{ "id": "labubu", "title": "Labubu", "lang": "en", "source_lang": "en", "summary": "Labubu is a line of collectible plush toys and figurines created by Hong Kong illustrator Kasing Lung and sold by China's Pop Mart, known for its toothy grin and blind-box releases.", "category": "society", "subcategory": "culture", "type": "product", "aliases": [ "拉布布", "Lafufu (counterfeit term)", "Lābùbù" ], "generated_at": "2026-10-16", "model": "pro/claude-haiku-5-5", "url": "https://aiwiki.page/en/labubu/", "translations": { "zh-Hans": { "url": "https://aiwiki.page/zh/labubu/", "json": "https://aiwiki.page/zh/labubu.json" } }, "sections": [ { "heading": "", "text": "Labubu (拉布布) is a line of collectible plush toys and vinyl figurines created by Hong Kong-born illustrator Kasing Lung and marketed by the Chinese toy company Pop Mart. Labubu dolls come in many colors, have furry bodies, rabbitlike ears, and vinyl faces, and are known for their mischievous nine-toothed grin. Since the mid-2020s it has become one of the best-known designer toy characters in the world, and it is also one of the most frequently counterfeited." }, { "heading": "Origin and creation", "text": "The character comes from Lung's illustrated book series The Monsters. Lung, who grew up in the Netherlands, was inspired by Nordic fairy tales about elves and other fantastical creatures and created an illustrated book series, The Monsters, which features an all-female tribe of elflike creatures called Labubus living in the forest. Sources differ on the exact dates: one fan wiki states that in 2015, Kasing created The Monsters book trilogy which included now-beloved characters Labubu, Kimomo, Spooky, and more. Lung's biographical details are also reported inconsistently across sources, so the entry does not give a birth year.\n\nLung's character was originally a book figure, not a toy. Its commercial life began when the designer partnered with POP MART in an exclusive licensing deal to turn his creations into collectible figurines in 2019. Wikipedia's infobox lists the manufacturer as How2Work for 2015–2019 and Pop Mart from 2019 onward." }, { "heading": "Commercial model", "text": "Pop Mart sells Labubu mainly through blind boxes, in which buyers do not know which figure they will receive. Labubu figures are often sold in blind boxes, collected into themed lines, which contain a toy chosen at random from that series. Series often contain a rare \"secret\" figure in addition to the designs advertised. Reporting by Forbes states that much-more-valuable \"secret\" Labubus, which consumers have a 1-in-72 chance of buying, have popped up on resale sites for thousands of dollars. This scarcity mechanism links the product to the blind-box format and to secondary-market resale.\n\nPop Mart has also produced tie-ins and museum-exclusive editions. Labubu was produced in a Coca-Cola–themed winter blind box series of eleven Labubus in late 2024, and other figures have been released exclusively at various museums, such as the \"Labubu's Artistic Quest\" series sold at Pop Mart's store at the Louvre in Paris." }, { "heading": "Popularity and cultural spread", "text": "Accounts differ on when the craze began. One notes that it started in 2023 with the release of \"The Monsters' Exciting Macarons\" series in collaboration with the Chinese toy giant, Pop Mart. The plush keychains from this series became an overnight viral phenomenon. Britannica dates the global craze to 2024: the dolls became a global craze and viral trend in 2024, after celebrities such as Rihanna, David Beckham, and Kim Kardashian began posting about them on social media sites. Social media, especially blind-box unboxing videos, drove much of the spread. Feeds on TikTok and Instagram were flooded with \"blind box unboxing\" videos, where fans would proudly display their new Labubu's." }, { "heading": "Counterfeits and safety", "text": "The popularity of Labubu has produced a large counterfeit market, known in some places as \"Lafufu\". The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has said that fake Labubu plush dolls, sometimes referred to as \"Lafufu,\" pose a serious risk of choking and death to young children. The agency reported that fake Labubu dolls break apart easily, releasing small pieces that can become choking hazards. CPSC investigators have identified multiple shipments of these lookalikes attempting U.S. entry from China and requested seizure of thousands of units after confirming violation of federal regulations for toys with small parts.\n\nFraud is also common. The Better Business Bureau's Scam Tracker has received reports from individuals who believed they were buying authentic Labubus, only to receive counterfeit products or nothing at all. Consumer agencies recommend buying only from authorized retailers and treating unusually low prices with suspicion. Genuine packaging, the number of teeth, and holographic seals are among the features cited as authentication markers, although sources differ on the details. A UK council's guidance states that fakes might have more or fewer teeth and may be less defined than authentic figures, and that newer Labubu editions have a UV-detectable seal on the right foot." }, { "heading": "Reception and controversy", "text": "Labubu has been subject to regulatory and cultural criticism as well as enthusiasm. The dolls have also been criticized or banned in several countries, with Russia commenting on their \"scary appearance. Britannica also reports that the dolls' popularity has led to legal action against 7-Eleven, although this entry does not detail that case. Critics of the trend have also pointed to the intellectual-property questions that counterfeiting raises for the original creator, and to consumer-safety concerns about low-quality imitations sold through online marketplaces.\n\nLabubu is often described as a case study in how a character from a niche illustrated book can become a mass-market market phenomenon through licensing, blind-box scarcity, and social-media virality. Its commercial success has also made it a focus of consumer-protection enforcement, particularly in relation to small parts and counterfeit goods." } ], "links": [ "pop-mart", "intellectual-property", "e-commerce", "market", "consumer-protection" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Labubu doll", "url": "https://www.britannica.com/topic/Labubu" }, { "title": "Kasing Lung", "url": "https://the-monsters.fandom.com/wiki/Kasing_Lung" }, { "title": "Labubu", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labubu" }, { "title": "How To Spot A Labubu Scam As Fake ‘Lafufus’ Cost Customers Hundreds Of Dollars", "url": "https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2025/08/06/fake-labubus-are-costing-customers-hundreds-of-dollars-heres-how-to-spot-a-lafufu-scam/" }, { "title": "Notebookcheck Logo", "url": "https://www.notebookcheck.net/How-to-spot-a-fake-Labubu-in-the-online-wild.1092190.0.html" }, { "title": "Consumer Safety Alert: CPSC Issues Urgent Safety Warning to Labubu Collectors", "url": "https://www.cpsc.gov/Warnings/2025/Consumer-Safety-Alert-CPSC-Issues-Urgent-Safety-Warning-to-Labubu-Collectors" }, { "title": "BBB issues warning after getting complaints of websites selling fake Labubu toys", "url": "https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/bbb-issues-warning-getting-complaints-211929753.html" }, { "title": "Fake Labubu warning", "url": "https://news.hull.gov.uk/11/08/2025/fake-labubu-warning" }, { "title": "Kasing Lung", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasing_Lung" }, { "title": "The Monsters: 10 Things To Know About The Beloved Labubu", "url": "https://bagaholicboy.com/2024/08/the-monsters-10-things-to-know-labubu" }, { "title": "Fake Labubu dolls pose threat to kids, safety watchdog says - CBS News", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/labubu-doll-real-popmart-choking-cpsc/" } ], "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" }