Hobby Musings: Kakawow Ready to Enter U.S. Market – Featuring card licenses for a lot of popular brands, Kakawow has made an impression on the trading card world. Now the company originally established in China is ready to expand and enter the market in the United States, with Diverse set to hit the market. I had the chance to catch up with Founder and CEO of Suplay Inc. and Founder and Brand Director of Kakawow, Alex Huang, to find out more about the company’s history and the reason behind its expansion.
KS: For collectors who may not be aware, what is your company’s history?
AH: Kakawow is a leading trading card brand established in China at the end of 2021 under the Suplay Inc. group. Suplay Inc. itself was founded in late 2019, backed by prominent financial and strategic investors. Initially focused on the toy business, the company expanded into new areas in 2021.
Kakawow gained international recognition with the successful release of the Phantom Disney100 Wondrous Character Trading Card set. Today, we are proud to be strategic partners with PSA and CGC. Our official licenses include renowned brands such as Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Warner Bros. Discovery, Harry Potter, Sanrio, and Forbidden City Culture.
KS: Why have you made the decision to enter the U.S. card market and distribute products here?
AH: Entering the U.S. market was a natural decision for us. To be honest, while we anticipated that the Disney100 set would be successful, we didn’t expect it to be so quickly embraced and loved by collectors from various countries around the world. The global recognition we received from the Disney100 set made us realize that we might have the opportunity to create an emerging global trading card brand through our design, quality, innovation, and differentiation.
North America is undoubtedly the most important market for trading cards, with the longest history and the most mature culture, which has always been a place I aspired to enter. The success of several products gave me the confidence to venture into the U.S. market. In the past, due to licensing restrictions, it was difficult for many North American collectors to obtain our products through regular channels, or they had to pay a higher cost. Therefore, we spent a lot of time and effort addressing issues related to licensing and regional restrictions. We have now made some small progress, allowing us to tentatively enter the North American market in an official capacity. Recently, we will release the Diverse set and the Warner Bros. 100th anniversary set in the U.S.
We are very excited and confident about our future performance in the North American market.
KS: What do you think have been the biggest challenges in expanding to the United States?
AH: First and foremost, we need to overcome certain restrictions related to licensing, as the North American market is home to many well-established brands. As a new and emerging brand, we must break through the dominance of industry giants and navigate some regional protections, which will require a significant amount of effort. Additionally, although we are already the leader in the high-end market in China, we are still newcomers in North America. This means that we need to rebuild many organizational capabilities locally, such as marketing, sales, distribution and logistics.
Despite these challenges, seeing the enthusiasm and love that North American collectors have for our products strengthens our resolve. We are determined to do our utmost to serve the customers and collectors in the North American market to the best of our ability.
KS: Let’s talk a little more specifically about Diverse Season 1. What was the inspiration for putting the product together?
AH: We have always hoped to develop a globally released product, but the global licensing of many copyrights requires a complex process of communication and coordination. During our industry and product research, we discovered precedents for similar approaches. This led us to think, why not create a product centered around themes of astronomy, geography, history and famous figures, while also incorporating authentic signatures from contemporary sports and entertainment celebrities? This approach not only ensures a certain level of diversity, but also provides a high degree of creative freedom, enhanced by the inclusion of real signatures and hand-drawn cards. As a result, the Diverse Season 1 was born.
KS: What are the highlights collectors should be on the lookout for with this?
AH: This product boasts a wide array of highlights. In addition to authentic signatures from well-known NBA stars and celebrities, the series also includes high-quality hand-drawn cards by artists, featuring themes from Andersen’s fairy tales, Aesop’s Fables and more. It also features exquisite butterfly embroidery embedded cards, fortune-bringing “God of Wealth” cards from around the world, “lucky cards” with a second chance to win mini cards and mini autographs, as well as cards embedded with stamps and coins from various countries. The content is incredibly rich and definitely worth exploring.
KS: How do you feel Diverse stands out from other trading card products?
AH: Firstly, the Diverse series stands out for its unique themes, setting it apart from traditional sports cards or TCG (Trading Card Game) cards, making it highly innovative. Secondly, the content is exceptionally rich, offering strong playability and a high degree of exploration. Of course, as a product from Kakawow, it will continue to maintain the consistently high standard of quality control that the brand is known for.
KS: As the trading card hobby has increased, especially on a global scale, I’m always fascinated to see how the markets are across the world. With that being said, what is the market for trading cards like in China?
AH: In recent years, China’s trading card market has experienced explosive growth. Unlike the mature markets, such as North America, where sports cards and high-end collectible cards dominate, China’s market has largely been driven by children’s cards and lower-end cards, leading to a substantial market size. First, establish the market; then, focus on developing higher quality and more premium segments. Kakawow, as the leading brand in China’s high-end collectible card market, is also spearheading and driving the rapid development of the collectible-grade market.
KS: How do you think the market compares and differs in Asia compared to the United States?
AH: I believe the entire collectibles market and culture in the United States are very mature, with well-established sports leagues, sophisticated commercial operations, and a long history of collectibles. In contrast, the Chinese and broader Asian markets are still in the relatively early stages in this regard, which, of course, presents a significant opportunity for us.
KS: Besides Diverse, what else do you have coming out in the future?
AH: After the Diverse Season 1, Phantom and COSMOS WB100 sets will also be released in the US, and we are expected to bring more U.S.-licensed products in the future.
KS: What would you say is the company’s biggest goal over the next year?
AH: Our goal has always been to consistently produce high-quality products, something new and different. We aim to continuously surpass ourselves.
Hobby Musings: Kakawow Ready to Enter U.S. Market – More Resources
Kelsey’s ability to bring hobby coverage to the mainstream sports fan has been a true asset. GTS is happy to feature his thoughts on collecting in Hobby Musings. The opinions expressed are his and do not necessarily reflect those of GTS Distribution.
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