Labubu: inside the blind-box gold rush

Labubu is a small, snaggle-toothed monster designed by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung and sold by Chinese "designer toy" giant Pop Mart. You mostly buy it as a plush keyring in a blind box — sealed packaging, so you don't know which figure you're getting until you open it. That single mechanic is the entire engine of the craze.

Celebrity oxygen, casino mechanics

Celebrity oxygen came first. When BLACKPINK's Lisa, then Rihanna and Dua Lipa, started clipping Labubus to their bags in late 2024, the doll flipped from collector niche to status object overnight. The blind box did the rest: the not-knowing triggers the same variable-reward loop as a slot machine, and rare "secret" editions gave everyone a reason to keep buying "just one more."

A five-billion-dollar toy chest

The numbers are staggering. Pop Mart's 2025 revenue jumped 185% to 37.12 billion yuan (about $5.38 billion), with profit nearly tripling. Its "The Monsters" line, which includes Labubu, pulled in $671 million in the first half of 2025 alone — up 668% year on year. The company sold over 100 million units and expanded aggressively, opening stores in India, Vietnam, the Philippines and beyond. Rare figures resold for thousands of dollars at the peak.

The tell that the flip is over

Here's the tell: Pop Mart ramped production to roughly 30 million units a month, deliberately flooding the market to kill the resale premium that made early Labubus feel special. When the manufacturer itself dismantles the scarcity, the investment thesis is over. As a $15 bit of joy on your bag, it's harmless fun. As a "collectible" you're flipping for profit, you are late.