Tucked away inside a blind box collectible, these colourful plush toy monsters are recognizable for their wide grins, fangs, and their long bunny-like ears. The Labubu is a desirable toy, now seen in everyday life, hanging on pursues or belt loops, sometimes as a fashion trend or symbol of status.
In Canada, it’s become increasingly harder to purchase the Labubu as the demand skyrockets. But how long will the craze take over Canadian consumers?
“There’s some suggestion that the Labubu trend might be coming to an end this summer,” Markus Giesler said, a marketing professor at York University.
The emotional fatigue of consumers trying to get their hands on these toy monsters could signal an end to the Labubu craze.
“Consumers are increasingly fed up with the craze of the emotional buying experience. Number two, getting these dolls is becoming more and more difficult. Number three, there’s instability of the value, we don’t know how valuable the Labubu dolls will be next summer,” Giesler said.
Labubus have different series and are sold inside a blind box, so the toy’s name and colour remain a mystery until opened. Some fans hope to score big and open up a rare Labubu, but the chances of that remain slim.
The Labubu is the intellectual property of Pop Mart, a Chinese toy company, that sells various other blind box collectibles. Pop Mart on Tuesday forecasted to see at least a 350 per cent profit increase for the first six months of 2025, no doubt thanks to the success of the Labubu.
While these plush monsters can be purchased from Pop Mart, it’s usually out of stock, and the prices at resale tend to be higher.
Some collectible stores in Toronto have limited supplies of the plush toys, as fans hope to collect variations of the Labubu series.
Eager shoppers were hoping to purchase the Labubu at PopCore, a collectible store inside Pacific Mall, which is known as a desirable hub among fans of blind box items.
“I usually come here just strictly for the Labubus, so, I come out of my way. I drive about an hour and fifteen minutes to come here to buy them,” said one shopper outside of Popcore, who wanted to buy more Labubus for her grandchildren.
“It’s like 2025 became the Labubu era as far as I’m concerned.”
Fans of the Labubu believe these little toy monsters will remain relevant, at least for now.
“I think it’s going to stay popular for a while but then, probably in a year from now, people aren’t going to be that into it,” added another shopper.
The Canadian market seems to have welcomed the Labubu craze.
“Something that is scarce makes us desire it more and we go to great lengths to accomplish that, and we want to pay great prices,” Giesler said.
As the demand increases, some shoppers are warning each other to make sure they purchase the Labubu at a legitimate retailer and ensure it’s verified by Pop Mart.
With files from Grace Lin, OMNI News
