Paper bag collection, a spiritual SPA for young people

On Douban, there is a group called "Paper Bag Collection Museum", which brings together tens of thousands of collectors. Nowadays, the packaging of products is varied, which also attracts many friends who like to collect. What value does collecting paper bags bring? This article analyzes from the perspective of brand marketing, hoping to give you some inspiration.

A "cross-border transaction" during the Warring States Period has been denigrated by later generations for more than two thousand years.

A man from Chu State went to Zheng State to sell pearls. After paying, the man from Zheng State only kept the wooden box and returned the pearls. A line in Han Feizi, "This man can be said to be good at selling the box, but not good at selling the pearls," implies that the efforts were put in the wrong direction; however, in later generations, the buyer became a joke, and everyone laughed at him for buying the box and returning the pearls, making an inappropriate choice.

All we can say is that times have changed. If we put it in the context of Generation Z’s consumption in 2023, both of them seem reasonable. In order to sell pearls, the Chu people took great pains to “make a magnolia cabinet, smoke it with cinnamon and pepper, decorate it with pearls and jade, decorate it with roses, and compile it with feathers and jade.” As a result, this “packaging” marketing method hit the aesthetic taste of the Zheng people, who were willing to pay for the emotional value.

But in Generation Z, wooden boxes may become paper bags.

Ever since an American grocery store owner invented the paper shopping bag with handles in 1912, paper bags have mostly been just a packaging container for goods. However, in the past two years, driven by new tea drinks, paper bags are becoming one of the hottest collection categories among young people. On Xiaohongshu, the number of notes on paper bag collections has reached an astonishing 320,000+; the "Paper Bag Collection Museum" on Douban, founded in 2020, has gathered 52,163 "paper bag collectors."

The left is Douban's related topic groups, and the right is the total number of Xiaohongshu notes

Among this group, some people bought two Holiland bear paper bags for 100 yuan, some asked modification artists to convert LV paper bags worth 200 yuan each into fitness bags, and some people would rush to buy the "Joy Yellow" handbag jointly launched by Heytea and luxury brand Fendi on Xianyu.

Wang Ning, the founder of Pop Mart, once said that people will automatically limit their consumption of just-needed products, but almost everyone will be generous when it comes to spending to satisfy their spiritual needs. The more young people identify with the emotional value gained from a small paper bag, the more major brands will work hard on packaging design, continuously launching artist-limited editions and popular IP co-branded editions, further boosting the popularity of paper bag collection.

Just like the topic on Xianyu "Drinking milk tea for the surrounding area", for many young people, there are many reasons to drink coffee and milk tea, and collecting paper bags is becoming the most important one.

Compared with blind boxes and keep medals, this is probably a rare little happiness in life that doesn't cost much.

01 Buying tea from paper bags

After two years of getting into the business, Fan Yu has spent more than 400 yuan on Xianyu to buy Holiland paper bags, including city-limited series, UCCA exhibition series and other rare co-branded models. In order to preserve these paper bags, she even bought a thick booklet.

Transforming from a consumer to a collector is a common point among many paper bag collectors. Fan Yu is a loyal fan of Holiland. In 2020, Holiland launched a co-branded cheese with My Little Pony, and her mother bought one to take home. Fan Yu found that the matching paper bag was quite nice, and thus began her journey of collecting Holiland's paper bags. Unlike paper bag collectors who are not limited to a certain brand, Fan Yu only collects the Holiland brand. "I prefer the sense of accomplishment of being dedicated and consistent."

When Fan Yu posted the video of collecting paper bags on Xiaohongshu, she received many likes and attention, which made her more determined to collect all styles of Holiland paper bags. "I like to eat Holiland, and I can get bags by the way. This hobby is relatively inexpensive but can give me a sense of accomplishment."

Holiland paper bags from Amy's collection

Li Xin, another paper bag collector, is a regular customer of Luckin Coffee. Once, she saw a decorative painting made of coffee cup sleeves and liked it very much. Then she began to regret it. "I remembered that I had drunk so many drinks before and threw away all the cup sleeves around them. From then on, I started to collect them."

In addition to cup sleeves, good-looking paper bags are also included in Li Xin's collection plan, and her paper bag collection is almost all from Luckin Coffee. "At first, I only drank coffee, and then I didn't pay attention to the packaging and threw them away. Later I found that the paper bag packaging design is quite beautiful."

