How Labubu Became a Global Retail and Culture Phenomenon in 2025

Labubu moved from niche collectible to global cultural touchstone over 2025 as Pop Mart pushed retail expansion, international emphasis, and a product strategy built around scarcity and spectacle. The company accelerated store openings and prioritized international retail, coupling those moves with fashion partnerships and celebrity visibility, including K-pop and other global stars, to amplify mainstream demand. That visibility translated into major year-over-year revenue growth across several regions and sent Labubu into streets, social feeds, and resale marketplaces worldwide.

Central to the momentum was Pop Mart’s product approach: frequent blind-box drops, carefully timed limited editions, and collaborations that tapped fashion, entertainment, and licensable IP. These tactics created repeated buying events and headline-grabbing moments that drove both first-time customers and repeat purchasers. They also sustained a robust secondary market as collectors chased rare figures and exclusive releases, creating a cycle where scarcity fueled viral interest and resale activity.

Pop Mart expanded beyond packaged toys into physical experiences and broader product formats. Licensed partnerships and in-store activations became regular parts of rollouts, and the company has announced plans for content and themed experiences in 2026 that aim to deepen fan engagement. These moves signal a shift from single-product launches to ongoing, multi-channel storytelling around Labubu and related characters.

That growth did not come without operational strain. Balancing supply to meet viral demand while preserving the scarcity that keeps collector interest high proved a recurring challenge. Pop Mart navigated inventory pressures while scaling international retail and ramping up collaboration pipelines, prompting company leadership to refocus on strategic IP development and curated collaborations going forward.

For collectors and local retailers, the 2025 Labubu story has practical implications. Verify release dates and purchase limits ahead of drops, take advantage of in-store activations for exclusive access, and approach the secondary market with caution as rarity and hype can sharply inflate prices. For event organizers and retail partners, Labubu’s trajectory underscores the value of experiential activations and cross-sector collaborations to convert cultural buzz into sales.

As 2026 approaches, Labubu’s rise offers a playbook in combining retail expansion, celebrity momentum, and product-engineered scarcity. The next year will show whether the planned content and themed experiences can sustain engagement and balance supply, or whether the market’s appetite for novelty will push Pop Mart into new production and retail strategies.