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Is Labubu the next Hello Kitty? Analysts debate the limits for China’s Pop Mart

Labubu is a stunning success and a new Chinese cultural export, but can the company repeat its feats and rival Sanrio?

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People look at Labubu products at a Pop Mart pop-up store in Siam Center shopping mall, in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 6. Photo: AFP
Yuke Xiein Beijing

Pop Mart, the company behind the hit collectible character Labubu, was virtually unknown outside mainland China before 2024, but now some analysts are comparing its success to that of Sanrio and its Hello Kitty property, suggesting that the Beijing toymaker could have created a new playbook for cultural exports.

Labubu, a sharp-fanged but cute little monster that is often sold as a plush clip-on charm for handbags, has attracted high-profile fans including the family of football star David Beckham. Its popularity pushed Pop Mart’s Hong Kong-listed shares to a record high of HK$234 last week, after the company’s market capitalisation topped HK$300 billion (US$38 billion) the week before. The rally followed the April debut of the Labubu 3.0 series, which drew long queues in London, New York, and Dubai.
“For years, there’s been a push [for Chinese companies] to ‘go global’ by exporting heritage and storytelling,” said Chris Pereira, founder and CEO at iMpact, a brand consulting company in Singapore. “But Labubu flips that script. It’s not trying to explain China, it’s just trying to be lovable.”

The sustained hype around Labubu had “great similarities” to Hello Kitty, which turned 50 last year, according to JPMorgan Chase. The US bank said that beyond common traits in character design and business model, Labubu was also catching up with Hello Kitty in areas such as merchandising, licensing and Google Trends search interest.

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