This is in line with the theory emphasized by Japanese packaging design master Fumihito Sasada in his book The Power of Design in 0.2 Seconds: "Shoppers only have 0.2 seconds to see the products before passing by the shelf. If you want customers to exclaim in this moment and be willing to stop and stay, you must rely on eye-catching packaging."

After getting into it, the innovative paper bag designs became Li Xin's motivation to continue collecting. "It feels fresh when new packaging and peripherals are released every once in a while."

In order to keep up with the brand's continuous introduction of new paper bags, Fan Yu and Li Xin will continue to purchase new products. She has collected more than 50 paper bags and more than 100 cup sleeves so far, and her favorite is Luckin's Sakura series.

Fan Yu collected 46 different Holiland paper bags, 82 in total, in two years. She prefers regular paper bags, and is not so fond of Holiland's limited edition cakes or Barbie doll series that need to be ordered on the official website, because "the material of the limited edition paper bags is different from the regular ones, so there is a lack of continuity in the collection", and the limited edition cakes are also expensive, which makes her lose the fun of spending little money to achieve great things.

After paying attention to paper bags, Li Xin found that sometimes she didn't place an order for the drinks, but just wanted to collect the bags and cup sleeves. But she only focused on Luckin Coffee. Not long ago, when the joint model of Heytea and Fendi became popular, she didn't buy it because she felt it was "endless." She would get information in a "cup sleeve & paper bag and peripheral communication group", which often shared the new news of major brands in the group. The main purpose of group members is to collect the joint paper bags, "because once it is sold out, it will be gone."

Xianyu users show the co-branded peripherals of Heytea and Fendi

Through the limited-time sale and constantly changing paper bags, major tea brands have cultivated a group of paper bag collectors, and these enthusiasts, in turn, have increased the brand's repurchase rate.

In fact, long before new tea brands started using paper bags for marketing, traditional brands had already used paper bags for brand promotion. In 2016, the famous luxury brand LV collaborated with industrial designer Marc Newson to launch a new Safran Impérial shopping bag. Today, this shopping bag has become one of LV's brand symbols.

Image source: LV official website

Using paper bags and other packaging designs to convey brand tone and concepts is also the reason why tea brands such as Heytea and Nayuki have worked hard on paper bag design. Heytea once told Jiemian that good looks, good communication and maintaining brand tone are symbiotic. For any brand, product packaging is always based on serving the product itself, and then satisfying the preferences of the target group, which is the so-called "good looks"; the final communication effect is the result of exerting brand influence on the basis of these two.

In Japan, collecting paper bags has even become a cultural phenomenon. Every summer, many people visit the Hiroshima Paper Bag Museum, which displays a large number of paper bags and introduces their production history and related cultural knowledge. This has also become one of the gathering places for Japanese paper bag enthusiasts and collectors. There is also a paper bag archive on Instagram that claims to be the world's largest online archive.

02 The temptation of collaboration

When searching for paper bags from major brands on Xiaohongshu, one key word that cannot be avoided is "collaboration".

In Li Xin's view, the continuous launch of new paper bags is a marketing routine for new consumer brands. According to incomplete statistics, from January 2022 to May 2023, Heytea has completed 23 joint ventures with 18 brands. In the same period, Nayuki's Tea and Luckin Coffee also completed 23 and 19 joint ventures respectively. Nayuki, which has the highest frequency, has almost completed the frequency of launching a joint venture every 1.5 weeks. At its peak, it created the action of completing two brand joint ventures in 7 days.

While artist-designed and well-known IP limited editions are emerging one after another, the matching paper bags have also become the favorites of collectors. For paper bag collectors, the reason for consumption is simple: if you link with my favorite IP, I will pay.

HEYTEA and Japanese fashion godfather Hiroshi Fujiwara launched a joint product "Cool Blackberry Mulberry", which has sold over 1 million cups. The matching paper bag was designed by Fujiwara himself; Luckin Coffee invited Indonesian illustrator Ardhira Putra to design a paper bag with a retro nostalgic style, which is also one of Li Xin's collections; Doraemon, Harry Potter, Spy House, Chibi Maruko-chan, Canglan Jue, Kuromi and a series of classic or popular IPs have collaborated with major brands and are equipped with exclusive paper bags.

On the one hand, artists and popular IPs have their own traffic and a certain fan base. Borrowing the iconic elements of IP in paper bag design can establish a deep connection with consumers; on the other hand, if the values ​​​​embodied in the IP are consistent with the brand, then the linkage between the two parties can also play a role in strengthening the brand tone. In other words, what attracts paper bag collectors is not only the "good-looking" visual design, but also the recognition and love of the IP itself.

