London coffee company Grind has announced a new limited-edition collaboration with Sanrio’s Hello Kitty in celebration of the character’s 50th anniversary. The collection features the London-born icon on a Grind coffee tin, a reusable stainless steel coffee cup, and a t-shirt, all exclusively available at Grind, both online and at select locations.
The launch campaign features some of Grind’s favourite influencers and friends of the brand—Jamie Windust, Francesca Perks, Belinda Ingrid, and Daisy Austin—as they spend a day at Shoreditch Grind café drinking coffee while showcasing the collaboration products, as captured by photographer Charlie McKay and his team.
Sanrio’s best-known and most nostalgic character was, like Grind, born and raised in London. The collaboration unites Grind’s distinctive branding with Hello Kitty’s characteristic love for all things pink and all things cute. The products themselves feature retro Hello Kitty in her original 1974 look, when she was created and first appeared on a vinyl coin purse in Japan, but this time she’s holding her own Grind coffee cup.
Over the last 50 years, Hello Kitty has appeared on thousands of products, including a number of recent high-profile brand collaborations. The character can lay claim to theme parks, comics, TV series, video games, and a 2024 Somerset House exhibition that commemorated 50 years of Hello Kitty. Now, this nostalgic icon is taking on London’s favourite coffee.
The Hello Kitty | Grind products will be sold both as a gift set and individually. The t-shirt is available in sizes S-XXL, and the limited-edition tin comes free with subscription orders; customers can choose from Grind’s home-compostable pods, ground coffee, or whole bean coffee for inclusion in their tin.
David Abrahamovitch, Founder & CEO of Grind, commented: “Our collaboration with Hello Kitty celebrates the nostalgic charm of Sanrio’s most popular and loveable character. United by our London roots and our shared love for all things pink, we’re so excited to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Hello Kitty with a collection created in appreciation of such a universally-loved character.”
