Labubu is the latest must-have collectable that is sweeping across Asia. Singapore is no exception.
So what is Labubu?
It is a furry elf character that was created by Kasing Lung, a Hong Kong-based artist.
If you want to look for Lung on Instagram…
https://www.instagram.com/kasinglung/
Oh and Labubu looks like this…
Yes I know… when I first saw it I was like… really? This is really weird looking… I would be seriously worried if this was popular to kids. But then if we manage to survive the Teletubbies, we can survive anything.
Yes, the 90s were weird.
ok. Labubu looks much better…
So is Labubu new?
Actually, the character Labubu has been around since 2015. In 2015, Lung created a story series “The Monsters”. The characters were strongly influenced by Nordic mythology. So yes, maybe Labubu may be from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland or Iceland…
Labubu is not new. Despite the craze, it has been around for almost a decade. Moreover, before Lung collaborated with Pop Mart, he first collaborated with How2work, a Hong Kong toy company.
If you do not know what is Pop Mart, you are a true mountain tortoise. It is all over Singapore and our neighbouring countries!
Don’t you just love it when Pop Mart takes over the OCBC branch in Wisma Atria?
Click here to get a list of all POP MART stores in Singapore.
It was in 2019 that Lung started his collaboration with POP MART. In fact, Lung entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with POP MART. However, it was not until recently in 2024 that the popularity of Labubu exploded. The reason for this? In April 2024, K-pop star Lisa from Blackpink posted a photo of a Labubu plush toy on her Instagram. This sparked the Labubu craze which swept through South East Asia and perhaps even to the rest of Asia.
Since the start of the craze, there are two blind box series of Labubu plushies that were released by POP MART. The first, or what some might call version 1, is Exciting Macaron, The Monsters.
Here is an unboxing of a blind box…
The price per case of 6 blind boxes from POP MART is $149.40. Each individual blind box would cost you $24.90. However, resellers are selling a case of 6 for about $200 on platforms like Carousell. If you want to get the blind boxes, they are sold out at POP MART. Hence, you are left with resellers. You should be able to get them for perhaps slightly under $200 if you search around hard enough.
The second series, or version 2, is Have a Seat Vinyl Plush Blind Box. It is just Labubu sitting down and hence the name of the series. It similarly costs $24.90 per blind box or $149.40 for a case of 6 from POP MART. It is also sold out at the time of me writing this article.
A case looks like this. I got it for $199 from a reseller on Carousell.
Here is an unboxing of a case of Have a Seat and one of the 6 blind boxes.
Ok so here is what the Labubu looks like straight out of the box.
Oh it came with a card as well.
I must say that the toy is really well made. Gone are the days when toys were reserved for kids. When I walked past POP MART yesterday, it was all adults browsing at blind boxes.
There are accessories which you can buy for your Labubu like clothes, hats and costumes to make it a bit more unique.
Well, here is an aftermath of the unboxing of all 6 blind boxes.
There is one “secret” Labubu in every 12 cases. It is brown in colour. There are individuals reselling the “secret” Labubu for over $200 on platforms like Carousell.
All I can say is that this is just plain fun. As for it being lame and ugly, hey we came from a really low bar with Teletubbies. This is a decent upgrade.
Would I queue when the next Labubu comes out? In general, my family had good fun unboxing the 6 blind boxes. So yes, it is good plain wholesome fun to collect toys. Oh yes, and my wife is getting a clear case to keep her Labubu in.
Yours sincerely,
Daryl