Take the collaboration between Nayuki and “Wulin Wai Zhuan” as an example. Nayuki believes that “Wulin Wai Zhuan” conveys a very touching and warm emotional relationship and is an electronic pickle and safe haven for many people. On the paper bag of the co-branded tea drink “Baqi Durian”, the seven “residents” of Tongfu Inn stand in a row and wave to the audience. The design inspiration comes from the farewell shot at the end of episode 80 of “Wulin Wai Zhuan”. With the words “Hey, friend, we haven’t seen each other for a long time” printed on the paper bag, it just metaphorically represents the double return of Nayuki’s classic product Baqi Durian and “Wulin Wai Zhuan” IP.

Image source: @奈雪的茶 official Weibo

As mentioned earlier, these co-branded items are often sold in limited time, limited quantity, or even limited regions, which also leads to high prices for related paper bags on second-hand platforms, such as Holiland's little bear paper bag.

The bear paper bag is a joint product of Holiland and Pop Mart. This paper bag is only given away when you buy a hidden cake. Since the hidden cake is more expensive than the regular one, the number of sales and the number of buyers are also small, which makes the bear paper bag more expensive than other joint products on the second-hand platform. Out of the desire to collect them all and the appearance and scarcity of the paper bags themselves, Fan Yu once spent 100 yuan to buy two bear paper bags from Xianyu. This was her biggest purchase since she started two years ago.

In addition to scarcity, the prices of paper bags of some brands have also risen due to their high-end positioning. As a brand under the LV Group, LOEWE's tops in collaboration with Hayao Miyazaki's classic anime My Neighbor Totoro cost 3,200 yuan each, and its matching paper bags are priced at 180 yuan on second-hand platforms. The paper bags co-branded by LV and Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama can be sold for 200 yuan. Mengmeng, a paper bag collector, once spent more than 2,000 yuan to buy a set of "luxury brand" La Mer, and the brand's green paper bags are priced at 35 yuan on Xianyu.

According to China Business News, luxury paper bags are usually made of thick materials and are large in size. They also try their best to show a sense of luxury in details such as the handles and bag ties, such as Coach, Bottega Veneta, Prada, Saint Laurent, LOEWE, etc.

High-priced paper bags are emerging one after another. In order to make up for the losses, paper bag collectors will also sell some paper bags that are duplicates of their own collections. Fan Yu once sold more than ten bags at a price of 60 yuan including shipping. Li Xin introduced that in addition to buying and selling, paper bag collectors will also exchange their collections of paper bags to share what they have. However, it is often very difficult to achieve an exchange, because ordinary paper bags can be purchased at a low price on Xianyu, and "those big guys who have been playing for a long time, the rare models they want are simply difficult to get", and it is rare for both parties to have demand.

03 Every paper bag has a story and meaning

In psychology, the act of collecting paper bags is classified as "desire to preserve", which is the result of the combined influence of two factors: emotion and behavioral habits.

Zhang Chi believes that she has a hobby of collecting things - she likes to collect certain things, and paper bags happen to be such things. "My mother always complains that I am like collecting junk, and urges me to use them up quickly, otherwise they will take up space and get moldy." But these free paper bags are not worthless in her heart.

Zhang Chi initially collected paper bags just for practical purposes. She started using paper bags to carry books in middle school to help share the weight of her schoolbag. At first, she chose to use eco-friendly bags, but they were either too big or printed with large advertising slogans, which was too ugly. One day, she accidentally found a paper bag at home and used it, "and then I couldn't stop."

At that time, Zhang Chi liked to use the one-dollar MUJI kraft paper bags the most, "simple, beautiful and durable." Another reason she chose to use paper bags was the shape, "paper bags are square, and if things are not stacked, they will hardly move when placed in a row, and the shape of the items can be maintained." As the paper bags of brands such as Nayuki and Heytea became more and more beautiful, she gradually ignored the original purpose of practicality and officially embarked on the "road of no return" of collecting paper bags.

Now she usually carries two bags when she goes out, a paper bag + a shoulder bag/sling bag/backpack. Because she lives in a southern city, she cannot do without a small fan and a parasol in the summer, and when the small shoulder bag can't hold things, the paper bag comes in handy. She also coordinates her outfits and carefully matches the paper bag with her clothes. In this way, she changes a paper bag every day and can have a different one for a month.

