Labubu craze fuels China’s growing soft power

The runaway global success of Pop Mart’s Labubu collectibles is a symbol of China’s growing cultural influence in international markets.

In the first half of 2025, Pop Mart reported revenue of 13.88 billion yuan ($1.93 billion), marking a 204% increase from the year before. Net profit climbed nearly 400% to $637 million, a surge that underscored the profitability of its blind-box model and expanding global footprint. The company’s success extends to founder Wang Ning, whose fortune has now ballooned to $25.8 billion, according to Forbes, surpassing the $23.9 billion wealth of American tech investor Peter Thiel.

Much of the momentum came from Labubu and its wider “The Monsters” series, which alone generated 4.81 billion yuan ($672 million), accounting for more than a third of total revenue. Pop Mart’s stock more than doubled in Hong Kong this year, briefly giving it a market capitalization larger than both Mattel and Sanrio, the Japanese company behind Hello Kitty. The scale of that valuation reflects how a once-niche Chinese toy maker has entered the ranks of the global industry’s most influential players.

Chinese state media have celebrated Pop Mart’s rise as an example of “Created in China,” marking a shift from the country’s traditional role as a manufacturing hub to a producer of global cultural brands. In an interview with state outlet People’s Daily, Wang Ning emphasized this dual identity, saying, “It is precisely Chinese manufacturing and Chinese culture that have made us what we are.”

The spread of Labubu places China alongside its Asian neighbors known for exporting cultural icons. Japan’s Hello Kitty, for instance, has grown into a multibillion-dollar franchise that shaped global consumer culture, while South Korea’s K-pop has transformed global music consumption. Pop Mart now sells in more than 80 countries, with characters spotted from London to Bangkok. In the U.S. market, the company operated 37 staffed outlets and 52 vending “roboshops” by mid-2025, with 10 more stores planned before year’s end.