Alifish, Sanrio to extend pact in 2025 with new programs

Caption: Alifish and Sanrio have introduced popular characters to China for three years.

Sanrio, the Japanese firm behind Hello Kitty, My Melody, and other popular characters, and Alifish will strengthen their cooperation on content development, marketing, IP operations, and authorization in 2025.

The two sides reached an agreement three years ago to bring Sanrio characters to China.

IP authorization between Alifish and Sanrio peaked in 2024. Over 200 brands had cartoon character licenses.

Hello Kitty art shows, flash mobs, and themed eateries have also taken Chinese fans inside the IP and deepened their emotional relationships.

Caption: The second “Hi Sanrio” carnival will be held in Shanghai in July.

Caption: Alifish-Sanrio IP authorization peaked last year.

The second "Hi Sanrio" carnival will return to Shanghai in July. Nearly 20,000 anime fans met Sanrio character designers at last year's event.

Alifish will continue to generate new graphics for Sanrio this year. The freshly built picture library now includes a collection of items for science fiction adventures. It is based on an entirely new animation project designed by Alifish for Sanrio.

The plot will appeal to young audiences when it releases in the summer of 2026.

According to Jiang Xuheng, vice president of Alifish, against the backdrop of China's expanding IP consumption sector, Alifish will collaborate with Sanrio to explore new IP consumption models, broaden user circles, and assist Sanrio in making new breakthroughs and improvements.