Re-ment
In Japan artifical food is very popular, especially as decoration in restaurants and shop windows. So the Japanese company Re-ment (short for ""Reform Entertainment") had the idea to sell series of miniature items and food that target adult collectors.
For the most part Re-ment is sold in small boxes which contain a random set. Series with less parts (but often a higher number of sets) are sometimes sold in blind bags instead. Sometimes they also offer things like furniture or shop counters separately without the random effect.
There are new series all the time which typically consist of 6-12 individual sets per series. Everything is produced in limited amounts and series often sell out very fast. A covering box with an intact seal contains a complete series so serious collectors don't have to deal with duplicates and trading. From time to time there are said to be very rare sets, so-called secret sets, which as far as I know have alternate colours or different parts. How such a secret set is packacked in a covering box (if a regular set is missing then) I don't know and neither do I know if this is still practiced.
Besides food there are sometimes kitchen electronics or other household items too and for a while now Re-ment publishes many series in cooperation with Disney or Sanrio. Those sport famous characters like Hello Kitty or Winnieh Pooh then. The 1:6 - or sometimes 1:12 - scale makes the items perfect for use with fashion dolls. The series that come with small electronics like coffee machines or toasters are popular with dollhouse builders, of course. All items are very detailed and often come with movable or removable parts.
Apart from such series there are also so-called mascots or charms. Those are small motifs with eyelets for putting them on a necklace or using them as cellphone charm.
The pictures below show a typical covering box on the left. At the bottom you can see the seal which guarantees a complete set. The box contains eight smaller boxes like shown to the right in the photo and that box contains the individual parts - wrapped in plastic - , a small flyer with a photo of the set and several cutout accessoires like napkins, playmoney, place mats etc and a chewing gum. Series with little individual parts can be sold in blind bags like shown in the middle photo. The items are wrapped in thin cardboard so you can't feel the content. On the right is another pretty Sanrio set.
My opinion on Re-ment:
For a while collecting Re-ment was almost more fun for me than the actual dolls. It's an expensive hobby but I'm a big fan of miniatures and the level of detail in Re-ment is often spectacular. Especially my dollhouse benefits of many useful things I already got, from toasters to tins. Then for a long time there were only Disney series and pink sweets and I lost interest. Just when the series slowly became more interesting again and I bought a lot of Re-ment again the duplicates and some unreliable Ebay vendours likewise spoiled my fun. When I buy Re-ment now I only buy a whole box and since that is quite expensive I have to like at least six out of eight sets. Else I pass.
Apart from my disappointment with Plastikpop the quality of the items can't always convince me anymore. Although the details are still great I sometimes have defect parts in a set. Not very often but it happens. The mould lines are sometimes at weird places too that make them too obvious. Much worse is that more and more often items are made of soft plastic. They smell bad, thus contain much softener and are carcinogenic und they like to stick to other items after a while and when removing them they often take colour from the other item with them.
Another downside that can't be avoided is that many items recur. Of course I was excited when I got my first toaster but not so much anymore when I got the third. For other items however I'm waiting in vain, like a new series with camping supplies, potted plants or tools. Plastikpop doesn't get every series, either, so I miss some things. I don't blame them for that - maybe the sets were already sold out in Japan.
At the moment the things I wish for the most are: a breadmaker (which I missed in the series of which I own sets 1-4 twice - someone wanna trade?), an electric kettle, a new kitchenette, outdoor sets, potted plants (if there is one in a set I never got that particular set), a telephone, a gaming console (preferably not an X-Box), new Japanese and European meals (especially pizza and noodles again), Xmas food, Halloween sweets, a toolbox and traditional Japanese items (there once was a series with paper umbrellas, fans, sandals etc). All of that was made before and new versions would be much appreciated. Preferable without Rilakkuma, Hello Kitty or Disney characters. Okay, if there was another series with Starry Night characters I would probably buy it since I only got two packs of the last one. My Melody is also very cute with its bunnies and shrooms.