The Labubu Craze: How A Mischievous Toy Captured Hearts Around The World
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In the world of designer toys, few characters have taken off as quickly as Labubu. With its wild hair, jagged little teeth, and cheeky grin, this elf-like creature has become the unlikely star of a booming collectibles craze.
The weirdly cute plushies are the brainchild of Kasing Lung. Originally from Hong Kong, Lung moved to the Netherlands at the age of seven. Here, he developed a love for Nordic fairy tale elves through books and stories. Inspired by those stories, Lung created The Monsters Trilogy, an illustrated book series launched in 2015. At the heart of the series is a tribe of mischievous elf-like creatures. This tribe has more than 100 different characters, each with its own unique appearance and distinct personality. However, the most prominent is the playful Labubu.
In 2019, Lung brought Labubu to life as a limited-edition, handmade figure. These early toys attracted a small but devoted following. The fanbase grew rapidly after China's Pop Mart began mass-producing Labubus later that year. They sold them in a "blind-box" format, meaning buyers did not know which version they were getting. This mystery helped drive a buying frenzy both online and in stores.
Social media gave the craze an extra boost. Unboxing videos and curated display shots on platforms like TikTok turned Labubu into a star. Fans began clipping the plushies to their bags, dressing up as the character, and creating custom-painted versions. Even celebrities like pop star Rihanna and tennis phenom Naomi Osaka joined in the fun.
Much of Labubu’s appeal comes from its exclusivity. Each series is made in limited quantities, and most are never restocked. Some appear only once in 72 boxes, making them instant collector’s items. Labubu toys retail for about $28 but often resell for $200 or more. A few ultra-rare Labubus have sold for as much as $7,000. Earlier this year, a life-sized Labubu plush fetched nearly $150,000 at an auction in China.
Not surprisingly, Labubu is now Pop Mart’s top-selling toy In 2024, it generated over $420 million in sales. This was about 23 percent of the company’s total annual revenue. Not bad for a mischievous little monster that began in a storybook!
Resources: NPR.com, Guardian.com, Wikipedia.org
