China International Service Center

In 2025, the IP market exploded, consumer awareness was upgraded, and multiple parties entered the market. IP has become an important consumption carrier.

Author | Zhao Ming (Shanghai)

Source | New Voice Pro

The IP market entered an explosive stage in 2025, and the public experienced a fundamental change in consumption perception - IP is no longer a symbol of niche circles, but has become a widely recognized consumption carrier. Paying for IP and emotional value has become a common demand among consumers.

Under this cognitive consensus, all parties participating in the market are taking a more proactive stance in their layout: platforms and IP owners are consciously regarding derivatives as an important direction for commercial development, including content brands such as Enlight Media and Shanghai Film Yuan, as well as major long - video and mid - video platforms.

Some external forces are also entering the market. The development of the commercial value of IP has become a new business direction for companies such as Maoyan and Wanda. Cross - industry players like stationery brand Delixi have also begun to realize the power of emotional consumption and are turning to the cultural and creative industry.

The trendy toy market is entering the "match point" for competing for IPs. In addition to the industry leader Pop Mart, channels such as Miniso and X11 have also entered the market with high - profile. In 2025, a large number of new trendy toy brands emerged, trying to maintain the connection between IPs and fans in new ways. In this situation, more creators and artists have the opportunity to be noticed.

Through this summary, we sort out the important actions in the IP market in 2025 - which IPs detonated the market, which companies seized opportunities in it, and what potential development trends there are in the IP market in the future.

Which IPs are the most profitable

Popular IPs can be divided into two categories: overseas IPs and domestic IPs. The overseas IP operation system is more mature, while in China, hit content, trendy toys, and star IPs are the most prominent.

The overseas licensing industry has a high degree of maturity and a relatively complete operation system. Leading IPs such as Disney, Sanrio, and Chiikawa still performed strongly in 2025.

In the IP consumption market in 2025, Zootopia 2 became a typical example of Disney's closed - loop IP business from content to consumption to the theme park.

Disney has always attached great importance to the Chinese licensing market. Lin Jiawen, the senior vice - president of the Consumer Products Department in the Asia - Pacific region, said last year that China is one of Disney's best - performing markets at present. Disney's cross - border business in the consumer products department in the Asia - Pacific region increased by about 45% year - on - year last year. The consumption power of the Chinese market is also reflected in the content: nine years ago, when Zootopia was released, the Chinese mainland contributed a box office of 1.538 billion yuan, becoming the second - largest box - office market after North America. The sequel released in 2025 topped the list of imported films in the Chinese film history box office on January 5, 2026.

At the Consumer Products Conference in 2025, Fei Shuya, the president of the Consumer Products Department, emphasized that "we are reimagining the way to reach fans and making Disney make a surprise appearance in unexpected places."

The release of the movie became an important node for the explosion of IP potential. Offline, Zootopia 2 opened an immersive block near Zhangyuan in Shanghai during the pre - heating period; more than 70 co - brandings made the influence of the IP penetrate into all aspects of daily life. After the movie was released, the theme park was quickly updated synchronously, a global celebration was launched, and the "City Life Festival" was updated.

Sanrio's growth in China in 2025 was also remarkable. Since January 2023, Alifish, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group focusing on IP derivatives and other businesses, has had the exclusive five - year agency right to develop and sell derivative products of 26 characters under Sanrio in the Chinese mainland. Under the development of Alifish, Sanrio's semi - annual financial report from March to September 2025 showed that the adjusted operating profit in the Chinese market increased by 104.8% year - on - year, becoming the core driving force for its global business.

The first "Sanrio Hi - Fi Festival" jointly created by Alifish and Sanrio

Wei Fang, the COO of Sanrio, once said that by creating IP character stories that fit the Chinese local context to increase freshness, launching new IP retail products every week to increase the sense of daily companionship, carrying out matrix - style IP marketing activities to strengthen emotional connections, and injecting original IPs starting from Chinese time, Sanrio has expanded from a single IP to a matrix - style operation in China.

