Sanrio Baking Lab – Experiential Marketing Case Study

Transforming fandom into hands-on brand loyalty

The Sanrio Baking Lab is a premium, character-themed baking activation that deepens engagement with Sanrio’s most passionate superfans. More than a workshop, it positions itself as an immersive brand laboratory. A place where play, creativity, and culinary delight come together to build community and loyalty.

Sanrio Baking Lab character roll cakes featuring Cinnamoroll, My Melody, Hello Kitty, Pom Pom Purin, and Pochacco displayed on a white tray as part of immersive experiential activation.

The Core Experience

Guests step into the Sanrio Baking Lab and choose from pre-made roll cake bases in signature character colors—soft pink for My Melody, sunny yellow for Pompompurin, or bright white for Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll, or Pochacco. Over a 15–20 minute hands-on session, they decorate their roll cakes with colored chocolate piping, edible glitter, and branded accessories. Each cake is placed in bakery boxes.

Strategic Framework

This concept is retention-focused, targeting existing superfans to nurture long-term loyalty. The strategy builds around:

Scarcity and premium positioning: Hosted as four seasonal weekend events per year in high-traffic urban destinations.
Community and digital integration: Recipe cards, instructional videos, and Instagram contests encourage fans to recreate and share their cakes at home.
Retail synergy: Event-exclusive collectibles of limited-edition vinyl figures to specialty baking tools, fuel repeat visits and cross-channel engagement.

Key Differentiators

Character-specific flavors: e.g., My Melody’s strawberry flavored cake.
Collectible recipe cards: a complete set builds only through multiple visits.
Exclusive baking supplies: available solely at the Sanrio Baking Lab.
A “lab” identity: Elevates the experience beyond a generic DIY class into a premium brand immersion.

Concept Development Notes

Notes and sketches capturing the early ideation for this activation. These notes outline objectives, loyalty strategy, and exclusivity elements, while the sketches explore character roll cake concepts and seasonal collectibles illustrating the creative process behind shaping the Sanrio Baking Lab into an immersive experiential design.

Sanrio Baking Lab exterior experiential design with giant mixing bowl building, oversized baking tools, Hello Kitty and Cinnamoroll mascots, and immersive pop-up activation in a city street setting.

The Whimsical World of Sanrio Baking Lab

The exterior of the Sanrio Baking Lab is designed as a giant mixing bowl surrounded by oversized baking tools, including a rolling pin, whisk, and flour and sugar bags. The playful façade is decorated with pastel hearts and golden stars, creating a whimsical, larger-than-life baking fantasy. Outside, Sanrio mascots like Hello Kitty and Cinnamoroll greet guests while fans gather to take photos, establishing the experience as both an immersive brand landmark and a social media magnet.

Sanrio Baking Lab interior with pink bakery counter, staff in uniforms, roll cakes on display, pastel icing piping bags, and families lining up for immersive cake decorating experience.

Inside the Baking Lab

Inside the Sanrio Baking Lab, guests are welcomed by a pastel-pink interior where bakery staff guide them through the decorating experience. A display case filled with roll cake bases, pastel piping bags, and jars of colorful sprinkles sets the stage for hands-on creativity. Families gather around to select cakes and prepare for the decorating process, capturing the joyful and immersive atmosphere that blends retail, participation, and brand storytelling.

Decorating Kit Essentials

Each guest at the Sanrio Baking Lab receives a tray with everything needed to bring their custom character roll cake to life. The kit includes a pre-made roll cake base, colorful icing piping bags, edible glitter, candy shapes, and signature character accessories. The curated presentation transforms decorating into an approachable, hands-on experience while reinforcing Sanrio’s playful and collectible brand identity.

Child decorating Hello Kitty roll cake with chocolate piping and colorful toppings at Sanrio Baking Lab immersive experiential activation.

Hands-On Cake Decorating at the Sanrio Baking Lab

Guests bring their favorite Sanrio characters to life through a playful, hands-on decorating session. The activity highlights the Baking Lab’s focus on interactive brand engagement, family-friendly participation, and personalized fan experiences, turning every cake into a shareable memory.

