Craze for Labubu, hit toy from China’s Pop Mart, spreads to Middle East
The popular plush charm is not just trendy in the region, but also expensive, selling for US$109
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Yuke Xiein Beijing
Published: 10:00am, 27 May 2025Updated: 11:11am, 27 May 2025
After a meteoric rise in the US and Southeast Asia, Pop Mart International’s latest iteration of its hit
Labubu character is winning deep-pocketed fans in the
Middle East, a fresh sign that the Beijing-based toymaker’s ambition to become a “truly global company” is gaining momentum.
Google trend data shows that interest in the character surged in the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) after the April 25 launch of the latest Big Into Energy series. Among the largest emirates, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah showed the strongest interest.
Previously little known in the region, Labubu is also trending in the Middle East’s largest economy, Saudi Arabia, where Google search interest peaked during the week of May 18 before seeing a slight dip this week. The toy is most popular in Riyadh province, followed by the Eastern province and Mecca.
Created by the Hong Kong-born designer
Lung Ka-sing, Labubu is a series of plush toy monster elves with round, furry bodies, pointed ears and sharp teeth that form a mischievous grin. The toy is not just trendy in the region, but also expensive. Ben Dupond, a Dubai-based finance professional, told the Post that he bought his first-ever Labubu from Careem, a local delivery app, for 300 dirhams (US$109).
Labubu dolls at a Pop Mart pop-up store in Siam Center shopping mall in Bangkok on May 6, 2025. Photo: AFP.
“I came across this thing when I was shopping for bottled water,” he said. “I know I’m paying a big premium, but I keep seeing ads everywhere, and it’s sold out at Dubai Mall, so I decided to get one here.”
He said the character looked “a bit scary”, but he found it “kind of funny”.
All three generations of the toy are now listed on the Uber-owned super app, each priced at 300 dirhams – a significant mark-up compared with the series’ US debut price of US$28, which was already US$6 higher than earlier versions.
Dupond said the tie-dyed toys came in blind boxes, meaning buyers could not pick and choose. But he was really hoping to get a green one.
Labubu creator Kasing Lung shares the vision behind his unique plush toys
Much of the craze around Labubu has been driven by social-media marketing and high-profile endorsements from superstars such as Blackpink’s Lisa and singer-entrepreneur Rihanna. In the Middle East, local influencers also played a role.
One Instagram account, @labubu.ae, gained more than 6,400 followers in just over a month. Among its glossy posts is a clip of Iraqi-American make-up mogul Huda Kattan unboxing several Labubu blind boxes. The account also showed how to colour-coordinate the collectibles with luxury handbags from Louis Vuitton and Hermes.
“What I love about this is you just don’t know what you’re going to get inside,” Kattan said in the video. Later on, when she unwrapped a toffee-coloured Labubu, she said, “I like her though, she’s a cute colour. She’s going to look cute on my bags.”
Pop Mart’s overseas expansion efforts have been a resounding success, as its international revenue ballooned 475 to 480 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to a financial report published in April. The US led the growth with a jump of up to 900 per cent, while sales in Europe climbed as more than 600 per cent.
This strong performance also propelled Hong Kong-listed Pop Mart into the
HK$300 billion (US$38.3 billion) market capitalisation club last week, making it the 27th most valuable company on the city’s stock exchange. The stock has jumped about 10-fold over the past year.
According to a JPMorgan report, Pop Mart’s global revenue is projected to grow by more than 150 per cent this year, with a compound annual growth rate of 42 per cent through 2027.
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