Chiikawa, a rising star in the global IP market, also chose to cooperate with Alifish in 2024. In 2025, the influence of its peripherals and co - brandings quickly spread in the Chinese market. In September 2025, Chiikawa's first official offline flagship store in the Chinese mainland opened on Nanjing East Road in Shanghai, and the popularity of the rush to buy was obvious.

The opening of the Chiikawa store in Shanghai

On the sales list of the "Full - cycle Derivatives Summary" store on Tmall during Double Eleven, the official flagship stores of Jiyikawa, Pokémon, and Sanrio occupied the top three places respectively, and all three are operated by Alifish in the Chinese mainland. For Japanese IPs, the Chinese market has become a decisive market.

Among domestic IPs, in 2025, the three categories of hit content, trendy toys, and star IPs were the most eye - catching.

Among the hit content IPs, Nezha 2, The Legend of Luo Xiaohei, and Little Monsters in Langlang Mountain all triggered a crazy rush for derivatives, and the proportion of IP licensing revenue is gradually exceeding the box office of the movies.

Within less than a month after the release of Nezha 2, the sales of its derivatives broke the record held by The Wandering Earth 2 for two years. At the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2025, Wang Changtian, the president of Enlight Media, revealed that the sales of Nezha 2 derivatives had reached tens of billions of yuan; before and after the launch of The Legend of Luo Xiaohei 2, 31 licensing cooperation agreements were reached. The first batch of co - brandings with Miniso were sold out, and the blind boxes co - branded with Pop Mart were sold out in 2 seconds; Little Monsters in Langlang Mountain not only reached cooperation with more than 30 enterprises, but also more than 400 authorized derivative single products were launched simultaneously with the movie. Shanghai Film Yuan regards IP licensing as an important part of movie marketing.

Trendy toy IPs have advanced rapidly. During the Spring Festival, LABUBU became a global hit, driving the upgrading of the industry. According to iResearch's prediction, the scale of the Chinese IP trendy toy market will exceed 100 billion yuan in 2027. After LABUBU, Pop Mart created the Starman as a new hit. Its revenue in the first half of the year was 390 million yuan, and the new products in the third quarter were quickly sold out.

In addition to Pop Mart, Miniso also emphasizes its investment in the trendy toy market. Ye Guofu declared that he would spend 100 million yuan to sign artists. Among them, the IP "Nommi" directly drove the performance growth in Q3. Among the new brands, Lestvan performed outstandingly. Its IP WAKUKU's hanging cards were launched for the first time at the MINISO LAND Beijing No. 1 store and were snapped up within 2 hours, attracting the attention of the capital market. After Quantum Song acquired 61% of Lestvan's shares, its own stock price soared by 140% in a single day.

WAKUKU

In 2025, more and more star IPs emerged. Through derivatives, commercial co - brandings, offline experiences, etc., a mature IP business chain was established and exploded significantly during Double Eleven in 2025.

Among them, the influence of Mayday's Ashin's trendy brand STAYREAL was fully released in 2025. On the one hand, it was presented in the form of IP derivatives. On the hot - selling list of plush toys during Double Eleven in 2025, the plush products of "Bubu", co - created by Ashin and his fans, always occupied the top of the sales list, surpassing brands such as Pop Mart and Gabriel.

iPhone 17 Pro

Co - branding with Ashin's trendy brand IP MOJO FAMILY

On the other hand, concerts have become an offline window for IP to build a narrative. Mayday's STAYREAL pop - up stores are regarded as an important tool by some commercial real - estate developers to attract customers. The person - in - charge of the Xidan Update Field in Beijing revealed that since the opening of the STAYREAL pop - up store, the passenger flow in the Xidan Update Field has increased by 30% year - on - year, and the overall sales of merchants in the mall have increased by 40% year - on - year.

In addition, Mayday also provides an example for the cooperation form between star IPs and cultural tourism, transforming the one - time consumption of concerts into a long - term, multi - dimensional and repeatedly sustainable experience, and transforming more points in the city into an organic part of the concert.

Who is entering the market

The popularity of the IP market is particularly prominent at the consumer end. It is not only reflected in the investment enthusiasm in the secondary market of trendy toys, but also enables participants in multiple links of the entire industrial chain to find business opportunities, forming a diversified ecosystem for IP operation.

