Hello Kitty: This 50-year-old Kitty has fetched over $84.5 billion for its owner (2024)

The Hello Kitty merchandise phenomenon has captivated both children and adults with over 50,000 products. (Photo: X/@hellokitty)

Hello Kitty, the world-famous fictional character created by designer Yuko Shimizu in 1974, turns 50 this year. Over five decades, this Kitty has made billions for Tokyo-based Sanrio Company due to its immense commercial success. Labelled as a "money-making machine," Hello Kitty, or Kitty White as she is known, has reportedly generated a whopping $84.5 billion to date by selling millions of merchandise worldwide, according to a Fobes' 2022 report.

The merchandise phenomenon has captivated both children and adults, with a wide variety of products—from bags and bottles to spoons and even toilet paper—bearing the iconic red-bow-wearing character's image. A search online would reveal more than 50,000 varieties of Hello Kitty items, sold annually for billions of dollars. The kawaii (Japanese for "cute") aesthetic appeal of Hello Kitty is so huge that there is even a Hello Kitty plane by a Taiwan airliner.

According to Guinness World Records, the largest collection of Hello Kitty memorabilia consists of 7,096 items, registered in March 2024. Yang Tao from China, who began her collection in 2006, holds this record.

But who is this Kitty, and how did she come to be?

In 1973, the Yamanashi Silk Center company underwent a transformation, rebranding itself as Sanrio Company. Initially, Sanrio explored various business ventures, including a restaurant and greeting card business, before hitting the jackpot with the introduction of Hello Kitty and her companions, Patty & Jimmy.

According to Sanrio, Hello Kitty is not a cat but a girl. Unlike her owner, she does not live in Tokyo but in the London suburbs with her twin sister, Mimmy, and their parents. Her hobbies include making friends, eating homemade apple pie, and baking cookies.

Shimizu is said to have brought Hello Kitty to life, inspired by the cats in Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There."

Since her creation, the cute feline-looking character has inspired millions worldwide. The first Hello Kitty product, a purse, was launched in 1975, and she has been successful ever since. In 1983, Hello Kitty took on her first official role as the United States UNICEF Children's Ambassador. In 1994, she was appointed as a Children's Goodwill Ambassador by the Japan Committee for UNICEF. As Hello Kitty's popularity grew, so did Sanrio Company.

By the 1990s, the company had expanded its presence to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Korea, opening theme parks and venturing into various businesses. In 2002, it opened its first directly managed store in Europe, located in Hamburg. A year later, the first Sanrio store in Russia opened in Moscow.

Hello Kitty's appeal in the West

In the West, the popularity of Hello Kitty surged when celebrities such as Mariah Carey and Britney Spears were seen wearing Hello Kitty clothing and accessories.

By 2014, when Hello Kitty turned 40, a BBC analysis found that Sanrio generated approximately $759 million in annual revenue from the iconic character alone. As of today, Hello Kitty boasts its presence in about 130 countries and has a global valuation of $3.8 billion as of 2022, according to Forbes.

Hello Kitty to debut in India

On an interesting note, Hello Kitty is set to debut in India this year.