Don't make Lego, don't learn Bubble Mart! Why did Chinese LEGO Bruco penetrate the US market

While most Chinese trendy toys are still cautiously testing the waters in Southeast Asia, Blokees, which started with Ultraman, has quietly placed its building blocks on the desks of American children.

When the mid-2025 financial report was released, this company, known as the "Chinese LEGO," caused a stir in the industry: revenue for the first half of the year reached 1.338 billion yuan, net profit was 297 million yuan (after four consecutive years of losses), and overseas revenue hit 110 million yuan, a ninefold year-on-year increase, making Indonesia and the US "cash cows."

Some say it follows LEGO into the high-end market, but it breaks through with cost-effectiveness; some compare it to Pop Mart’s original IP, but it relies on global IPs to make its mark.

What is it that enables Blokees to sell Chinese building toys into American homes? We’ve broken down its three key strategies for going global, which reveal a new logic for Chinese toys expanding overseas.

Image source:Blokees

1.YouTube “nostalgia hit”, TikTok interaction breaks the circle

Blokees ignited its entry into the US market onYouTube.

In 2024, it launched its official channel, not promoting Ultraman or its brand, but focusing on one thing: recreating Transformers stop-motion animations with building blocks. From the classic G1 battles of 1984 to iconic scenes from the 2024 film "Transformers: Origins," all are recreated with building blocks.

The first video, "Optimus Prime vs Megatron: 30 Years of Nostalgia," surpassed 5 million views, with American netizens flooding the comments with “my youth is back.” In 7 months, the channel only updated Transformers content, yet gained 1 million followers, with the highest single video reaching over 20 million views.

This isn’t just “doing social media,” it’s “telling American stories with toys.”

Later, Blokees brought the play toTikTok: launching the #BuildMyTransformer challenge, encouraging users to build their own “custom” Transformers. Some creators built “Optimus Prime + Spider-Man,” with views exceeding a million; parents posted their kids’ “mini Bumblebee” builds, sparking a parent-child building craze.

Meanwhile, Blokees collaborated with toy experts and parent bloggers: experts filmed “Build Optimus Prime in 10 Minutes,” highlighting ease of use; parent bloggers posted “kids creating stories with building blocks,” hitting the pain point of parents wanting “less screen time.” All social media traffic ultimately led to Amazon orders.

Image source:YouTube

2. Avoiding the giants, locking in children with “cost-effectiveness + details”

Hype can bring traffic, but what makes American parents willing to pay is the product itself.

Blokees’ strategy: using the Transformers IP to enter the young children’s market, avoiding Hasbro’s focus on adults and collectors.

It simplified the parts and transformation features so that children aged 4-12 can build independently; after assembly, the joints are movable, and a “battle scene base” is included. Many parents commented on Amazon: “Hasbro’s transformations are too complicated for kids, but Blokees’ can be built by themselves and used for storytelling.”

In terms of price, Blokees is about $3 cheaper than Hasbro, and also includes a base. Toy reviewers say Blokees’ paint is even, joints are durable, and “kids can play rough and it won’t break easily.”

This “cost-effectiveness + details” approach worked directly: in 2024, Blokees’ Transformers IP revenue reached 454 million yuan, becoming its second largest IP; in the first half of 2025, North American revenue for this series surged 21 times year-on-year.

3.Channel transformation: from offline setbacks to Amazon sales explosion

Blokees took a detour in its early days in the US.After its 2020 financing, it tried to replicate its domestic model, stocking Toys "R" Us and Walmart, but due to lack of brand recognition, sales were dismal and overseas revenue lingered below 2% for a long time.

It wasn’t until2024 that Blokees fully shifted online, especially betting on Amazon. US toy consumption has clearly moved online, with Amazon’s online toy sales exceeding $133 billion, far surpassing offline retail.

Blokees’ approach on Amazon is very“down-to-earth”:

Optimizing search:Directly adding keywords like“Transformers” and “children’s building blocks” to titles;

Winning trust through reviews+ratings:Unboxing by influencers and positive fan reviews keep ratings at4.8/5;

Holiday ranking:Launching “Transformers gift box” during Christmas season, ranking top three in children’s toy hot lists.

The results were immediate:In the second half of 2024, Blokees’ overseas revenue jumped from 11.2 million to 64.2 million, a nearly sixfold increase, with 70% coming from Amazon. The channel model is also completely different from domestic—offline in China, online overseas.

4.Not following others’ paths is Blokees’ true value

The industry often asks: Can Blokees become the“Chinese LEGO”? Can it go global with culture like Pop Mart?

The answer may be no, but that is precisely its value.

LEGO’s core is “play IP,” the square block’s “LEGO feel” is highly recognizable; Blokees’ blocks are more “serving IP,” lacking exclusive symbols. Pop Mart relies on “original IP culture export,” while Blokees depends on licensed IPs; its original IP “Hero Infinity” (inspired by Journey to the West and Investiture of the Gods) accounts for less than 17% of revenue, and it will take time for foreigners to buy Chinese mythology building blocks.

But Blokees’ breakthrough is right here: not fixated on original IP, first using global IPs to open doors; not stubbornly pursuing high-end, but capturing ordinary families with cost-effectiveness; not insisting on offline, but shifting online with user habits.

In 2025, Blokees has new moves: exhibiting Minions and Sesame Street series at the New York Toy Fair, planning to expand into Europe; but challenges remain—Ultraman’s overseas license expires in 2025, original IP has yet to gain traction, and how to sustain growth is still a problem.

But in any case, Blokees has already proven: Chinese toys going global is not limited to the“LEGO model” or “Pop Mart model.” Finding its own rhythm—even starting by “playing Transformers with American kids”—can carve out a Chinese path.