Monetization in the IP Era: How Yiwugo Merchants Are Cashing In

YIWU, China, Sept. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Yiwugo.com, the official website of the Yiwu Commodity Market, is the largest commodity wholesale market in the world. Data from Yiwugo shows that the "toys" category has topped the platform's "Popular Market Categories" ranking over the past two months. Similarly, the keyword "action figures" has consistently led Yiwugo's search trends during this period — a clear sign of strong wholesale demand, particularly for IP-based figurines and toys. In the East Expansion Area of Yiwu International Trade City, a growing number of stores specializing in premium IP-licensed toys have emerged in the last two years. Their Yiwugo storefronts are seeing heavy traffic and delivering impressive sales conversions.

Chen Huijun and her husband have been running Baimao Keychain Pendant for over a decade. In 2019, they shifted their business to become one of the first vendors in Yiwu to dive into IP-based products. "The transition was tough," Chen admits, "but it paid off".

In 2022, Baimao Keychain Pendant secured the license to manufacture and distribute Nailoong IP pendants and desktop figures. After passing a strict and lengthy review process, the company became the category's exclusive authorized producer in the Yiwu market in 2023. Thanks to high-quality craftsmanship, strict production standards, and the intrinsic appeal of the beloved cartoon series, product sales surpassed 6 million units within just five months. Baimao has since grown into a trusted supplier for leading retailers like Lenle and The Green Party (under Guangdong Kailan Brand Management Co., Ltd.), as well as Miniso and RT-Mart. Internationally, the company's presence on e-commerce platforms like Yiwugo and participation in toy fairs at home and abroad have driven Nailoong products into strong demand across Southeast Asia, with orders now backed up for months.

Over the past two years, Baimao has also secured licenses for popular IPs such as Butter Bear, My Little Pony, and Disney. These brands not only carry strong market appeal on their own, but also permit qualified manufacturers like Baimao to conduct derivative creation, opening more space for innovation and competitive differentiation. In 2024, the company's My Little Pony line surpassed one million units per quarter. With the upcoming Year of the Horse on the Chinese lunar calendar, Chen expects sales to climb even higher.

While Baimao focuses mainly on licensed IP products, Wu Yanfang has built her business around original IP products. With over 30 years of experience in handmade custom dolls, she has consistently prioritized developing in-house original characters and IP.

In her early years, Wu specialized in high-end custom dolls, each priced at over ¥2,000. In 2023, she founded Yiwu DZPIPPI Toys Co., Ltd. and brought her brand onto Yiwugo, where she now offers original IP products like the rustic-style DZPIPPI doll and takes custom IP orders.

Over the past three years, Wu has introduced machinery to scale production without compromising quality. What began with a single artisan spending seven days on one handmade doll has grown into a 200-employee factory producing around  5,000 pieces per day. Her design team — led by four core members with over 30 years of combined experience — includes several designers well-known in the industry.

The team's talent shone through in 2024 with the launch of Mi Rabbit, an original IP pendant. Featuring a cute design, exquisite workmanship, and high-quality fabrics and filling, the product achieved an in-store conversion rate of over 80%. It sold more than 100,000 units in under a year, becoming a hit both online and in brick-and-mortar stores, with international buyers placing repeat orders.

DZPIPPI tailors its products to different markets. In 2025, two girl-themed pendants designed for Japan resonated strongly with local tastes, earning particular praise for their fabric and color combinations, with single orders regularly exceeding 3,000 units. For Spain, a chick-shaped doll proved so popular that every Spanish customer who visited the store purchased one — becoming something of a legendary design within the company. Domestically, an original dog-themed pillow perfectly captured consumer interest and now generates monthly sales of around ¥300,000.

Another key strength of DZPIPPI is its skill in refining design details and improving client-supplied prototypes, making custom IP dolls more appealing and polished. A well-known Chinese IP company had approached multiple factories in Guangzhou and Yiwu before finally connecting with Wu through Yiwugo. Impressed by her design revisions and samples, the company placed an initial order of 10,000 dolls, and the partnership continues to this day.

Amid the flourishing IP economy, Yiwugo has spent over ten years bringing the physical market online, fostering integration between online and offline, wholesale and retail, as well as domestic and international trade. This enables merchants to connect accurately with global buyers. Today, Yiwugo vendors are riding the wave of both IP licensing and original IP development, turning creativity into revenue and strengthening their brands.

SOURCE Yiwugo.com