For Gurdeep, the "kidult" boom isn't a trend that YuMe chased. It's a space the that we were already in because it never really drew a distinction between designing for children and designing for fans.
"We've always designed with the assumption that people, regardless of age, want things that feel considered," he says. "Not just products, but almost art pieces."
Hero Box reflects that instinct. On the surface it's a blind box. In practice it's a format that lets YuMe frame an IP through a precise lens which is cinematic, graphic or nostalgic but without overworking it. The result is a collectible that earns its place on a shelf long after the unboxing moment has passed.
That discipline runs through everything. Gurdeep talks about designing in sets rather than singles, about stripping back to the silhouette and posture rather than adding detail for its own sake. "The more you strip back to what actually matters, the stronger the result tends to be" he says.
It also shapes how we work with licensors. Hero Box gives both sides a shared language a proven format that's still open enough for creative interpretation. Rather than asking which characters to include, the conversation becomes about how an IP should be seen.
"What's the right lens? What hasn't been overdone?"
With properties ranging from Solo Leveling and Hello Kitty and Friends to PlayStation's Astro Bot, the 2026 Hero Box slate shows that range in action with each series translated with the same discipline, applied to very different worlds.
"A good collectible used to be about likeness" Gurdeep says. "Now it's more about interpretation."