BoxLunch opened its first store in Los Angeles in October 2015, and within a week, founders Robert Tomsen and Steve Branes knew they had a hit on their hands.

How big of a hit? On Wednesday, the pop culture-oriented gift shop — the grown-up, civic-minded sibling of Hot Topic — opened its 47th store on the third floor of Ala Moana Center’s Ewa Wing. The company is aiming to open its 50th store by year’s end.

Brandi Hammons, BoxLunch’s manager of brand marketing, said Tomsen, vice president, general manager of merchandising and marketing, and CEO Branes noticed there was no place in malls for adults with an affinity for pop culture who had aged out of Hot Topic’s goth and rock ethos, so they set out to create a new playground.

“It’s fueled by American pop culture. If you like ‘Star Wars,’ we’ve got it. Disney and princesses, we’ve got it. And classic animation. There’s something for everyone, things you never knew you wanted or existed.

“We celebrate fandom and put everything together in a fun way. Instead of putting all T-shirts together, we categorize them in themes like ‘Alice in Wonderland.’”

Just as important as the merchandise mix is the company’s “Get Some. Give Back.” mission, with a promise to donate one meal to a person in need for every $10 spent in store or online.

The company partnered with Feeding America, which works with food pantries across the nation to fulfill their mutual mission. In Hawaii, funds raised will go directly to Hawaii Foodbank.

Since the company started, it has donated more than 2.5 million meals, and Hammons said it’s aiming to reach 3 million meals by the end of the year.

“We’re very proud of that,” she said. “We wanted the opportunity to make some change and realized the extent of the hunger crisis. We wanted to be able to contribute on a local level, so every store supports an area food pantry.”