The first time a Yup! delivery arrived in the shop I spent a good ten minutes just picking things up. A tin of sardines with a zip along the lid. A block of butter you could put your pens in. A carrot with a gold zip and a proper leafy top. Customers do exactly the same thing at the counter, and that's really the whole point of the range.
This is a short guide to what Yup! is, who makes it, and how to pick the right one.
Who makes Yup!?
Yup! is the house brand of Marushin, a Japanese lifestyle-goods company based in Nagoya. Marushin is better known in Japan for towels and homewares, and for licensed character goods, but Yup! is their own creation.
The name is exactly what it sounds like. "Yup!" is the casual slang for "yes", and the idea behind the brand is things you'd use just as casually, day in, day out, that happen to make you smile. Every design starts from real food packaging, and the detail is what sets them apart: nutrition labels on the back of the cola can, the embossed lid on the tuna tin, the seeds stitched onto the tomato.
One thing I like: Marushin supports the Red Cup Campaign, so a portion of every Yup! sale goes towards school meals through the UN World Food Programme.
What they're actually made of
"Soft-touch" is the phrase everyone reaches for, and it's right for most of the range, but the pouches are not all the same.
- Tins, bottles, cans, jars and cartons are a synthetic leather outer with a polyester lining. The graphics are a mix of print and appliqué embroidery, which is why they read as packaging rather than a photo of packaging.
- Fruit and vegetables like the carrot and corn are mainly polyester with synthetic leather trim, so they have a bit more give.
- The cakes are a fur-effect fabric with embroidered detail and a YKK zip. They look like they came out of a patisserie window.
- The crisp packet is clear PVC, so you can see what's inside.
None of it is leather, so they wipe clean and they're fine in a school bag.
Which size do you need?
This is the question I get most, because the photos don't show scale.
Tall bottles
Hot sauce and sparkling water are around 23 cm high and about 6.5 cm across. Pens, brushes, a ruler, a folding scissors. Hot Sauce · Sparkling Water
Cans
Cola, canned orange juice and corn are around 17 to 19 cm high. A good everyday pencil case. Cola · Canned Orange Juice · Corn
Tins
The tins are flat, roughly 16 cm wide and 11 cm deep, and hold surprisingly more than you'd expect. Makeup, cables, a fistful of erasers. Caviar
Fish
Long and flat, about 17 cm, and they come with a keyring. Small change and a lip balm, or a couple of pens. Fish Yellow
Cakes and fruit
These are the roomy ones. The strawberry cake is about 9 cm each way with a proper gusset, so it works as a makeup bag. Strawberry Cake · Chocolate Cake · Aubergine · Carrot
Eco pouches
The cheese has a fold-away shopping bag inside. Keep it in your handbag and stop paying for carrier bags. Cheese Eco
Who buys them?
Honestly, everyone. Students who want a pencil case nobody else has. People who collect Japanese stationery. Parents looking for a birthday present that isn't plastic tat. And a steady stream of adults buying one "for a friend" who then come back for themselves.
If I had to pick three to start with: the Hot Sauce bottle for pens, the Caviar tin for makeup, and the Aubergine because it's ridiculous and everyone asks about it.
Where to see them
We keep the full range on the shelves at Callender Street, so you can pick them up and squeeze them, which I recommend. The whole collection is online too:
