Labubu rose through POP MART's scarcity-driven collector machine

LABUBU is a small monster with high, pointed ears and serrated teeth, and POP MART turned it into a global obsession with a system built around surprise, repeat buying, and stores that make each purchase feel like an event. The company did it not with one lucky character moment, but with a model that keeps giving fans a reason to come back for the next box, the next line, and the next chance at a pull.

The character started as a storybook creature, not a standalone product

The Monsters began in 2015, when Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung created a fairy world across three picture books inspired by Nordic mythology. LABUBU emerged from that world as the standout figure, with a personality that reads as mischievous but kind-hearted.

The machine works because the reveal is the product

Blind-box mechanics sit at the heart of the pull. You are not just buying a figure; you are buying uncertainty, and that uncertainty is what creates the repeat behavior POP MART wants. Every sealed box turns the purchase into a tiny gamble, which is why opening day, restock day, and trade day all become part of the same ritual.

POP MART has extended that logic beyond the shelf with POP NOW, its online service that lets customers instantly unbox blind boxes digitally. It carries the same surprise-and-repeat loop into e-commerce, so the chase does not depend on being physically present in a flagship store. The format keeps the reveal central whether you are standing in front of a wall of boxes or tapping through a digital one.

Stores and Roboshops turn buying into theater

POP MART says it now reaches more than 23 countries and regions through a network of 350 plus offline stores and 2,000 plus Roboshops. That footprint is not just about distribution. It is part of the performance, because the stores themselves help make the drop feel scarce, visible, and socially charged.

When a release is tied to a store visit, a shelf refresh, or a Roboshop stop, the act of buying becomes something people plan around, film, post, and trade over.

Why the lineup keeps multiplying

Labubu is not sitting still inside one locked product line. On POP MART’s own sites, LABUBU appears across THE MONSTERS universe alongside Hair Salon, FIFA, Hello Kitty and Friends, Big into Energy, Exciting Macaron, Have a Seat, and other variations. That breadth shows the company using the character as part of a wider IP graph, not as a fixed icon that gets sold the same way every time.

For collectors, that signals a very particular kind of release strategy. New themes keep the chase fresh, while familiar character DNA keeps the series legible enough that people know what they are trying to complete.

How to read the next wave of Labubu demand

• New line names are a sign of continued collector farming, not just simple expansion. Hair Salon, FIFA, and Hello Kitty and Friends show how quickly the character can be remixed into fresh buying occasions.

• Digital unboxing through POP NOW means the hunt is moving across channels, not away from blind-box behavior. If you cannot find a physical box, the same psychology can still be triggered online.

• A wider store footprint usually means more points of access, but it can also sharpen sell-out pressure when demand concentrates around a hot series. More doors do not always mean easier access when the pull rate feeling is the same and the collector base is already primed.

• Counterfeit chatter is itself a demand signal. When fake Labubu toys and fake blind boxes move in volume, it means the original has become valuable enough to copy at scale.

The business numbers show how big the loop has become

POP MART’s 2024 financial results, released on March 26, 2025, said full-year revenue surpassed 13 billion yuan. A large share of that growth came from Labubu and The Monsters.

Fakes follow the chase

The counterfeit market has grown alongside the real one. Chinese customs seized more than 46,000 counterfeit Labubu toys in June 2025, including more than 40,000 in a single haul, and also intercepted multiple shipments of counterfeit Labubu blind boxes and plush toys.

It pushes buyers to care more about packaging, source, and authenticity markers, because the closer the market gets to frenzy, the easier it becomes for fakes to blur into the feed.