By Allis Derian

Photo credit: deviantart.com user Coolarts223.

All around the world, Labubus have sparked conversations: about about consumerism, name brands, and social media trends. For many people, these $60 key chains are nothing but a waste of money and materials. The obsession with the little monster figurines seemed to come out of nowhere. Their signature fuzzy bodies and creepy smiles have taken over the internet. Adults clip their Labubus onto their purses, and even to their pants as an accessory. 

Kasing Lung, an artist born in Hong Kong, created these characters to be storybook elves. At the age of seven, Lung moved to The Netherlands and fell in love with the folklore of the country. He was inspired by stories of elves and launched a book series in 2015. This trilogy, The Monsters, contained his illustrations of these elves, which would eventually be used to create the figurines. Pop Mart, the Chinese toy company that created the Labubu figurines, have figured out how to sell a viral product. In 2019, Lung signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Pop Mart. In the first half of 2025, the company made over 670 million dollars off of Labubus alone. 

Instead of customers being able to choose which color variation they want, the toys come in blind boxes. When you purchase a Labubu, you don’t know which one you will get. 

Many toy companies have used blind boxes in the past, and it has proven to be a successful marketing strategy. These boxes create an element of surprise for the customer and bring in more purchases when someone doesn’t get the version they were hoping for. As soon as the Labubus get restocked, people flock to their website and in person to stores to get one before they sell out. This event has been called the “Labubu Hunger Games” by social media users due to the competitive nature of Labubu fans.

When asked if she would ever get a Labubu, Carrington Woodard (‘26) was very confident that Labubus are “just a trend, and a symbol of consumerism.” She said, “People buy them because it’s a trend. They’re gonna’ get over it in a month and throw them away.” Woodard compared the Labubu trend to the 2017 obsession with fidget spinners. Labubus are very popular right now, but what will happen when everyone decides that they’re over it? Millions of Labubus have been sold worldwide, most of which will eventually end up in landfills. People purchase overpriced products and end up getting rid of them a few months later. An example of this is the obsession with the fast fashion brand Shein. In 2020, everyone was ordering hauls of clothes, only to get over them quickly. Thrift stores were filled with tacky fast fashion that everyone wanted to get rid of.

Photo credit: TTIME STUDIO.

In an effort to get the opinion of someone who isn’t influenced by social media, I interviewed my dad, David Derian. To my surprise, he said that he “sees and hears about them often.” Derian first heard about Labubus from me and my sister, Amanda. After that, he noticed that the little dolls were being brought up in political satire, including a controversial meme posted by The White House’s X account. As a business owner himself, Derian was most interested in understanding why they got so popular. People want a Labubu so badly that other brands have begun creating their own, cheaper versions, which social media has named Lafufus, for being “fake” Labubus. When asked why Lafufus even exist, Derian said, “People will do anything for money. Some people just have no creativity.” He said that he “never understood the hype. Their appearance doesn’t seem so appealing that it would warrant this uprising.” 

Labubus’ fame started to rise in the United States in April 2024 when The White Lotus star and Kpop singer Lisa Manobal began posting with them. Soon after, celebrities like Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, and Dua Lipa were also spotted with the monsters clipped to their handbags. As Labubus became more and more popular, they also became harder to get. Labubus can cost from 20 to 40 dollars on the Pop Mart website, while limited edition versions can go for thousands. A life-sized Labubu was sold for $170,000 at a Labubu art auction, with nearly 1,000 people bidding, and a rare Vans edition was sold for over $10,000. PopMart has even created their first ever theme park in Beijing, where guests can hang out with life-sized Labubus, eat at themed restaurants, and watch live shows. 

I ordered a Labubu from the Pop Mart website, and it took about a week to arrive. When it did, I was excited to open the box and see which color I got. I bought one from the “Big Into Energy” collection. This collection features brightly colored figurines, along with a secret black and gray one which only one in every 72 buyers will get. 

After I unboxed my Labubu, I put it in my room and never really thought about it again. I’ll admit that it doesn’t have much to it besides the excitement before the unboxing. I think that my Labubu is cute but not worth all the hype.​​