From bubble tea and corn dogs to K-pop and plushies, Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Chinese brands have captured the pocket-money market
Ayla and Edie, both aged 12, are hanging out in Westfield Stratford City, a shopping centre next to London’s former Olympic Park, on a Saturday afternoon. They first go to T4, a Taiwanese outlet that sells bubble tea – a sweet, multicoloured cold drink with chewy, or exploding, tapioca balls at the bottom. Ayla went for a rose tea; Edie for strawberry flavour. They cost £6 each. “It is quite expensive,” says Ayla, “but I earn money from doing chores like unloading the dishwasher, hanging up the laundry.”
They head a few metres down the centre to Kenji, a gift, homeware, snack and stationery shop that describes itself as an “east Asian-influenced brand”. As a birthday present for a friend, Ayla buys a £10 “sushi cat” plushie – a squidgy stuffed animal with a pillow strapped to its back as if it were a bed of rice topped with tuna. “My friend brings in sushi to school every day. She’s really into it,” Ayla says.
:format(jpeg):quality(80)/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/horoscop.jpg)
:format(jpeg):quality(80)/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/cat-costa-sa-treci-o-casa-pe-numele-tau.jpg)
