Furor for Labubu: How Collectible Chinese Dolls have become a global phenomenon promoted by stars such as Rihanna and Dua Lipa

So how have we get here?

Even those who know the answer are not entirely sure to explain this madness.

Labubu is both a fictional character and a brand. The word itself means nothing. It is the name of a character in the toys series The Monsters (“The Monsters”), created by Hongkon artist Kasing Lung.

Vinyl faces are linked to stuffed bodies and have a characteristic appearance: pointed ears, big eyes and a mischievous smile that shows exactly nine teeth.

A curious but divided internet seems to be able to decide whether they are adorable or strange.

According to the official website of its distributor, Labubu is “kind and is always willing to help, but often, unintentionally, he gets otherwise.”

Labubu dolls have appeared in several series of “the monsters”, such as “great energy”, “sit down”, Exciting macaron and “fall in love.”

The Labubu brand also has other characters from its universe, who have inspired their own popular dolls, such as the tribe leader, Zimomo, her boyfriend Tycoco and her friend Mokoko.

For the inexperienced eye, some of these dolls are difficult to distinguish.

The connoisseurs will know, but Labubu’s fame has undoubtedly extended, and other family specimens have also flown from the shelves.

An important part of Pop Sales Mart were based on the so -called surprise boxes, where customers only discover what they have bought when the package opens.

They would later join Kasing Lung to exploit Labubu’s rights.

That happened in 2019, almost a decade after businessman Wang Ning opened Pop Mart in Beijing as a store of various items, similar to a “everything to a dollar” store.

When the surprise boxes became a success, Pop Mart launched the first series in 2016, selling Molly dolls: Children’s figures created by Hongkonese artist Kenny Wong.

But it was Labubu’s sales that promoted the growth of Pop Mart, and in December 2020 began selling shares in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. These actions shot more than 500% in the last year.

Pop Mart has become an important retailer. It operates more than 2,000 vending machines, or “roboshops”, worldwide. And now you can buy Labubu dolls in stores, physical or virtual, in more than 30 countries, from the United States and the United Kingdom to Australia and Singapore, although many of them have suspended their sales recently due to the overwhelming demand.

Sales from outside Continental China contributed to almost 40% of its total income in 2024.

As a sign of the popularity of Labubu, Chinese customs authorities announced this week the seizure of more than 70,000 false dolls in recent days.

However, the demand did not increase overnight. In fact, these creatures Elfas have been popular for several years.

Before the world discovered Labubu, his fame was limited to China.

They began to succeed just when the country emerged from the pandemic at the end of 2022, according to Ashley Doubarenok, founder of the research firm, specialized in China.

“After pandemic, many people in China felt the need to escape emotionally … and Labubu was a charming, chaotic character,” he says. “He embodied that antiperfectionism.”

The Chinese, huge and competitive Internet generates many viral trends that are not globalized. But this did and its popularity quickly spread to Southeast Asia.

Fiona, who lives in Canada, says he heard about Labubu for the first time thanks to some Filipino friends in 2023. That was when he started buying them.

He says they seem beautiful, but his growing popularity is a great attraction: “The more popular it becomes, the more I want it. My husband does not understand why I, with 30 and so many years, I am so obsessed with something like that, as if I care about color.”

It also helps be affordable.

Although the growing demand has triggered prices in the second -hand market, Fiona states that the original price, which ranged between US $ 18 and US $ 50 for most Labubu dolls, was “acceptable” for most of its acquaintances.

“That is practically what a bag accessory would cost today; most people could afford it,” he says.

Labubu’s popularity shot in April 2024, when the Thai superstar of the K-Pop Lisa began publishing photos on Instagram with several labubu dolls.

Pposeriorly, other world celebrities turned the dolls into an international phenomenon that year.

Singer Rihanna was photographed with a Labubu toy hooked to her Louis Vuitton bag in February.

The influencer Kim Kardashian shared her collection of 10 Labubu dolls with her Instagram followers in April.

And in May, the former soccer team David Beckham also posted on Instagram a photo of a Labubu given by his daughter.

Now the dolls are omnipresent, viewed not only online, but also in friends, colleagues or passersby.

In a nutshell, we don’t know. As most viral trends, Labubu’s appeal is difficult to explain: it is the result of synchronization, taste and randomness of the Internet.

Beijing is certainly satisfied with the result. The State News Agency Xinhua He points out that Labubu “shows the attractiveness of Chinese creativity, quality and culture in a language that everyone can understand,” while offering everyone the opportunity to see “modern China.”

Xinhua It offers other examples that show that Chinese cultural intellectual property is globalized: the video game Black Myth: Wukong And the successful animation film Nezha.

Some analysts seem surprised that Chinese companies – from manufacturers of electric vehicles and artificial intelligence developers to retailers – are so successful despite Western restlessness in the face of Beijing’s ambitions.

“Byd, Deepseek, all these companies have something very interesting in common, including Labubu,” Chris Pereira, founder and executive director of the impact consultant, told the BBC.

“They are so good that anyone cares about China. They can’t be ignored.”

Meanwhile, Labubu continues to win followers on social networks, with millions of people seeing their new owners open their precious purchase.

One of the most popular videos, published in December, shows curious members of the security personnel of an American airport crowded around the unopened labubu box of a traveler to find out which doll carries inside.

That surprise element is a large part of the appeal, says Desmond Tan, veteran collector, while traveling a mart of Singapore vigorously shaking the blind boxes before deciding which one to buy.

It is a usual image in Pop Mart. Desmond collects “pursuers” characters, special editions of the various Pop toys series Mart, including Labubu.

On average, Desmond says he finds a persecutor in one in 10 boxes he buys. It is a good success rate, he states, compared to the typical probability: one between 100.

“Being able to get the persecutor by stirring the box, learning to feel the difference …”, it produces deep satisfaction.

“If I get it in one or two attempts, I feel very happy!”

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