Labubu: a small monster to take everywhere.

Labubu looks like the sort of creature you might need to explain to somebody who has just noticed it on your bag. The teeth are part of the appeal. So is the fact that another person might immediately recognise which small monster you have brought along.

During the 2025 wave, that recognition travelled well beyond toy collectors. But the people buying one didn’t necessarily have the same reason for wanting it. A curious-looking accessory could fit a taste somebody already had, even if social media had made this particular character much more visible.

Some buyers simply liked the creature

The Indian Express’s July 2025 Pune report (opens in a new tab) identifies Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung as Labubu’s creator and places the character in The Monsters and Pop Mart’s blind-box collecting world.

It also offers a more useful Indian picture than a distant celebrity’s bag. Anika Awomi described buying a Labubu in Thailand because she liked it, having already collected cute bag accessories. Another buyer, Nina, spoke about enjoying its unusual design. The purchases were attached to personal taste as well as a trend.

That makes it hard to dismiss every owner as somebody who needed the internet to tell them what to like. You can have liked small stuffed accessories for years and still be pleased when one becomes easier to discuss with other people.

You don’t find out everything at the counter

Blind-box collecting adds a wait between choosing to buy and knowing exactly what you have bought. A sealed box might contain the version you wanted, a welcome surprise or something you already own.

Choosing a favourite in advance gives the opening something to disappoint. The result isn’t guaranteed, but hoping for a particular version can still make another one feel faintly unfair. A buyer might have a new toy and already be considering how to get a different one.

Opening is also something another person can watch. They don’t need your whole collection explained before understanding the few seconds of uncertainty. Afterwards, the charm can leave the box and become visible on a bag, where someone familiar with the character might ask about it.

The Pune reporting described shops responding in different ways, including a seller openly discussing copies and a collectible store offering a Monsters crossover. That variety matters. A report of local demand doesn’t authenticate every object bearing the familiar face.

The questions reached Google too

Google’s Indian Year in Search review for 2025 (opens in a new tab) included curiosity about Labubu. That records people looking it up, rather than counting how many bought one or what they paid.

The 2025 attention doesn’t supply a reliable ending for the character, either. A collectible can stop being new to the rest of a feed while remaining someone’s favourite thing on a bag.

For an owner who already liked the design, that may be enough. The stranger asking about the teeth can have the short explanation. The friend who also collects them may want to inspect it properly.