The camp of IP operators continued to expand in 2025. Alifish, the largest licensing operator in China, holds popular overseas IPs such as Sanrio and Chiikawa. By co - creating and integrating with the copyright owners and strengthening emotional connections, it maximizes the domestic benefits of IPs. Light IP operators such as Qizhongji and Qimengdunjia rely on the power of social media to continuously expand their IP networks, making emoji IPs such as the Line Dog become top - stream through consumption co - brandings; there have also emerged new small and medium - sized IP licensing companies and operation teams starting with self - created IPs such as Puppy Snake Doudian.

Content brands and platforms that hold IPs are also accelerating the layout of IP licensing and development, and even regard IP business as the key direction of the company.

Enlight Media's semi - annual report pointed out that Enlight is transforming from a "high - end content provider" to an "IP creator and operator". The actions include building a dedicated IP operation team, expanding all channels, and preparing for theme parks and games. Shanghai Film Yuan pre - arranged the licensing of the Little Monsters in Langlang Mountain IP and tried IP development paths such as the Drone Show of Making Havoc in Heaven, the Nezha - themed cruise ship, and the immersive theme park of Shanghai Animation Film Studio IPs.

The GMV of Yuewen's IP derivative business in the first half of the year reached 480 million yuan, approaching the level of the whole year in 2024. In 2025, it improved its content ecosystem and full - link operation. It not only set up theme displays, pop - up stores, and theme restaurants, but also opened "Yuewen Goodies" as an open self - operated channel. In addition, it entered the trendy toy market, launched the "Global Trendy Toy Co - creation Plan", and jointly produced the original IP "Mooroo Jiangjiang" with Super元气工厂.

The maturity of long - video platforms in IP operation has also improved. "Ecosystem" has become the focus of long - video platforms in 2025, and IP is the anchor point in it. Tencent Animation announced its transformation from a broadcast platform to the starting point of the IP ecosystem, focusing on long - term IP development and improving the full - link development system of "anime - games - movies - offline". Three days ago, Arcane officially announced its first immersive music show performance; iQiyi's sales of the Go to the Mountains and Seas trading cards reached a new high in 2025, and it formed a strategy of "IP derivatives + new - type theme park" offline.

The first performance of the immersive music show of Arcane by Tencent

Offline is also an important area for Mango TV to focus on. In 2025, the global flagship store of Xiaomang opened at Global Harbor. Online, Xiaomang focused on star peripherals and announced its entry into the trendy toy market at the end of the year, launching its first self - owned trendy toy IP "Cluebie"; Bilibili has also accelerated the development of its domestic original IPs, such as carrying out multi - dimensional co - brandings and offline activities for IPs such as The Legend of Mortal's Cultivation to Immortality and The Legend of the Divine Farmer.

The leading channel providers are a strong link in the trendy toy market, and the channels are also participating in the competition for IPs. Miniso first declared that it would spend 100 million yuan to find new IPs, and then launched the IP Genius Teenager Program to recruit talents globally, offering annual salaries ranging from one million to tens of millions; at the end of 2025, the global trendy toy collection brand X11 also released the Star Plan to sign IP artists, promoting full - link support for IPs from design, production to marketing through three paths: "IP co - branding + IP incubation + IP signing".

After realizing the potential of the IP market, some new forces have also joined the IP industry.

The Chinese film industry is shifting from relying solely on box office to the development of the entire industrial chain. For example, Wanda Film introduced IP co - branded peripherals to optimize the product structure of cinemas. The sales of derivatives of its trendy toy business brand Ying Shiguang during the summer vacation, which links self - owned IPs and licensed IPs, reached 106 million yuan; Ying Shiguang also incubated three trendy toy brand lines and two trendy toy IPs, and jointly invested in 52toys with Ruyi Xingchen. Maoyan also announced its entry into the IP market, established the animation brand "Menggu Culture", and launched a new IP - themed new - retail brand MmmGoods, focusing on the construction of the IP operation and management system.

