Some of the products in the Kirimi-chan collection that will debut next month (Rappler / Twitter).

Kirimi-chan, a fillet of salmon with arms and legs, is the newest character to join the Sanrio family. 

Last year, Sanrio asked the public to vote in an online voting contest for their favorite prototype character among the 20 options they were given. Though Kirimi-chan obviously won, the 19 other contestants were all food related characters. Among the 20 prototypes was a tofu, an egg, a pudding, fries, popcorn, and a bread-shaped panda. 

Though Kirimi-chan is not the first ocean-based character of Sanrio, she is Sanrio's first food-based character. 

There has been a rise in demand for food inspired stuffed toys. Many people have even begun to collect them! It is uncertain if this is the reason why Sanrio has decided to release food related products, but Sanrio is obviously beginning to walk on the path to releasing more food related characters.

The current Kirimi-chan collection has 16 items ready to debut in stores on Feb. 13, just in time for Valentine's Day. 

Reach Associate Food Editor Janelle Cabuco here.