Recently, I met up with a friend from China. We visited many shopping malls where we stumbled into MIX, the convenience store. What caught my interest is the fact that they’ve expanded their business by creating a small shopfront for mystery boxes. They’re also known as “盲盒“ (máng hé, blind boxes) and are all the rage, which formed a consistent crowd. I thought it was genius because it created a magnet to draw a unique audience from a topic that is unrelated to the main business.

Although we didn’t buy anything, we were already sucked into their sales funnel. “Nah I don’t wanna get toys, but hey check out these snacks,” I said. Between Mala Hotpot potato chips and uncommon soju mixers, I spotted cream crackers with Lotso the bear from Toy Story 3. As its mascot. I stood there staring down my childhood enemy, fingers twitching on my imaginary revolver, when a familiar voice snapped me out of the trance. “草莓熊！(cáo méi xióng)” she said. That means “strawberry bear”, no joke, and it shattered my reality.

After some explaining, I learned that citizens in China think of him as a children’s icon because of his pink fur, which makes him look loving and friendly. Dumbfounded, my reality was shattered by the fact that same bear which created a hierarchy through slavery, is the same bear that is being hugged by a child on the streets of Shanghai at this very moment. Bizarre.

At that moment, it made me realise the power of marketing and the potential through different perspectives. It’s something that I hadn’t considered: different groups of people see things in different ways. Adopting this thinking, it made me reconsider fitbydesign’s perspective to my audience.

What would athletes think about fitbydesign? Does it intrigue the designers? Would it inspire artists to start their journey? Is it relatable to the gym enthusiasts? How would I introduce these groups to one another? These are all questions I don’t have answers to yet, but it does make me ponder.