Sanrio seems to be going all out this year for Hello Kitty’s 40th birthday. In fact, the world’s first ever Hello Kitty Con was held this past weekend. And don’t worry if you missed it. The convention may be over, but the birthday celebrating sure isn’t.
The Japanese American National Museum’s newest exhibition, Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty, will be up until April 26, 2015. You can also take part in the Hello Kitty Hungry Hunt until November 21st, which has participating locations offering limited edition Hello Kitty themed food and beverage items as well as a collectible Hello Kitty Hungry Hunt enamel pin.
So why all the big fuss, you ask?
Sanrio’s Yuko Shimizu introduced this iconic, mouthless kitty in 1974. According to Sanrio, Hello Kitty, who’s actual name is Kitty White, was born in London, England. She is the same height as five apples stacked on top of one another and her weight is three apples put together.
By 1999, Hello Kitty was appearing on 12,000 products yearly. By 2008, Hello Kitty was responsible for half of Sanrio’s billion dollar revenue. There were over 50,000 different Hello Kitty branded products in more than 60 countries.Today, Hello Kitty is worth $5 billion a year and has become a worldwide phenomenon.
Even if you can’t make it out to the Hello Kitty exhibit or participate in the Hello Kitty Hungry Hunt, you can still celebrate the birthday of our beloved Hello Kitty with one of these adorable Hello Kitty cakes.
For today’s #tbt, check out our Top 15 Adorable Hello Kitty Cakes below.
(Source)
