Toying with fresh ideas

Zhao, from Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, started in the line of work because of his own affection for buying blind boxes, an idea that first originated in Japan during the 1980s. Back then, customers would pay a fixed price and test their luck for such items as digital cameras and luxury jewelry.

In recent years, the blind box market has become a hot bed for toys. Designers have pitched for the chance for their work to become viral.

Pop Mart, a major player in collectible toys, found Kenny Wong in 2016 and cut a deal with the Hong Kong designer of the green-eyed and golden-haired doll, Molly, to get an exclusive right to mass produce and sell the figures through approved channels.

The initial batch of Molly blind boxes sold out immediately. Other shops then threw their hats in the ring and followed in Pop Mart's steps to sell creative dolls in the blind box market. This included the Little Amber series by designers Ivy and Miki and the sharp-toothed and erect-eared Labubu by designer Kasing Lung.

The blind box market was worth 7.4 billion yuan ($1.05 billion) in 2019, according to market research company Qianzhan Intelligence. It estimated that the figure could hit 30 billion yuan by 2024.