Talkin’ Toys: Q&A with Puremind Founder Derrick Xiong

As a brand, Puremind launched in 2024, but we’ve been building toward this for five years. It all started during COVID. Everyone was stuck at home, and I went deep—built over a thousand sets of building blocks. And I kept thinking: Why don’t adult fans like us have enough options for the IPs we actually love? 

That question became Pantasy in 2020, our first building-block brand, turning anime and classic characters — Astro Boy, Dragon Ball, Peanuts — into collectibles designed for grown-up shelves, not kids’ toy bins.

We were “kidult‑first” from day one. We also built in two of the most dynamic — and demanding — markets, China and the U.S. That combination has shaped us into a full‑stack team with strong skills across product and design, manufacturing, and sales. 

Astro Boy became a breakout hit — viral across markets, and even landing at Costco Canada — which helped us forge strong global retailer and distributor relationships. Building on that momentum, we launched Puremind in 2024 as a true, kidult‑first collector brand: We were highly selective about IPs and obsessive about display‑worthy quality across categories.

You can see that focus in our first major wave: Jujutsu Kaisen at Miniso America last holiday, rolling out across more than 350 stores. The sell‑through and social buzz were immediate: thousands of TikTok posts from fans hunting for their favorite characters. From here, we’re expanding thoughtfully into new product types and formats for U.S. collectors and anime communities — and always starting from what an adult fan would be proud to put on a shelf.

It matters a lot, but what’s interesting is we didn’t try to “manufacture” virality; the spike came organically. When we introduced the official Jujutsu Kaisen (JJK) vinyl plush at Miniso America, right on the heels of the Labubu craze, our team tracked thousands of fan posts, many of which gained more than 100,000 likes. I personally combed through comments to understand why it resonated: Anime fandom is surging, and when the product hits the right IP, format, and price point, social media does the amplification for you.

That insight now informs how we plan. Beyond JJK, we’re rolling out Frieren, Demon Slayer, Dragon Ball, and Dandadan for the U.S. and Europe, with more than 20 anime licenses in the pipeline.

Retail is catching up to the energy. Besides Miniso, in 2026 you’ll see us in more stores like BoxLunch, Hot Topic, FYE, Costco, Books‑A‑Million, and Barnes & Noble as we scale thoughtfully with partners who serve these fans.

Right now, our hero category is licensed vinyl plush. You’ve seen how creator‑driven IPs like Labubu and Skull Panda have taken off; our approach is different. We partner with leading IPs to bring official vinyl plush to fans. Jujutsu Kaisen leads the line, with Demon Slayer, Dandadan, and Frieren following, and we’re exploring Naruto as well.

Second, we’re introducing buildable mini figures: compact, blind‑box collectibles based on anime licenses at a very accessible price point, around $10. The key difference is interactivity: Each figure comes in roughly 20 parts, so fans spend 10–20 minutes building a character they love. The format is already viral in parts of Asia, and we’re bringing it to North America with multiple IP partners. In terms of design detail and in‑hand quality, we believe it delivers more value than most figures in the $8–$15 range.

Third, we have what we call “acrylic items” — pins, badges, and related accessories. We’re pushing beyond flat enamel to more dimensional, mechanically interesting designs, including 3D and mechanical construction elements, to give collectors something that feels fresh and elevated.

Two things shape our kidult‑first design process. First, we’re collectors ourselves — that’s literally why we started the company. Many of us build, display, and trade; in my case, I had over a thousand building sets at home before we launched. That lived experience translates into the details adult collectors care about — premium quality and finish, and designs that genuinely tap into nostalgia.

We also benefit from operating in the world’s most competitive market. Asia’s blind‑box and vinyl categories move quickly and set a high bar for store productivity, which gives us fast, high‑resolution feedback on what moves, what doesn’t, and why. It pushes us toward tighter quality control and clearer value at each price point and more. We combine that data with local input from our teams in China, the U.S., and the UK to adjust by market.

We pair that with on-the-ground input from our local teams in China, the U.S., and now the UK, so we’re fine-tuning for adult preferences market by market, rather than designing in a vacuum.

We focus on design depth and speed. The team is sizable for our stage, with more than 150 people, including more than 100 designers, which lets us develop new ideas without sacrificing execution. You’ll see more frequent launches over the next year, driven by what the team can actually deliver.

Creating something truly unique isn’t easy. The advantage we have is that we’re collectors and anime fans ourselves — we want the best for the IPs we love. When a deep understanding of an IP meets a deep understanding of collectible formats, strong ideas keep emerging.

Of course, the supply chain is the foundation. We stay close to our factories, which lets us iterate quickly and keep launches timely. In short, our design capability and manufacturing integration give us the flexibility to innovate while meeting market windows.

When we work with IP partners, our design isn’t boxed in by category; we look for the expression and format that feel most true to each IP’s world. That’s why partners like Warner Bros. Discovery and The Pokémon Co. work with us: We’re willing to take the time and the risk to do something more complex when it’s right for the franchise.

Harry Potter is a good example. For the Wooden Construction Collection, we spent more than 24 months in development. It’s a 3D wooden model kit line that ranges from complex builds to easy, pick‑up projects — hands‑on and craft‑forward, while staying retail‑friendly for people to try. To bring iconic scenes to life, we went a step further by integrating lighting, sound, and interactive effects. That took dedicated R&D, and it’s the kind of work that differentiates the line.

Pokémon is another case. We created a wooden house with miniature furniture, placing a Pokémon in each cube — an approach the licensor hadn’t seen before.

In the end, our goal with any IP is the same: Find the format that feels true to the world and execute it well. When we do that with patient design and tight factory collaboration, the result is something distinctive that fans recognize immediately.

In 2026, we’re expanding along three lines: launching more IPs, introducing more categories, and widening our country coverage. Building on a strong Holiday 2025 season with the Harry Potter and Jujutsu Kaisen lines, we’ll scale what worked while pacing new formats by IP and market.

Geographically, beyond the U.S. and China, we’re now in Europe: France leads on anime, with momentum in Germany and the U.K., and steady demand in Italy and Spain. 2026 will be a busy year, and we expect a broad slate of new launches.