The collectible plush monster toys are adored by celebrities and are selling for hundreds. What’s the appeal?
Labubus — a brand of plush collectible monster elves — seem like they’d be more in place in children’s books, which is actually where the characters originated. Instead, you’ll find these devilish-looking creatures hanging off designer bags or littering your Instagram feed.
People have fallen in love with the mischievous-looking monster and its trademark nine-tooth grin, leading to a line of plushies that have blown up, with some selling for up to $300, despite some people finding them more creepy than cute.
“There is a certain element of Gen Z and Gen Alpha who are really into the idea of stuff that is a little bit off,” said Alexander DePaoli, an associate teaching professor of marketing at Northeastern University.
That embrace of the imperfect, he said, reflects a broader cultural shift.
“I think that if you were to ask them, they would tell you it’s a bit of a countercultural thing for rejecting the clean and polished (look) that us millennials always seem to gravitate towards,” DePaoli added. “It feeds into the ongoing trajectory of social media trying to become more and more authentic — that we’re trying to be less and less the sort of polished Instagram.”
But the appeal goes across generations. Tiffany Moon, a board certified anesthesiologist from Dallas who’s in her 40s, said she learned about Labubus from a friend who gifted her one to wear as a bag charm on her Birkin.
“She said (I) need to put this on my Birkin because it’s a thing,” said Moon, who is also a content creator and author of “Joy Prescriptions.” “I did not know that it was a thing. I (thought) it was kind of ugly. It’s what I call ugly cute. It’s cute and ugly.”
Now, both Moon and her 10-year-olds love Labubus, building a collection and hunting for new ones through the Pop Mart app.
“In a world where there’s a lot of bad news, a little healthy obsession with a plastic toy gives people a little bit of escapsim and is unifying,” Moon said. “It’s just something fun and frivolous in a world that’s very divided and scary.”
The craze around Labubus began last year when Lisa, a member of the K-pop group Blackpink, was spotted with one. After that, Pop Mart, the Chinese toy giant that brought the book characters to life, reported $1.8 billion in revenue in 2024 — seven times higher than before it began selling Labubu figures.
Now, real Labubus are hard to find. Dolls sold out and were resold for hundreds on resale sites. Knockoffs are now circulating online called “Lafufus.” Celebrities are into them, with actress Emma Roberts posting videos of her purchases, saying she has “an obsession.” People post online with their finds and even buy clothes to put on them.
Adding to the appeal are the “blind boxes.” People can purchase these to win a mystery Labubu, which means they’re inclined to keep buying until they can get the one they want.
“That’s one of the most profitable ways to sell any kind of toy, physical or digital,” DePaoli said.
Lea Paris, a 28-year-old content creator in western New York, said she came across Labubu through TikTok over a month ago. She first thought they were ugly, but then ordered one and then a few more.
Now, she goes on Pop Mart’s app every day to check for new drops. She has about 19 Labubus and is still on the hunt for two more “secret” editions.
“I usually get on the app around 8:30 and check every half-hour on the half-hour just to see if they drop,” she added. “Once they drop, I’m literally just scrolling through multiple boxes for hours trrying to get them. It’s a very time consuming and grueling process. I can see why people pay the resale amount to have to sit through that. … They are extremely difficult to come by.”
The blind box model means Paris has acquired a lot of duplicate Labubus that she resells on Depop, where she lists them for about $15 over the original price. They usually sell within 10 minutes.
This scarcity is likely only increasing the demand, DePaoli added.
“That they’re popular is what kind of makes them more appealing,” he said. “There’s definitely a self-fulfilling element at this point. I think they successfully rode their initial wave of enthusiasm. … It’s not merely our famous people wearing it, not merely people around me wearing it, but people all over the world are wearing it.”
It can be hard to figure out what can crack the code on what collectibles will become popular, DePaoli said. But Labubus have a unique advantage due to their aesthetic and function.
Collectible toys are nothing new, as anyone who owned a Beanie Baby can attest. But Labubus are a little different, as many people wear them as bag charms, giving them more of an aesthetic function than other types of collectibles.
In doing so, people might be willing to spend more on them, DePaoli said, as consumer psychology has found that people are willing to splurge on functional products.
“(Labubu) does present a really interesting intersection (as) both an accessory and a toy,” DePaoli added. “You can customize it as you would your doll, tapping into some nostalgia for childhood, while at the same time (it) being a popular fashion accessory that is recognizable to other people in the know. I can’t think of any (others) that are wildly successful.”
Both Moon and Paris said they put their Labubus on their bags. Paris also has a shelf in her living room where she displays her collection, along with other Pop Mart collectibles, and even acquired a Labubu outfit through her boyfriend. Moon said she has turned some of her scarves into outfits for her Labubus.
Then there’s their look. With a wide, toothy grin, a fuzzy exterior and rabbit-like ears, there’s a certain charm to these creatures. DePaoli compares the trend to that of Hello Kitty, following a similar vein of being a cute mascot from Asia. Many messenger apps in Asian countries also have their own similarly cute mascot lines.
“It continues on a long tradition of this Asian aesthetic of this sort of cute and maybe a little bit unusual (figure), that started with Hello Kitty that has appealed to Americans and Europeans for decades now,” DePaoli added. “(Labubu) is sort of a combination of those sort of cute animal mascots … (but) they have that sort of rough around the edges, ‘I don’t care what you think’ attitude that they try to portray in the weird, toothy smile.”
Many collectors, including Moon and Paris, acknowledge Labubus are a trend that are likely to pass. But they said there’s still a certain joy to collecting them.
“The appeal is mainly that they’re viral on Tiktok, and nobody wants to feel left out from a trend,” Paris said. “I got into it because it was a trend, but I like them. I like to change them out on my purse and match them to what I’m wearing. They’re just fun, cute, little accessories that you can throw on your bag. They make me happy everyday. In a world where we can’t be happy all the time, it’s nice to have that one little hint of happiness in the morning where I get to pick out my Labubu for the day.”