There’s a new challenger on the trading card scene, and collectors are going to have to make more room for another cool collection. Kayou is a major Chinese collectible card brand with a focus on being “Here for the Superfans.” Each card is made from high-quality paper, featuring unique textures and foil designs to enhance the wow factor. The company also carries stationery, plush, and other licensed collectibles.
At this year’s New York Comic Con (NYCC), the Kayou booth had displays of various cards from their portfolio, as well as the three initial collections launching in the U.S. featuring My Little Pony, tokidoki, and Naruto. The booth also had a massive custom painting from My Little Pony comics illustrator Andy Price, as well as autograph and meet-and-greet sessions with Price, Tara Strong (Twilight Sparkle), Maile Flanagan (Naruto Uzumaki), and Simone Legno, the founder of tokidoki. The booth also featured a face painting station to give fans a pony-fied makeover, tokidoki card-themed cookies, and a Naruto cosplayer photo op.
We had the opportunity to stop by Kayou‘s booth at NYCC and spoke with Sergio Godinho, the U.S. General Manager of Kayou. Celebrating the brand’s official U.S. debut at the con, we got to take a tour of the booth and check out the upcoming collections, and ask some questions about the collectible card brand’s goals and plans for the near future.
What makes Kayou’s cards different?
Well, it’s two things. One is card quality. We consider ourselves (to be) craftsmen at what we do, and you can see that throughout our cards no matter what the set is. And two is that we’re artist-driven, so we have a diverse and large team of artists that (are) divided between 13 different studios, so every IP gets handed off to the studio, and that studio lives and breathes that IP. You can see the artist’s vision and artistry come to life through the cards. Those two things make us unique.
We know that Kayou is currently very popular in China, what makes now the right time for the brand to establish itself here in the U.S.?
The card market has never been as big as it is. There’s a lot of room for us to come in and launch at this time. With what we’re launching with, we have two IPs that skew female (My Little Pony and tokidoki) and I think it allows us to offer something different in the market that isn’t being served in the way that it could be.
I love that My Little Pony is multi-generational with the fact that it’s been around for 40 years. Whether you’re a girl that’s four or five years old or whether you’re a mom in your thirties and forties, you get a chance to appreciate the art. Serving different communities and really expanding the card market is going to be something we do, especially with the sets that we’re launching (this year).
Can fans expect to see Kayou at other cons?
Absolutely. We’re in the middle of trying to decide which conventions we’ll attend. Some are very popular, so there’s a waiting list to get in. It’ll be on a case-by-case basis, but we’re happy with how we get to engage with the fans. So you’ll definitely see us at future conventions, though I can’t say which ones now, but we definitely want to be a part of the community and we want to serve fans, since we’re all about the super fans.
Where can fans find these cards outside of conventions?
We’ve put a lot of effort in the past couple of months, and we’ve been able to not only go to distribution, but also sign up directly with retailers. You’ll find (Kayou’s cards) in Walmart, Target, Barnes & Noble, BoxLunch, Hot Topic, (and) your local hobby stores. A lot of the different retailers you can think of where you normally buy cards, you’ll be able to find Kayou cards. Anywhere where fans are, that’s where we’ll ultimately be.
After checking out the upcoming collections Kayou plans on launching, we’re sure you’ll want to get your hands on these cards. From fancy foil effects to intentional textures, these cards are both collectible and a work of art, all in one. To stay informed about Kayou’s latest drops, follow them on their Instagram and TikTok, and visit kayouofficial.com.
