Some creatures only come out at night: vampires, werewolves, and now the latest member of the after-hours club: hopeful Labubu collectors. If you’re not already in the know, that last group might feel as mysterious as mythical creatures. It only adds to the toys’ mystique that the window when you can officially purchase the mega-popular trinkets — sold in limited drops, like fashion collabs and sneakers…….Continue reading…..
Source: Vox
.
Critics:
Labubu began as a character designed by Kasing Lung (born 1972), a Hong Kong-born artist raised in Utrecht, Netherlands, who later settled in Antwerp, Belgium. Labubu was part of Lung’s story series The Monsters, which was influenced by Nordic folklore and mythology that he enjoyed during his childhood. Labubu was first introduced in 2015 with “Monsters” figurines produced by the company How2Work; the toy gained wider recognition in 2019 following a collaboration with Pop Mart.
This partnership boosted Labubu’s popularity among collectors. By 2025, the brand had released over 300 different Labubu figurines, ranging in size and price, from US$15 for an eight-centimetre (3 in) vinyl figure to $960 for a 79-centimetre (31 in) “mega” edition. In June, a 1.2-metre-tall (4 ft) mint-green Labubu was sold for $170,000 at the first official Labubu auction, held in Beijing. An anime adaptation of 156 short episodes in a 7-minute time slot is planned for broadcast in 2025.
Pop Mart CEO Wang Ning’s 48.73% stake in the company has made him a US$21.1 billion fortune (as of 7 July 2025, up from $1.8 billion in 2024), making him the youngest member of China’s top ten billionaire list at 37–38. Pop Mart attributes a substantial share of its sales to Labubu’s IP, The Monsters. In its 2024 annual report, the company reported revenue of RMB 3.04 billion (roughly US$430 million) from The Monsters, equal to 23.3% of total revenue that year.
In the first half of 2025, The Monsters generated RMB 4.81 billion (about US$670 million), accounting for 34.7% of Pop Mart’s revenue for the period. Labubus are described as having a playful yet slightly fierce look, featuring round, furry bodies, wide eyes, pointed ears, and nine sharp teeth that form a mischievous smile.
Aside from Labubu herself, other figures also belong to a “tribe” called “The Monsters”, including the characters Mokoko, Pato, Spooky, Tycoco (Labubu’s “skeleton-looking” boyfriend), and Zimomo (the leader of The Monsters, with a spiked tail).The dolls have been produced with a variety of appearances. The first Labubu key-ring line, titled “Exciting Macaron” (Chinese: 心動馬卡龍), was released in October 2023. Other collections include “Fall in Wild”, the seven-figurine “Have a Seat” (Chinese: 坐坐派對) line, and “Massive into Energy” (Chinese: 大動力系列).
Pop Mart has also collaborated with various brands, producing a Coca-Cola–themed winter blind box series of eleven Labubus in late 2024 and a 13-figurine line of The Monsters re-imagined as characters from the manga and anime One Piece in early 2025. Other figures have been released exclusively at various museums, such as the “Labubu’s Artistic Quest” series sold at Pop Mart’s store at the Louvre in Paris. Labubu figures are often sold in blind boxes, collected into themed lines, which contain a toy chosen at random from that series. Series often contain a rare “secret” figure in addition to the designs advertised.
The toy gained widespread attention in April 2024 after K-pop group Blackpink member Lisa was spotted with a keychain Labubu on her bag. This sparked a trend that quickly contributed to its growing recognition in Thailand and other parts of Southeast and East Asia. Labubus have also received endorsements from celebrities such as Rihanna and Cher, and have been used in promotional efforts for unrelated films, with actors like Javier Bardem interacting with the toys as part of marketing campaigns.
In 2025, New York magazine’s Liza Corsillo wrote that the “toy’s appeal is fueled by a hard-to-explain cuteness—they’re kind of ugly, but huggable, with a devilish grin—as well as surprise and scarcity.” Corsillo also wrote that, like Jellycat, Labubus blur “the line between toys and fashion”. Demand for Labubus has been high enough to crash the website on at least one occasion.
Due to the brand’s popularity, counterfeit versions, sometimes colloquially referred to as “Lafufus”, have appeared in the market. Counterfeit accessories are also available for purchase online. Some collectors have reportedly also taken interest in these fakes, due to their unconventional designs. Pop Mart’s 2024 interim report, released on 20 August, stated that the line generated sales of 6.3 billion Chinese yuan (approximately US$870 million) in the first half of the year.
In May 2025, Pop Mart announced it had paused selling Labubus in all 16 of its stores in the United Kingdom until June to “prevent any potential safety issues” following multiple reports of customers fighting over them. The Federation Council of Russia proposed banning the sale of Labubus. The reason was their “frightening appearance” and potential harm to children’s mental health. In Russia, Ekaterina Altabaeva, deputy chair of the Committee on Science, Education and Culture, stated that the figures cause children to feel fear.
She called on Rospotrebnadzor and Rosobrnadzor to consider banning them.Tatyana Butskaya, first deputy chair of the State Duma Committee on Family Protection, reported that Labubus were being sold in Russia in violation of regulations: according to her, there was not a single word in Russian on the toys, and the marking did not indicate that they were manufactured in Russia. In July 2025, authorities in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region announced they had banned the sale of the doll due to claims they resulted in behavioral problems in children.
Authorities also seized at least 4,000 dolls in the Erbil area, following media reports of the dolls also containing ‘demonic spirits’. The New York Times noted the widespread cultural presence of Labubu toys, describing them as “adorable furry monsters with sharp teeth” and comparing their chaotic-cute appeal to popular film characters like Stitch (Lilo & Stitch) and Toothless (How to Train Your Dragon). The article credited Labubu with influencing the season’s surge in cute sidekick characters across major studio films.
In 2024, due to the viral popularity of Labubu in Thailand, many Thais began to believe that its image could bring wealth and good fortune. As a result, it was made into Buddhist amulets and sacred tattoos.
Leave a Reply