McCormick second-year Toby Zheng’s favorite Smiski sits atop his desk, nose buried into its miniature laptop. Another green glow-in-the-dark figurine squats on the edge of his standing mirror, shouting through a silicone megaphone to hype up Zheng’s reflection. In total, seven of these collectible toys have infested his dorm — and Zheng is not the only victim of the Smiski craze.

Blind boxes are packages of collectible figurines that keep their contents a mystery until they are opened. With the rising popularity of Smiskis and other blind box brands like Sonny Angel and POP MART, the blind box market is booming now more than ever. The phenomenon has reached Lake Michigan’s shores, with the first POP MART store in the Midwest opening on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue this year.

Though the blind box boom is recent, the concept has been around since the 1980s. The concept of randomized blind boxes originated in Japan with the emergence of “fukubukuro,” which were bags put together in supermarkets containing products that were not selling well. Another iteration of the idea became popular in the toy market with the introduction of “gashapon” in the 2000s, randomized toys in plastic capsules dispensed through vending machines. Over time, the “fukubukuro” and “gashapon” combined to become the blind boxes people know and love today. The appeal of blind boxes began due to its mystery, but it doesn’t end there. The designs are often irresistibly cute, attracting consumers who love collecting adorable decor.

“The items are very miniature and it just gives the cutesy aesthetic,” says Weinberg third-year Therese Mañego, who has collected 15 Sonny Angels so far. “I don’t see people getting blind boxes for things that are ugly.”

Blind box companies also strategically tempt consumers with a preview of the different poses and designs available in a particular box.

Mañego says her favorite SonnyAngel design is one from the company’s “Message of Love” collection: a baby angel with a strawberry cow-printed hat.

“Every time a new set releases, there’s always one that I feel like I like more than others,” Zheng says. “It’s part of the risk [and] reward that makes it appealing.”

Apart from retaining existing customers, companies also lure new blind box fans by releasing collections as part of collaborations with well-known shows or games in pop culture. well-known shows or games in pop culture.

Kira Kabuki, a popular blind box content creator with over 1.3 million followers on TikTok, says her love for Sanrio is what got her into blind boxes. Her content creation journey began last year, when she went to her local mall to make an Easter care package for her best friend and discovered Sanrio-themed blind boxes at the Hot Topic in the mall.

“I wasn’t really familiar with the blind box market at the time, but I thought the concept was really cool,” Kabuki says. “So I got one for myself also and made a video about it. I shared it to socials and then the rest is history.”

Kabuki often teams up with blind box companies to market the sensation to mainstream audiences. She has collaborated in advertising campaigns with brands such as POP MART, Suteki Gifts and Bandai Namco for upcoming products.

Much of running her social media involves making content and marketing blind box productions, but Kabuki’s favorite part of her channel is being able to foster a community of collectors who unite under the joy of unboxing pleasant surprises.

Perhaps that is the biggest appeal of blind boxes, even beyond their eye-catching marketing tactics — they bring together a community bonded by shared moments of joy, surprise and love for cute, collectible trinkets.

“It’s those comments I see at the channel that say, ‘Hey, I was feeling really down or I’m struggling through something, but this is the first thing I saw on my feed and it really made me feel better,’” Kabuki says. “If I can help motivate people and just bring that little ounce of joy to everyone’s day, it’s really something special to me.”