Shopkins
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 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 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 Five was released in May 2016. New categories include Charms, Tech, Music  and Sport. The Limited Edition Shopkins are the “Tiny Toys” Shopkins. 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 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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 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 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. 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. 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), 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, and also the  first to feature a guest star, YouTuber CookieSwirlC. 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. Licensed merchandise. 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. In January 2018, McDonald's released “Happy Places” themed furniture Shopkins toys based on one of their spin-off  lines of the toys. The toys were later released in Southeast Asia. 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 Shopkins accessories and merchandise.