Straight from My Melody’s Kitchen

One of My Melody’s favorite hobbies is baking cookies with her mother, and this treat brings that story to life. Guests are served pink cookies shaped like My Melody herself, turning her beloved pastime into a sweet, edible detail that deepens the character connection and enhances the communal feel of the Baking Lab experience.

Sanrio Baking Lab Cinnamoroll-themed mini cinnamon rolls inspired by his Café Cinnamon story, topped with vanilla glaze, pastel blue glitter, and star sprinkles for immersive fan experience.

Cinnamoroll’s Sweet Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamoroll’s favorite food is cinnamon rolls, and at Café Cinnamon where he spends time with his friends, he often bakes them fresh. At the Baking Lab, guests are treated to mini cinnamon rolls topped with gooey icing, pastel-blue glitter, and star-shaped sprinkles, a whimsical nod to both his character story and signature treat.

Sanrio Baking Lab iced vanilla lattes inspired by Pom Pom Purin, created as a special twist on his favorite milk drink, served with custom character stirrers during immersive activation.

Pom Pom Purin’s Vanilla Latte Twist

Pom Pom Purin’s favorite drink is milk, but for the Baking Lab he wanted guests to have something a little more special. His signature beverage is a creamy iced vanilla latte, topped with custom character straws that bring his playful charm to life. The drink refreshes guests while weaving Sanrio storytelling into the overall experience.

Sanrio Baking Lab staff placing custom My Melody roll cake into branded bakery box with clear display window for safe transport and presentation.

A Sweet Take-Home Finish

Once guests finish decorating their custom roll cakes, staff carefully place them into bakery boxes with a clear window. The packaging is designed to protect the cake during transport while showcasing the playful Sanrio character design inside, ensuring the guest’s creation makes it home safely and Instagram-ready.

Sanrio Baking Lab merchandise area with exclusive aprons, baker-themed character plushies, baking utensils, and limited-edition desserts available for guests during experiential activation.

Exclusive Sanrio Baking Lab Merchandise

The Sanrio Baking Lab extends the experience beyond the kitchen with a retail area filled with event-exclusive merchandise. Guests can shop for aprons featuring their favorite characters, baker-themed plushies, specialty baking utensils, and additional character-inspired desserts. This integration of retail and experiential design encourages fans to take a piece of the Baking Lab home, blending participation with collectible ownership.

Collectible Roll Cake Vinyl Toys

To make the Sanrio Baking Lab even more irresistible to superfans, each seasonal weekend event features exclusive vinyl toys designed to look just like the roll cakes guests decorate inside. Characters include Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll, My Melody, Pochacco, and Pom Pom Purin. Since the Baking Lab runs one weekend per quarter for a year, every quarter introduces a new set of characters and themes. This strategy encourages superfans to return every season, creating a sense of urgency and community around completing the full collection.

Sanrio Baking Lab photo opportunity area styled as a pink kitchen with Hello Kitty and My Melody baking displays, cookie stools, oversized props, and immersive backdrop for guests to share on social media.

Picture-Perfect Baking Moments

The Sanrio Baking Lab includes a dedicated photo area designed for guests to capture and share their experience on social media. Styled as a My Melody’s pastel-pink kitchen, the space features cookie-shaped stools, floral accents, and plush displays of My Melody and Hello Kitty in baking attire. This Instagram-ready setting reinforces the playful brand identity while driving organic social reach and fan-generated content.

Too Sweet to Miss

The Sanrio Baking Lab demonstrates how a single interactive moment can evolve into a multi-layered brand ecosystem blending hands-on creativity and collectible exclusives. By grounding each detail in character storytelling and designing for both scarcity and community, the activation not only delights superfans but also strengthens long-term loyalty. More than a pop-up, it becomes a recurring cultural touchpoint that transforms fandom into an ongoing, lived experience.