Shopkins

Shopkins

Current logo for Shopkins
Type	Toys, figures, dolls
Company	Moose Toys
Country	Australia
Availability	2014–present
Materials	Plastic, rubber
Slogan	"Once you shop... you can't stop!" (Seasons 1-11) "Real Brands. Real Cute." (Seasons 12-13) "Things You Love Made Micro!" (Season 14-15/Real Littles series)'
Official website

Shopkins are 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.^[1][2] As of 2021, there are fifteen seasons of the toys. There are also series that represent seasons such as Halloween, Easter, and Christmas. There are also spin-offs, with the current being the ongoing “Kindi Kids” line of dolls, released in August 2019.

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.^[3] Moose Toys had success with their line of Trash Pack collectible figurines targeted towards boys but lacked a market for girls. Shopkins was produced initially as a similar product for girls — however, it appeals to both genders.^[4][5]

The success of the Shopkins toy line later led to various official merchandise, various apps, movies, music, and spin-offs. Additionally, there were also auction Shopkins on eBay, San Diego Comic-Con exclusive sets, and more.

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.^[6] 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.^[7][8] There are hundreds of Shopkins in the Shopkins World.^[9] 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.^[10]

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 featuring Shopkins from around the world. The first wave is from 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 on 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 some of the Kellogg's brands, Welch’s, and more, with the exception of the Special Editions (which are the Skechers 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. There are Shopkins based of the Unilever family of brands, new Special Edition Slush Puppy Shopkins, and more.

Season 14

Season 14 was released in August 2020. The “Real Littles” theme also keeps on going for this season, but the “Shopkins” name would be dropped entirely (although it’s still being considered as “Shopkins” themselves). 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.

Season 15

Initially appearing as if Shopkins were discontinued, a ToyWiz listing showing new characters (along with some returning Shopkins from Season 14 as well as some from the first two seasons of Real Littles that weren’t in Season 14) was discovered on July 19, 2021 set to release in October that year. ^[11] This season has a “Micro Mart” theme, and will feature new variants of foods from the same brands, but also featuring new Special Edition ICEE slushie Shopkins.

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),^[4] but it was the YouTube videos of consumers unwrapping and playing with the toys that helped bring the line to mainstream prominence.^[12][13] 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.^[14]

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.^[15] 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.

Apps[]

Welcome To Shopville/Shopkins World

The first Shopkins app, “Welcome to Shopville” (Later renamed “Shopkins World”), was a free app released in 2015. In the game, the player can explore many shops in Shopville (such as the “Cupcake Bake Shop” and the “Candy Shop”) and can also play minigames. They can also unlock Shopkins by unboxing mini boxes as they collect coins from the games. The game is also compatible with the Shoppies’ VIP codes. The shops shown in the game were all initially free, until a update in 2017, in which the players complete various quests by Shopkins and collect keys to unlock the shops, and the “Cupcake Bake Shop” being removed, causing criticism by many reviews.

Shopkins: Shop n’ Seek^[16]

Shopkins: Shop n’ Seek was released in late 2020 and developed by Blipd. In the game, the player can role play as one of the Shoppies characters to visit a AR world to collect and find Shopkins everywhere as well as coins to unlock other worlds as well as other Shoppies. Some worlds also have exclusive Shopkins to find. Then, they can play with their Shopkins in AR anywhere by using the “Play” mode. They can also see their Shopkins collection. During its initial release, the player must sign in with personal information, but due to criticism by reviews, the game is completely free, and new players can download the game without signing in.

Other apps

Even more apps were released, including various running apps to collect coins. Some apps were also released for its own season, including ones for seasons 6 and 8.

Spin-offs[]

Shopkins Shoppies[]

Shopkins Shoppies,^[17] 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[]

There is a currently ongoing spinoff of Real Littles itself in which they make bags with miniature stuff that actually “work” 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 as well two exclusive Shopkins that magically function by playing with them. Various Playsets were also released under the “Kindi Fun” name tag. Unlike the rest of the franchise, the Kindi Kids line of dolls are meant for preschoolers.