In addition to using them for herself, when giving gifts to friends, she will also specially choose a paper bag suitable for the other person, pack it by hand, and affix sealing tape.

On platforms such as Xiaohongshu, you can also see many paper bag collectors sharing tips on how to reuse paper bags. For example, some people transformed the co-branded paper bags of Heytea and Fendi into tote bags, baguette bags, and underarm bags, while others transformed them into light paintings full of high-end atmosphere. Other brands of paper bags have been transformed into storage boxes, mobile phone cases, and other ways to transform them. Li Xin, who pays attention to environmental protection, transformed Luckin's paper bags into storage boxes.

As a supplier of portable cooler bags for brands such as Kashi and Mixue Bingcheng, Yuan Yunlong of Dazhu Company told NoNoise that because the material of the cooler bags can be reused many times, in order to increase their utilization rate, they will design some of the cooler bags into the crisp shape of women's small handbags.

Just as collecting paper bags has led to secondary market transactions, the secondary use of paper bags has also become a business. The handmade blogger "Aguaiya" on Xiaohongshu started to engage in the paper bag transformation business three years ago. A customer from Guangdong sent a paper bag co-branded by LV and Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, asking to transform it into a gym bag; another customer sent a Dior boutique paper bag, asking to transform it into a tote bag for cats.

Image source: Xiaohongshu user @阿怪呀

"Aguaiya" remembers that when she entered the industry three years ago, paper bag modification was still a niche business, and most of the paper bags sent by customers came from luxury brands. In the past two years, with the popularity of new tea brands, the demand for paper bag modification has become strong, and the sources of paper bags have become more diverse - paper bags from fast-moving consumer goods brands such as Heytea, Luckin Coffee, and Holiland have gradually increased. She has received dozens of orders for the recent joint paper bag modification orders from Heytea and Fendi.

Currently, the Taobao store of "Aguaiya" receives an average of 20 to 30 orders a day, with 60 to 70 orders during peak periods.

The paper bags not only carry the enthusiasts’ creative ideas, but also bear witness to their friendship and memories.

Each paper bag has a story and meaning. A friend brought back a small can of Cha Yan Yue Se tea from Changsha, and specially packed it in a Cha Yan Yue Se paper bag for Zhang Chi, saying that she knew she liked it. Seeing her friend come from such a long distance and the paper bag was still square, she said she was very moved. When she collected the candy-colored paper bags that were only available when the Uniqlo flagship store opened, Zhang Chi recalled the past when she and her friends skipped physical education classes in high school just to catch up with the flagship store to buy UT.

"I will probably keep these paper bags until they get moldy, because they have meaning." Every once in a while, Zhang Chi will sort out the paper bags, arranging them from small to large or from light to dark. Although she complained that her mother disliked her collecting paper bags, she also said that her mother never really threw them away. Sometimes, she would help me fold and put away the paper bags that I had used and put away randomly.

Li Xin received a private message from a boy on Xiaohongshu last week. The boy said that he had just discovered that the girl he liked also played with paper bags, so he wanted to collect some rare ones to give to her, but they were all very expensive on Xianyu. The boy asked Li Xin if she could sell cup holders and paper bags. Li Xin had rejected several similar private messages asking for purchases before, but this time, she sold all her extra collections to the boy.

"Ostrich's Gannet", a member of the Douban Paper Bag Collection Museum Group, specializes in collecting bookstore paper bags. "Bookstore paper bags don't have that many complicated patterns. They are often plain with the bookstore's logo. They have a unique, quiet beauty that gives people a quiet power."

She showed off a summer limited edition paper bag of Jumping Star Bookstore on Douban. The curve drawn on it represents the summer business hours and the timeline of the setting sun. The small orange stickers represent the sun. The stickers can be pasted anywhere, representing the position of the sun in everyone's heart at this moment.

Image source: Douban user @Ostrich's Gannet

This is also the emotional value that paper bag collecting gives to enthusiasts.

As paper bags gradually become the traffic code for major brands, the brands' continued efforts in paper bag design have boosted the popularity of paper bag collection, but the private memories and interests unique to collectors are the driving force that allows this niche collection to continue.

From this perspective, collecting paper bags is also collecting a part of yourself.

(At the request of the interviewees, Fan Yu, Li Xin, Zhang Chi, etc. are all pseudonyms in this article.)

Author: Huo Sijiu and Liang Xinying; Editor: Sun Jing

Source: NoNoise (ID: forjingyijing), there is too much noise, let's add something valuable