippy Lulu”. Various playsets were made featuring vehicles like scooters, motorcycles, and cars, and a school bus playset, each with exclusive minis, which were “Lippy Lulu”, “Rainbow Kate”, “Donatina” and “Marsha Melllo” respectively. All of the exclusives have different outfits and hairstyles. The Kindi Kids “Jessicake” and “Mystabella” were also made into Minis, but were only shown as artwork for packaging. The line was released early in January 2021 (Amazon) and February 2021 (retailers) respectively.
Licensed merchandise.
Clothing.
Various lines for Shopkins and Kindi Kids-inspired clothing for kids were made. T-shirts were also made to the “Shopkins Direct” subscription box (see the “Shopkins Direct” section below for more info.) There were also accessories, bags, makeup, and other related content made available.
Books.
Moose Toys partnered up with book publishers such as Scholastic to launch a series of children's books featuring Shopkins including Scholastic's "Shopkins: Welcome to Shopville". Colouring and activity books were also available.
Collector cards.
Moose Toys released their first trading card set in 2015. Some packs often have other exclusive merchandise in them such as: necklaces, key-chains, etc.
Kinstructions.
“Shopkins Kinstructions” were a line of Shopkins building playsets licensed by Moose, inspired by Lego building toys, made by The Bridge Direct. Playsets also come with exclusive Shopkins, which are buildable, as well as extra pegs for regular Shopkins to stand on the playsets. The line was released in 2015.
Shopkins Direct.
From May 2017 to March 2018, Moose Toys partnered up with subscription box licensee, CultureFly, to promote "Shopkins Direct" which was 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. (Additionally, exclusive Shopkins have been distributed via Shopkin pop-up chain stores located in North America.)
Counterfeit Shopkins.
Counterfeit 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. Moose also made a video about spotting counterfeit Shopkins on the official Shopkins YouTube channel.
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.
Parodies/References in other media.
Shopkins served as inspiration for a design challenge on season 16 of "Project Runway".
The Shoppies dolls, Jessicake, Bubbleisha and Peppa-Mint, along with some of the Season 6 playsets even got featured in an episode of the adult animated stop motion sketch comedy TV series "Robot Chicken".
In 2019, there were videos featuring the Shoppies line of dolls, made using a popular app known as Gacha Life. A popular fandom on YouTube features the Shoppies doll, Jessicake who is meant to be on the dark side.