Cute or weird? How Labubu dolls became a worldwide craze

You may find them cute, ugly or just plain weird — but chances are you've heard of the furry dolls that have become a global sensation: the Labubu.

Born as a monster, the elfin-looking creature created by Chinese manufacturer Pop Mart has become an internet sensation. And it has a legion of celebrity fans: Rihanna , Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian and Lisa, from the South Korean music group Blackpink.

But the fascination isn't limited to celebrities — from Shanghai to London, long lines to buy the dolls have made headlines, and in some cases even resulted in fights.

"You feel a huge sense of victory when you manage to buy one, amidst so much competition," says self-confessed fan Fiona Zhang.

The global fascination with Labubu has nearly tripled Pop Mart's profits over the past year — and, according to some analysts, has given new life to China's soft power , which has been eroded by the pandemic and strained relations with the West.

But how did it all start?

What exactly is Labubu?

This is still an unanswered question for many people — and even those who know the character's origins can't always explain the phenomenon.

Labubu is both a fictional character and a brand. The word itself has no meaning. It is the name of one of the characters in the toy series The Monsters , created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung.

The vinyl faces are attached to plush bodies, with a distinctive look: pointy ears, big eyes and a mischievous smile showing exactly nine teeth. The internet, divided and curious, can't decide whether they're cute or just weird.

According to Pop Mart's official website, Labubu is "kind-hearted and always willing to help, but often ends up doing the opposite by accident."

Labubu dolls have appeared in several series of The Monsters , such as Big into Energy , Have a Seat , Exciting Macaron and Fall in Wild .

The Labubu universe also includes other characters that have inspired their own successful dolls — such as the tribe's leader Zimomo, her boyfriend Tycoco and their friend Mokoko.

To the eyes of those who don't know, some of these dolls are difficult to differentiate.

Experts know how to recognize them, but the Labubu's fame has spread — and other members of the "family" are also disappearing from the shelves.

Who sells Labubu?

For a few years, much of Pop Mart's sales were concentrated in so-called blind boxes — surprise boxes in which the buyer only finds out which doll they have purchased when they open the package. It was in this format that the company partnered with artist Kasing Lung and obtained the rights to the Labubu brand.

This happened in 2019, almost ten years after entrepreneur Wang Ning founded Pop Mart in Beijing as a variety store with a “one yuan everything” approach.

When blind boxes started to become popular, Pop Mart launched its first series in 2016, featuring Molly dolls — children's figures created by Hong Kong artist Kenny Wong.

But it was Labubu sales that drove Pop Mart's growth.

In December 2020, the company began trading shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange — and the shares have appreciated more than 500% in the last year.

Today, Pop Mart is a retail giant, operating more than 2,000 automated teller machines, known as " roboshops ," around the world.

Labubu dolls are already sold in physical and virtual stores in more than 30 countries — from the United States and the United Kingdom to Australia and Singapore — although, in some places, sales have been temporarily suspended due to extremely high demand.

By 2024, sales outside mainland China accounted for nearly 40% of the company's total revenue.

A clear sign of its popularity: Chinese customs authorities reported this week that they had seized more than 70,000 counterfeit Labubu dolls in recent days.

But this demand did not arise overnight. It took a few years for the elven monsters to conquer the world.

How did Labubu become a global phenomenon?

Before conquering the world, Labubu was a local craze in China.

They started to boom just as the country was emerging from isolation caused by the pandemic, at the end of 2022, according to Ashley Dudarenok, founder of the consultancy ChoZan, which specializes in the Chinese market.

“In the post-pandemic era, a lot of people in China wanted an emotional escape… and Labubu was a chaotic but very charismatic figure,” she says. “He embodied this spirit of anti-perfectionism.”

The Chinese internet, which is gigantic and highly competitive, generates many viral trends that do not cross borders. But this one quickly took over Southeast Asia.

Fiona, who lives in Canada, says she heard about the Labubu from Filipino friends in 2023. From then on, she started collecting them — and although she finds the dolls cute, she says the appeal lies in the phenomenon: "The more famous it gets, the more I want."

"My husband doesn't understand why someone in my early 30s like me would be so obsessed with this — like caring what color I get."

Plus, it’s affordable, Fiona points out. While demand has driven up prices on the resale market, Fiona says the original price — between $25 and $70 Canadian (about $100 to $280) — was “reasonable” for most people she knows.

"That's what you typically pay for a bag accessory these days — so a lot of people can afford it," he says.

The explosion in popularity came in April 2024, when Lisa, a Thai K-pop star and member of Blackpink, began posting photos with Labubu dolls on Instagram. After that, other celebrities helped turn the doll into a global phenomenon.

In February, Rihanna was photographed with a Labubu hanging from her Louis Vuitton bag. In April, Kim Kardashian showed off her collection of ten Labubu dolls to her Instagram followers. And in May, former England captain David Beckham also posted a photo with a Labubu, a gift from his daughter.

Today, dolls seem to be everywhere — not just on social media, but in the bags of colleagues, friends, or even strangers on the street.

What explains the obsession with Labubu?

Simply put: no one knows for sure. Like many viral trends, the appeal of Labubu is hard to explain — a result of timing , aesthetics, and the unpredictable nature of the internet.

Beijing is pleased with the phenomenon. The state news agency Xinhua said Labubu "demonstrates the appeal of Chinese creativity, quality and culture in a language the world understands" while also showing "a cool China".

Xinhua presents other examples that show how Chinese culture is gaining international prominence: the game Black Myth: Wukong and the animated film Nezha .

Some analysts say they are surprised by the success of Chinese companies — from electric carmakers and AI developers to retailers — even amid Western trepidation about Beijing’s ambitions.

"BYD, DeepSeek, all these companies have one thing in common, including Labubu," Chris Pereira, founder and CEO of consultancy iMpact, told BBC News.

"They're so good that no one cares that they're Chinese. You just can't ignore it."

Meanwhile, Labubu continues to gain followers on social media. Millions watch videos of new owners opening their long-awaited boxes.

One of the most popular, posted in December, shows airport security officers in the US crowding around a closed box, trying to guess which model is inside.

That element of surprise is a big part of the appeal, says Desmond Tan, a veteran collector, as he walks through a Pop Mart store in Singapore, energetically shaking blind boxes before picking one up. The scene is common at the brand’s stores.

Desmond collects rare characters, called chasers , that are part of special Pop Mart series, including Labubu.

On average, he says he finds one chaser in every ten boxes — a good rate, he says, compared to the general average of one in every hundred.

"Getting a chaser just by shaking the box, learning to spot the differences…", he says, "is very rewarding".

"If I get it on the first or second try, I'm super happy!"

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