Company Profile - Hamee

Introducing the kawaii Hamee goldmine

As Japanese pop culture continues to influence global trends, Hamee is set to captivate consumers in the UK and Europe with its innovative range of kawaii and anime-inspired toys and accessories. Toy World’s Gabriela Jiménez García sits down with European director, Chris Lohmeyer, to discuss the company’s upcoming launch into the UK market.

Established in 1997, Hamee has built a global reputation for its extensive range of kawaii collectibles, tech accessories and digital gadgets. From cute mystery capsule squishies to innovative digital instruments that have gone viral on social media, the company is on a mission to introduce Japanese and Korean trends to consumers worldwide.

While headquartered in Japan, Hamee has branches in Korea, Shanghai and the US. The company is set to expand further this year and launch its key brands into new territories. A European operation is currently being established, spearheaded by Chris Lohmeyer, former managing director at DKB Toys & Distribution, whose goal is to grow the presence of Hamee's market-leading products in technology, accessories, toys, beauty and music across the continent and beyond.

Speaking on what drove his decision to join Hamee as European director, Chris tells us that the company’s ethos and innovative portfolio are two fundamental things that make it stand out as a business. “When I came across Hamee and its portfolio, I was immediately blown away by the unique qualities of the products on offer and recognised the potential they’d have in the European market; I thought to myself, ‘yeah, this will work’.

“Another key factor that drew me in was the company’s positive reputation in the market. Hamee is well-regarded by everyone, from its suppliers to the retailers that stock its products, which I find incredibly refreshing. We've received excellent feedback at various trade shows, with many people approaching us to express how much they enjoy working with our team.

“I initially presented the company with the idea of opening a European division, and, after some discussions, we agreed to go ahead with extending the reach even further. Besides Europe, we intend to expand to other regions all around the world, with our eyes set on the Middle East and Australia as well.”

Hamee boasts four successful core brands: Otamatone, SquiSHU, Hamee Tech and iFace. Although each of these brands has gained popularity throughout Asia, the Otamatone range takes centre stage for offering something truly innovative and unique. Otamatone is a quirky and fun-to-play electronic musical toy, featuring a distinctive eight-note-shaped body with a sliding ribbon controller on its stem that controls pitch, together with a moving mouthpiece that can be squeezed to change the sound. The playful, off-key sound it generates brings as much laughter as it does fascination. Developed by the design firm Maywa Denki, it was first launched in Japan in 2009, quickly becoming the country’s best-selling musical toy and even receiving the Grand Prize in the High Target Toy Category at the Japan Toy Awards 2010.

“Beyond a simple toy, Otamatone provides musicians of all levels with a creative tool that enables them to master a skill,” says Chris. “Consumers have the option to purchase the Melody, Standard or Deluxe versions. While Melody includes pre-recorded sound, Standard and Deluxe enable users to create music, cover songs and improve their performance the more they use it, just like a real instrument. They can even plug the deluxe into an amp and form their own bands; the sky is the limit when it comes to this innovative product.”

The popularity of Otamatone has continued to grow internationally, especially following an extraordinary performance on Spain's Got Talent four years ago. During his audition, contestant Juanjo Monserrat covered the aria Nessun Dorma on the Otamatone. His performance, which has garnered over 9m views on YouTube, left the judges and the audience astounded, earning him the prestigious Golden Buzzer. Since then, the Otamatone has gained significant traction on social media, amassing half a billion views in four years on Hamee's official channels. There are even dedicated TikTok accounts for Otamatone musicians, such as TheOtamatoneDude, with 277.1k followers and 9.4m likes, highlighting the significant global demand for the brand.

Chris is excited to announce that launching Otamatone in Europe will be one of his main projects, with many developments planned for the brand. “People see it all over social media, they know and understand the product, but just don’t know where to buy it; that’s where we’ll be coming in as the only official European seller, enabling consumers in this region and other parts of the world to have access to it.

“We’re going to provide retailers with full stands and POS displays, FSDUs, palette displays and plenty of other material and retail activations that will help support the brand, including a giant blow-up Otamatone that can be placed outside shops. I’m certain that once people start seeing Otamatones in stores, they’ll want to buy them.”

Introducing SquiSHU to the European retail sector will be another key focus for Chris in the coming months. The brand provides a wide variety of both proprietary and licensed kawaii squishy characters, ranging from pocket-sized squishies in surprise capsules to jumbo huggable squish toys. With kawaii now a popular and enduring trend - and sensory toys dominating the pocket money toys and collectibles market - Chris is confident that SquiSHU’s range of squishies will enhance any toy retailer’s portfolio.

“SquiSHU is another excellent brand that we’re continuing to develop,” he says. “With the growing global demand for kawaii and anime merchandise, Hamee plans to invest significantly in new products and licences, as well as collaborate with new partners to meet this demand. There is no way to predict the next big trend, but it’s possible that some of these new and upcoming Asian licences may go viral in the EU and resonate with kawaii and anime enthusiasts alike.”

Although primarily known for providing tech accessories, Hamee Tech and iFace are also important parts of Hamee’s overall portfolio, allowing the company to reach a wide variety of retailers worldwide. In terms of what the brands can offer, Chris tells us: “Hamee Tech and iFace bring a huge opportunity, not only around phone cases, but also phone charms, stickers, Nintendo Switch Grip Caps and other accessories that we believe will appeal to consumers in the UK and European sectors.”

As previously mentioned, Hamee not only provides its own-brand products but also holds licensing and distribution agreements with several other brands from around the world, including the BT21 brand by K-pop band BTS, in collaboration with Line Friends, as well as Sanrio, Pusheen, Moomin, Naruto, AniRollz and PowerPuff Girls.

Chris describes Pusheen as one of the most exciting and high-potential licences in Hamee’s current portfolio and a cornerstone of the company’s upcoming European launch strategy. “We’re proud to hold the Pusheen licence across a broad product range, including squishy sensory toys, fun accessories, and the ever-popular Otamatones,” he explains. “While Pusheen enjoys strong global recognition, there’s currently a limited selection of licensed toys available in the European market. That gap presents a fantastic opportunity for us to introduce a fresh and engaging collection that fans across the region have been waiting for.”

When discussing long-term goals for Hamee’s European division, Chris explains that his primary objective is to expand the European team and set up the European office. He details: “We have over 100 product lines ready for distribution, and interest has been steadily increasing over the last four months, so at some point soon we must expand our sales team first to ensure that these products reach the market.

“As we grow, we’ll also have our own design and marketing teams and create products in Europe that the whole world can use. We’re looking forward to recruiting new admin and finance support, and to many more opportunities to expand the brand in other regions around the world. The size of our team is going to be dictated by the growth that we see in Europe, and I predict it will be big.”

Other plans in the pipeline include the launch of Hamee Europe’s social media channels, including Instagram and X pages, and establishing a social media team to manage those platforms, ensuring that Hamee’s name is circulated as widely as possible.

As our interview draws to a close, I pose one final question to Chris: What will set Hamee Europe apart from its competitors? He explains that providing retailers with all the support they need is a top priority that will help the business stand out from the competition. "We’ll not only offer great products, but also outstanding communication and an excellent service. We’ll ensure that we consistently provide guidance to our clients through weekly newsletters, blogs, vlogs and social media posts, and utilise outlets such as Toy World to keep our company at the forefront of retailers’ minds.”