Sugar Minuet, new characters from Sanrio

Do not think that Sanrio is content to rest on the success of Hello Kitty, the powerhouse of cute is hard at work inventing new characters for the adoring hearts and minds of Japan’s youngest consumers (and their parents).

Sugarminuet, a pair of ballerina bunny sisters is the newest addition to the Sanrio family.

The older of the two is Ballet Usa (usa is short of usagi, or rabbit in Japanese), a make-up loving ballerina with a swan’s grace and pink fur. The younger is Prima Usa, a dreamy and romantic white bunny; both sport sparkly tiaras.

Debuting on August 8th, the pair have already established a line of goods that includes plush toys, stationery, and bags—all in a ballerina-esque blend of white and sugar pink and trimmed with ruffles, ribbons, and roses.

Sanrio’s other recent characters include Cherinacherine, two little bears who live in a cherry forest (born on June 16), and My Sweet Piano, an affectionate lamb with a strawberry cap and friend of My Melody (introduced on April 21).

Both line-ups of character goods featured fruit—cherries for Cherinacherine and strawberries for My Sweet Piano—a theme which coincided very nicely with the recent trend of sweet edibles as decorations for accessories.

Meanwhile, established Sanrio characters, the popular Sugar Bunnies, have been making recent appearances on Takara Tomy’s top-selling line up of kids’ kitchen toys, part of the cute cooking boom we covered here.