From Labubus to Disney's Stitch: How UAE cafes create pop culture-inspired merch

Khaleej Times

5 hours ago

From Labubu matcha to Stitch schoolbags, businesses across the UAE are capitalising on popular culture to boost their sales, with today's market often rewarding the fastest to ride trends.
MEET Café, a coffee shop situated in Muwaileh, Sharjah, started selling Labubu-style matcha drinks around two weeks ago, and already saw a spike in sales of around 20 to 30 per cent, the founder of the café told Khaleej Times.
The Labubu is a trendy plush toy that took the UAE by storm, with some customers lining up for hours to get their hands on them.
Ahmed Al Harmoodi, founder of MEET Café, said that the drink became an instant hit, and the coffee shop started seeing more customers by the day. 'The Labubu drink helped attract a large number of new customers, in addition to increasing visits from existing customers who wanted to try the new product,' he said.
The café even introduced a loyalty card that, once fully stamped, can get you a free Labubu toy. 'We believe that trend-based promotions can create temporary buzz, but they also present an opportunity to build long-term customer loyalty by offering a high-quality product and a distinctive experience,' Al Harmoodi said.
Unexpected bestseller
Maryam Hamad, an artist who sells merchandise with her own hand-drawn designs, didn't expect the Disney character Stitch from Lilo & Stitch to be her bestselling item. It all started with a request from one of her customers to create a Stitch-inspired hoodie, and after posting an image of the final product to her Instagram account, orders for other Stitch-inspired merchandise started to pour in.
She said even the schoolbags that she usually sells, which have a drawing of a generic boy and girl character, didn't get many orders before her daughter asked for the Disney character to be drawn alongside the original design.
Maryam then uploaded a picture of the final product and said that more and more orders started to pour through for the Stitch schoolbags.
However, the work and effort put in takes up much of her time, so she sometimes has to opt out of some trends. 'It sometimes takes an entire day to paint, especially Stitch, because the drawing needs to be perfected,' she said.
Maryam added that this is why she decided not to upload any 'Labubu' doll products as she knew the demand would be high. 'I already got requests from people to draw the Labubu on different items, especially on wallets for Eid. But because of the pressure, I didn't want to add pictures of it on my Instagram,' she said.
Internet sensations
Even influencer breakups are not spared from some businesses' marketing efforts. The Lebanese restaurant Allo Beirut uploaded a TikTok post joining in on the 'Thewizardliz' bandwagon. Lize Dzjabrailova, also known as Thewizardliz, recently was in the internet's spotlight after she accused her husband Landon Nickerson of extramarital affairs. Allo Beirut uploaded a TikTok post with the caption 'Landon is NOT allowed to come to Allo Beirut', teasingly referring to the breakup and siding with Lize.
This became their most-liked video as of yet on the platform, but whether it gained them more profit is unknown. What is clear, though, is that businesses stand to gain more than just profit when they capitalise on pop culture and trends. 'Trend-based promotions can also create an opportunity [for businesses] to build long-term customer loyalty,' Al Harmoodi said.