The list of dolls released include:

Snack Time Friends

• Jessicake (August 2019)
• Marsha Mello (August 2019)
• Peppa-Mint (August 2019)
• Donatina (August 2019)
• Rainbow Kate (January 2020)
• Summer Peaches (March 2020)

Fun Time Friends

• Mystabella^[18] (August 2020; Often called “Mysta Bella” because of the name tag on packaging)
• Cindy Pops^[19] (August 2020; A new character created for the Kindi Kids line of dolls)
• Bella Bow^[20] (February 2021)
• Pirouetta^[21] (February 2021)

Dress Up Friends

• Marsha Mello (August 2020)
• Donatina (August 2020)

Scented Sisters

• Tiara Sparkles^[22] (August 2021)
• Pearlina^[23] (August 2021)
• Berri D’LISH^[24] (August 2021)

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 4 seasons and a total of 18 episodes produced, featuring animation by Relish Digital inc., and voices recorded at Bang Zoom! Studios, based in Burbank, California.

Kindi Kids Minis[]

Kindi Kids 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. Various playsets were made featuring vehicles like scooters, motorcycles, and cars, and a school bus playset, each with exclusive minis. 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.

Cereal[]

In 2019, Kellogg's produced Shopkins themed cereal based on the playset-exclusive Cutie O’s mini pack released during Season 12. Each cereal box features different play scenes, allowing people to collect all 5.

Books & Magazines[]

Moose Toys partnered up with book publishers such as Scholastic and Simon and Schuster to launch a series of children's books featuring Shopkins such as Scholastic's Shopkins: Welcome to Shopville.^[25] Colouring and activity books were also available.

A series of Shopkins magazines were released in 2015 which is still ongoing and are exclusive to Australia and the UK. Shopkins were also featured on Redan’s “Sparkle World” Magazine, which is aimed at 3-9 year old girls, alongside other characters for girls including My Little Pony, Rainbow Magic, Barbie, Pinkalicious & Peterrific, and more. There is also Shopkins and Real Littles-related content found on the UK-exclusive “Cute” magazine, aimed at primary school girls, also alongside different characters such as Disney Princess, L.O.L. Surprise!, and more.

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.

McDonald's Happy Meal Toys[]

In December 2015, Moose Toys partnered up with McDonald's to release Happy Meal-exclusive Shopkins, mainly based on items found from the fashion department. The same toys were released in France in 2017, and later Mexico in 2018,^[26] but with different names for the Shopkins rather than the ones found in the United States.

In January 2018, McDonald's released “Happy Places” themed furniture Shopkins toys based on one of their spin-off lines of the toys.^[27] The toys were later released in Southeast Asia.

In January 2019, McDonald's again released Shopkins-themed toys based on one of their spin-off lines, this time being the “Cuite Cars” line of toys. Each of the 6 cars in this line have 2 different variants each, making it a set of 12 to collect. The toys were also released later in Mexico.

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,^[28] 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.^[29] 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,^[30] and Moose Toys stated they will take legal action against anyone selling counterfeit Shopkins,^[31] which included a chain of Thriftway businesses selling counterfeit Shopkins.^[32]

Parodies/References in other media[]

Shopkins served as inspiration for a design challenge on season 16 of Project Runway.^[33]

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.

Sacha Baron Cohen's character "OMGWhizzBoyOMG!", in his satire series Who Is America?, performed unboxing of Shopkins while interviewing political figures.^[34]

See also[]

• Moose Toys, the company that makes Shopkins.
• The Trash Pack/The Grossery Gang, a similar toy line in which the Shopkins line of toys were based on.
• Enchantimals, a doll line inspired by the Shoppies dolls.
• Cassandra Lee Morris, provides voice notably for Jessicake.
• Erika Harlacher, provides voice for many characters in the Shopkins franchise, most notably Bubbleisha.

References[]