Operation Golden Dumpling

Igniting a Viral Trend with Five Below

A rare golden dumpling. A hidden ticket. A $1,000 shopping spree. Five Below gave shoppers a reason to follow the story, join the search and head to their local store.

Analysis | Influencer Strategy | Retail

Challenge

Five Below was preparing to launch its limited-edition Golden Ticket Dumpling Series, a collection of $7 squishy toys with a rare golden version hidden among the standard inventory. Finding it meant winning a $1,000 Five Below shopping spree.

The campaign set out to build anticipation around this exclusive product launch, spark social conversation and bring that excitement into stores. The hunt itself became the hook: shoppers could follow the clues, compare notes and see if they could find the golden dumpling.

Solution

Five Below partnered with Later and Kepler to bring the campaign to life. Later led strategy, creative, creator partnerships and community management, introducing “Goldie,” the rare golden dumpling, as the star of the story.

From teaser content and paparazzi-style videos to location clues and a parody news takeover, each moment gave fans another reason to follow along. Creators helped fuel the search across social platforms, while real-time community management kept conversations moving and audience theories in play.

Kepler supported the partnership with media planning, campaign management & analytics, tracking how the campaign traveled across social and translated into retail impact.

Results

The Golden Dumpling hunt became a nationwide retail moment, earning a MediaPost OMMA Award in the Contest/Promotion/Sweepstakes category.

100%

of limited-time inventory sold out nationwide

4x

spike in store traffic on launch day

36%

increase in nationwide single-day sales

69M+

impressions across social platforms

5.47%

average engagement rate, compared with a 3% retail baseline

By connecting a playful product, a character-led story and a real-world reward, Five Below, Later and Kepler helped turn a limited-edition launch into a hunt shoppers wanted to be part of.