UNIQLO's next growth driver in India isn't denim—it's fandom

"When Maggi limited-edition bowls were introduced on quick commerce platforms earlier this year, consumers rushed to get their hands on them. And at one point, the bowls disappeared from stock, fuelled by Instagram reels, social media posts and a healthy dose of nostalgia.

While many consumers spotted the collectible bowls, fewer may know that they can also buy Maggi-branded T-shirts and tote bags from Japanese apparel retailer UNIQLO. The only twist here? Unlike the bowls, which came bundled with noodle purchases, the merchandise cost up to Rs 1,490. The collection is part of UNIQLO's UTme! platform, a customisation-focused extension of its global UT graphic T-shirt business.

To spotlight the category and introduce more consumers to the world of UT, the retailer recently launched its first dedicated UT Pop-Up at Ambience Mall, Gurgaon, showcasing everything from anime and Japanese art to local collaborations with artists like Neha Sharma. "We wanted a lot more people to know about UT and also experience the pop culture aspect of it," says Nidhi Rastogi, marketing director for UNIQLO India.

According to Rastogi, the month-long pop-up was designed to do more than sell T-shirts. While stores are constrained by shelf space, the experiential format allows the company to showcase the different pillars of UT, including anime, art, Japanese culture, movies and character-based collaborations like Peanuts. "It was about creating an experiential zone for customers to interact with and understand UT beyond what we have in stores," she adds. UT versus UTme!

UNIQLO's graphic T-shirt business operates through two distinct formats. UT, the company's global platform, brings together collaborations with artists, museums, musicians, authors, anime franchises and entertainment properties. Previous collections have featured names such as Haruki Murakami, Billie Eilish and Harry Potter. UTme!, meanwhile, focuses on local culture and personalisation.

This is where collaborations such as Nestle-owned Maggi and Blue Tokai come in. According to Rastogi, these partnerships are developed either through brand outreach or by UNIQLO approaching brands it believes resonate with its audience.

The company also works with local artists and city-specific creators. For the opening of its new Pune store, for instance, UNIQLO introduced a UTme! collaboration with a local Pune artist, allowing shoppers to purchase city-themed T-shirts and tote bags."Besides global culture, local culture is equally important," Rastogi answers, explaining that UTme! is designed to reflect cultural connections that are relevant to Indian consumers. In fact, a lot of tourists buy these T-shirts as a souvenir while visiting cities. Graphic tees as an entry point For UNIQLO, graphic T-shirts are increasingly serving as an acquisition category.The marketing director exclaims that the company sees graphic tees as a form of self-expression, particularly among younger consumers who use fashion to communicate their interests, whether in anime, movies, music, books or art.

The retailer has also kept pricing relatively accessible. UT T-shirts are priced at Rs 1,490, while children's variants start at Rs 990. Interestingly, the pricing is not significantly different from many of UNIQLO's regular T-shirts, which are typically priced around the same range. And as per the company, the fabric quality remains consistent across categories even with the heavy printing done on the unisex T-shirts.

While she declined to share category-specific numbers, Rastogi described UT as one of UNIQLO India's top-performing categories and said awareness of the platform continues to grow year after year. But still, you won't find UTme! everywhere One reason consumers may struggle to find the Maggi collection online is that UTme! was never designed to be a mass-production business. Interestingly, the products are printed in-house using UNIQLO's own machines located at its Vasant Kunj store in Delhi. Because every design is produced through this customised setup, the company intentionally keeps the collections limited.

Rastogi maps out that UTme! was originally conceived as a personalisation service that allows customers to create their own T-shirts and tote bags. The limited-edition brand collaborations are an extension of that proposition. Because of the customisation element, the model cannot be scaled in the same way as regular apparel production. The collections are currently available only in select stores, reinforcing their limited-edition nature.

And going forward, the retailer expects more such brand collaborations. Nidhi Rastogi, marketing director, UNIQLO India Anime is emerging as a surprise winner While Maggi may grab attention because of its novelty factor, anime has emerged as one of the strongest-performing themes within UNIQLO's UT portfolio in India.

According to Rastogi, collections based on Jujutsu Kaisen have significantly outperformed expectations. The company is also seeing strong traction for its Japanese art collections, which it partly attributes to growing interest in Japanese culture among Indian consumers. To build on that momentum, UNIQLO is partnering with Anime India as the event"s silver partner. Scheduled to take place on 6 and 7 June at the Yashobhoomi Convention Centre in Delhi, Anime India 2026 is expected to bring together thousands of anime fans, gamers, cosplayers, creators, artists, and pop-culture enthusiasts from across the country.

UNIQLO will create a dedicated anime experience zone showcasing its collections and engaging directly with fans. Rather than treating anime as a trend, UNIQLO sees it as part of a broader shift towards interest-based communities and fandom-driven fashion. No celebrity blitzkrieg Unlike many fashion launches, UT is not backed by large-scale celebrity campaigns.According to Rastogi, around 60% of UNIQLO India's marketing investment is directed towards digital channels, including social media, programmatic advertising and digital media. The remaining 40% is spent on offline channels such as events, print advertising, outdoor media and experiential activations.

For UT specifically, the company relies heavily on community-led marketing. Instead of mainstream celebrities, it prefers working with niche creators and anime communities, whose interests naturally align with specific collections. "We feel authenticity is more important," Rastogi explains.

The company has also adopted city-specific approaches to attract younger consumers. During its Pune launch, for example, UNIQLO partnered with colleges and student communities, while its Bengaluru store opening will feature locally relevant UTme! collaborations. Physical stores still drive the business Despite the rapid rise of e-commerce and quick commerce in India, UNIQLO remains heavily dependent on physical retail.

According to Rastogi, around 85% of the company's business comes from stores, while online contributes the remaining 15%. The company currently has no plans to enter quick commerce or third-party marketplaces, arguing that customer experience is best managed through its own channels.

While bringing UTme! online is something the company continues to evaluate, the customisation-led production model presents operational challenges. The focus on UT comes at a time when UNIQLO is accelerating its expansion in India.The Japanese fashion brand opened a new store at Phoenix Marketcity Pune on May 15 and will launch another outlet at Phoenix Marketcity Bengaluru on June 5. India has become an increasingly important market for the retailer's parent company, Fast Retailing.

According to a Bloomberg report, Kenji Inoue, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of UNIQLO India, believes the company has the potential to expand its current market share of roughly 2% by tenfold. "India is recognised as an extremely important market for our group," he said.According to financial data provider Tofler, UNIQLO India generated revenue of Rs 1,176 crore and profit of Rs 178 crore in the financial year ended March 2025.

The company has also stated in its annual report that it aims to "swiftly" achieve sales of ¥100 billion in India, with the country expected to deliver double-digit revenue and profit growth over the coming year. Merchandise is having a moment UNIQLO's Maggi and Blue Tokai collaborations also reflect a broader shift in consumer culture. Merchandise is no longer limited to entertainment franchises. Indian fashion retailer Bewakoof has built an extensive portfolio around properties such as Disney, Star Wars and Stranger Things for years.

More recently, fashion platform AJIO launched merchandise inspired by the film Dhurandhar, with products starting at around Rs 500. Brands themselves are also increasingly experimenting with collectibles. McDonald's, for instance, has generated buzz through limited-edition tote bags and other branded giveaways tied to meal purchases. For UNIQLO, however, the focus is less on merchandise for merchandise's sake and more on self-expression.

Whether it's a Maggi tote bag, a Blue Tokai graphic tee or a Jujutsu Kaisen design, the company is betting that consumers increasingly want their interests and identities printed on what they wear. "