27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Craze for Labubu, hit toy from China's Pop Mart, spreads to Middle East
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 toothy, elfin character created by Hong Kong-born artist
Kasing Lung 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.
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).
'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.
