Duolingo wants to make its green owl mascot ‘as famous as Pikachu’ with its first pop-up store

This story was first published on sister site, Modern Retail.

To say that the language learning app Duolingo relies a lot on its green owl mascot — also known as Duo — is something of an understatement.

The fluffy bird is plastered all over the company’s merchandise, from plushies and t-shirts to beanies and backpacks. On TikTok, all of Duolingo’s posts feature Duo, and often the content riffs on memes about Duo guilt-tripping people when they skip a language lesson. It’s a tactic that has won Duolingo, and its feathery mascot, a massive, if niche, fanbase, especially among Gen Z. Duo was even permitted to walk the red carpet after the app was referenced in the blockbuster movie Barbie. 

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