Labubu not the first toy craze, and certainly won't be the last
But what makes the Labubu a must-have, or any toy for that matter, is a decades-old question that toy makers have yet to figure out.
Here's a look at some of the most popular toys over the years.
Cabbage Patch Kids
Cabbage Patch Kids began as chubby-faced dolls with yarn hair that came with adoption papers. During the 1980s the dolls were so popular that parents waited in long lines at stores trying to get a hold of them. More than 90 million Cabbage Patch Kids were sold worldwide during their heyday.
Cabbage Patch Kids, which were created by Xavier Roberts and initially sold by Coleco, were relaunched in 2004, looking to take part in the successful return of other popular 1980s toys including Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
A Cabbage Patch Kid museum named BabyLand General Hospital still exists in Cleveland, Georgia. The dolls entered the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2023.
Beanie Baby
Beanie Babies captivated consumers in the mid-1990s. The cuddly $5 toys were under-stuffed for maximum hug-ability, stamped with cute names on their Ty Inc. tags, and given limited edition runs.
Many people collected, traded and sold the toys with the hopes that their value would just keep going up at the dawn of the e-commerce age. It made some people money, and the founder, Ty Warner, a billionaire in three years.
In 2014 Warner learned that he would not go to prison for hiding at least $25 million from U.S. tax authorities and instead received two years' probation. Warner, one of the highest profile figures snared in a federal investigation of Americans using Swiss bank accounts to avoid U.S. taxes, had pleaded guilty to a single count of tax evasion.
Tamagotchi
Looking for a pet without the real-life responsibilities? Well then the Tamagotchi electronic pet from Bandai was for you. Consumers were hooked on the egg-shaped plastic toy that first launched in Japan in 1996 and became a craze worldwide in the late 1990s and 2000s.
Users were tasked with taking care of their virtual pet by pressing buttons that simulate feeding, disciplining and playing with the critter on screen. If a Tamagotchi is neglected, it dies.
In 2013 Tamagotchi was reborn as a mobile app, duplicating the experience of the plastic handheld toy. The toy was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame in May.
Fidget Spinner
Fidget spinners — the 3-inch twirling gadgets that took over classrooms and cubicles — were all the rage in 2017. The toy was considered somewhat of an outlier at the time, given that it wasn't made by a major company, timed for the holiday season, or promoted in TV commercials. Fidget spinners were more easily found at gas stations or 7-Eleven than at big toy chains.
Fidget spinners had been around for years, mostly used by kids with autism or attention disorders to help them concentrate, but they became more popular after being featured on social media.
While hot toys are often made by one company, fidget spinners were made by numerous manufacturers, mostly in China. The toys were marketed as a concentration aid but became so popular among children that many schools started banning them, saying that they were a distraction.
Labubu
The Labubu, by artist and illustrator Kasing Lung, first appeared as monsters with pointed ears and pointy teeth in three picture books inspired by Nordic mythology in 2015.
In 2019 Lung struck a deal with Pop Mart, a company that caters to toy connoisseurs and influencers, to sell Labubu figurines. But it wasn't until Pop Mart started selling Labubu plush toys on key rings in 2023 that the toothy monsters suddenly seemed to be everywhere, including in the hands of Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and NBA star Dillon Brooks. K-pop singer Lisa of Blackpink began posting images of hers for her more than 100 million followers on Instagram and on TikTok, where Labubu pandemonium has broken out.
Labubu has been a bonanza for Pop Mart. Its revenue more than doubled in 2024 to 13.04 billion yuan ($1.81 billion), thanks in part to its elvish monster. Revenue from Pop Mart's plush toys soared more than 1,200% in 2024, nearly 22% of its overall revenue, according to the company's annual report.
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Newsweek
26 minutes ago
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POP MART Takes Over Comic Con With Exclusive Drops and Debuts
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Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
This week, we remember a few icons and visit our happy place with ‘Happy Gilmore 2'
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New York Post
5 hours ago
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Malcolm-Jamal Warner's death: Police clarify his daughter's whereabouts at time of actor's drowning
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Once the doctor got to shore, he saw the second bystander, who had helped rescue Warner, struggling to breathe while lying on the sand. 9 Malcolm-Jamal Warner celebrates the holidays with his daughter. malcolmjamalwar/Instagram '[He was] just someone who tried to help during the emergency, without any rescue equipment.' Lifeguards explained on Monday that while Playa Grande is well known by 'local surfers,' it is one of their 'most challenging beaches.' Advertisement 'We deeply regret the passing of Malcolm-Jamal Warner at Playa Grande. He was swept away by a strong rip current and died by drowning,' Costa Rica's volunteer lifeguard association, Caribbean Guard, wrote on Facebook Monday. 9 Malcolm-Jamal Warner and his daughter wash his car. malcolmjamalwar/Instagram 'It all happened very quickly, and although there were people on the beach who entered the water to rescue him, they did not arrive in time,' the statement noted. 'He was pulled from underwater without vital signs, and despite CPR maneuvers being performed on the beach, resuscitation was unsuccessful.' They added that there are signs placed along the beach in both Spanish and English 'warning of the danger of death due to drowning.' Advertisement Warner drowned while swimming near Cocles after allegedly being caught by a high current on Sunday, between 2 and 2:30 p.m. local time. 9 'The Cosby Show' cast photo. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images The Hollywood vet rose to fame playing Theodore 'Theo' Huxtable, the son of Bill Cosby's Cliff Huxtable, in 'The Cosby Show.' The sitcom ran for eight seasons from 1984 to 1992 on NBC. Warner garnered a 1986 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Advertisement In 2021, the 'Malcolm & Eddie' vet spoke with The Post about the legacy of the series after Cosby's sexual assault conviction before it was overturned. 9 Malcolm-Jamal Warner arrives at the FX and Vanity Fair Pre-Emmy Celebration at Craft in LA on September 17, 2016. MediaPunch/INSTARimages 9 Malcolm-Jamal Warner's photo shoot for Fox's 'The Resident.' FOX Image Collection via Getty Images 'I can understand why some people can't watch the show and enjoy it because of everything that's going on now,' Warner said. 'But I think … there's a generation of young people who have pursued higher education or have started loving families because of the influence of that show.' Advertisement 'So it's kind of like, you can't discount its impact on television culture and American culture,' he expressed. After news of the tragedy broke, Cosby, 88, addressed Warner's death, revealing that it felt like losing his own son, who was murdered in 1997. He told The Post through his rep: 'While I was their TV dad, I never stopped being a father to them.'