The IP resource library of Ying Shiguang

Some artist management companies are also trying to increase their investment in IP. Lehua's semi - annual report shows that IP operation business has become the biggest highlight, with star trading cards and trendy toys increasing its revenue by 128%. Star trading cards have become an important driving force for artist - related derivatives. In addition, investing in WAKUKU has also enabled Lehua to achieve a performance breakthrough. Stars and trendy toys are getting closer.

In 2025, the veteran stationery brand Delixi transformed from traditional stationery to the cultural and creative industry. It not only held large - scale IP pop - ups offline many times, but also opened its brand flagship store deli world at Jing'an Joy City in Shanghai. Chen Xueqiang, the executive president of Delixi Group, said: Opening a store is an important practice for Delixi's brand strategy upgrade and a key step in establishing a deep connection and emotional resonance with users in the new retail era.

Delixi's offline flagship store at Jing'an Joy City in Shanghai

Where is the IP boom heading

Based on the current market popularity, the IP industry shows some possible trends in terms of content quantity, participants, going global, and interaction methods.

First, from the perspective of content supply, if 2025 was the explosive stage of the IP market at the consumption level, and some leading IPs proved the consumption ability of this market, then in 2026, IPs will also explode in terms of content and quantity, and people will compete for IPs from more dimensions and sources. Among them, the wave of retro culture will also extend to the IP field, and some old IPs can be revitalized by taking advantage of the trend; the differentiation of emotional value makes IP a carrier for consumers to express themselves, and more small and light IPs may find their audiences in specific circles.

But from another perspective, the intensity of competition and the speed of iteration in the IP market will be higher, which means that independent designers and creators may face more risks. For example, after being signed, if they cannot get a long - term plan, the life cycle of the IP in the consumer market will be compressed, and it will become redundant in the market.

Second, more external capital and cross - industry players may flood into this market in the future. In 2025, brands from other industries such as education and training, home appliances, and stationery, such as Quantum Song, Dreame, and Delixi, entered the IP market in the form of trendy toys and cultural and creative products. At the same time, more and more brands are starting to operate their own IP images in a high - profile way. Luckin and Duolingo even had a "marriage", creating a sense of story and participation. At the "Golden Peach Night" event recently held by Taobao, the personification and meme - making of brand IPs such as Shuanghui Pig and Deyou Penguin were a microcosm. This trend of entering the IP market and the multi - party melee will continue in the future.

The competition among brand IPs at the Golden Peach Night

Third, creating global pop - culture symbols has become a greater pursuit for leading IPs. The popularity of Chinese trendy toy IPs represented by "Labubu" overseas marks that Chinese culture going global is entering a new stage - forming pop - culture symbols truly defined by China.

In addition to Pop Mart, which already has obvious overseas influence, the new - generation trendy toy platform Qimengdao has also clearly stated that it wants to become a super symbol of global trendy culture. This logic also extends to other cultural fields, and more and more content IPs may have the opportunity to participate in the process of creating global pop - culture symbols. For example, as Hou Xiaonan, the CEO of Yuewen, mentioned, Chinese online literature is becoming a new source of global IPs.

Doraemon Pain Street

Finally, from the perspective of consumer participation methods, offline will still be an important direction for IP operation. Compared with traditional pop - ups, more immersive experience activities such as "Pain City" and "Pain Street" will be more frequent. Because the core of "pain culture" is to show off externally, and today's young people are starting to enjoy the joy of carnival with like - minded people in groups more and more. For IPs, Pain Street and Pain City can not only provide a more immersive emotional experience for core fans, but also help the IP expand its circle. Among them, the interaction between cultural and tourism destinations and IPs will also continue to advance - for example, the ancient historical city of Qionglai reached a strategic cooperation with Yongsheng Animation at the Longmenshan Biodiversity Expo Park to open a Piggy Xia theme park.

It can be predicted that in the new year, the IP market will experience a more full - fledged explosion, which will also put forward higher requirements for IP operation. For example, licensing and development will be more pre - arranged, and it is necessary to grasp the market timing more accurately; co - brandings also need to be more in - depth, exploring fresh presentation methods and emotional connections to achieve a win - win result instead of a rough consumption.

*The views in this article are all reprinted from the original source and are for reference only.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Comprehensive Service Port for Zhejiang Enterprises Going Global", author: New Voice Pro.

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