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Okay, let's be real. If you typed labubu labu labu labubu into a search bar, you probably weren't looking for a detailed history of Kasing Lung's art. You saw a video. You heard a sound. And more than likely, you saw Lisa from BLACKPINK.
You're in the right place. But we're going to go deeper than the TikToks.
As someone who runs PopNya and has been collecting and selling these little monsters for years, I had a front-row seat to the absolute chaos that followed that viral moment. It was a cultural atom bomb dropped on our relatively niche hobby. And honestly? The shockwaves are still being felt today.
So let's break down what that weird, catchy phrase actually means for the world of LABUBU, and more importantly, for you as a potential collector.
The Sound Heard 'Round the World**
It all started so simply. In late 2023, Lalisa Manobal, yes, the Lisa, posted an Instagram story. It was an unboxing video of sorts. In it, she was opening a case of The Monsters Exciting Macaron series and she had a big, fluffy LABUBU keychain attached to her bag. As she showed it off, she made a cute, playful sound: "labu labu labubu."
That was it. That was the spark.
Within hours, the designer toy world tilted on its axis. A community that had been steadily growing for years was suddenly flooded with millions of new eyes. The term labu labu labubu became a meme, an audio track on TikTok and Reels, and a shorthand for "that cute monster thing Lisa has."
For us in the business, it was surreal. My phone started blowing up. DMs, emails, site notifications. "Do you have the Lisa LABUBU?" "Where can I buy the macaron one?" "How much for Soymilk?" People who had never heard of Pop Mart or Kasing Lung a day before were now desperate to get their hands on one.
The specific series she unboxed was The Monsters Exciting Macaron. Before this, it was a popular series, for sure. Cute pastel colors, fun designs. We had them in stock. They sold well. But after that IG story, they didn't just sell well. They evaporated.
The "Lisa Effect": A Seller's War Story
I need you to understand the scale of what happened next. It wasn't just a small bump in sales. It was a vertical line straight up.
A blind box from the Exciting Macaron series retailed for about $15-$17. A full case of 12 was around $180. The day before Lisa's post, you could find them pretty easily.
The day after?
Single blind boxes were being flipped on secondary markets like eBay and StockX for $40, $50, sometimes $60. And people were paying it. Full cases shot up to $400, then $500, and I saw some listings touch $700. It was pure madness.
The chase figures from that series, particularly Soymilk (the one that looks like a little ghost) and Lychee Berry (the pink one), became grails overnight. A figure that you had a 1/12 chance of pulling from a $15 box was suddenly selling for $100-$150 on its own. The secret figure, Sesame Bean, which has a 1/144 chance, was hitting astronomical prices, well over $500.
As a seller, it was a nightmare and a dream all at once. My entire inventory of Macarons was gone in minutes. I spent the next few weeks on the phone with distributors, trying to source more stock, but Pop Mart's global supply was wiped clean. Every store, every online retailer, sold out. The demand created by one person's 15-second video outstripped the entire global production.
This is what we call the "Lisa Effect." It's not just hype; it's a market-breaking phenomenon. We saw it with Celine bags, with Adidas sneakers, and now we were seeing it with a 3-inch vinyl toy. It was a powerful lesson in modern celebrity influence. If you want a deeper look into the specifics of that series, I wrote up an honest buyer's guide for the Labubu Macarons that covers the fallout in more detail.
Real Talk: The Dark Side of the Hype
Okay, here's the part most people won't tell you. While the exposure was incredible for the LABUBU brand, the fallout for the collecting community was… complicated.
The sudden, insane demand did two things, neither of them good for genuine fans.
First, it brought in the scalpers. People who didn't care about the art, the artist, or the character saw a financial opportunity. They used bots to buy up online stock and cleared out physical store shelves to flip the toys for obscene profits. It priced out long-time collectors and made it nearly impossible for new, genuine fans to get started without getting ripped off.
Second, it created a massive market for fakes. When the official product is sold out everywhere and selling for 4x its retail price, counterfeiters see their chance. The Monsters Exciting Macaron series became one of the most heavily faked designer toy series I have ever seen.
And they got good. Scary good.
As a seller, I had to become an expert in authenticating them. We had customers sending us photos of toys they bought elsewhere, asking if they were real. Here are a few things I learned to look for, things that only come from handling hundreds of these boxes:
* The Vinyl Feel: Real LABUBU figures have a specific weight and a smooth, matte finish. The fakes often feel lighter, a bit more plasticky, and sometimes have a slight greasy sheen to them. * The Paint on the Ears: Kasing Lung's characters have very distinct, long ears. On authentic figures, the paint line where the ear color meets the face is crisp and clean. On many fakes, this line is blurry, splotchy, or slightly misplaced. * The Box Printing: This is a big one. Counterfeiters have trouble perfectly replicating the high-quality printing of Pop Mart boxes. Look for slightly blurry text, colors that are a bit too saturated or a bit too dull, and a box that feels flimsy. The real boxes have a nice, sturdy feel. * The Collector Card: The card inside the box should have sharp printing and be made of a thick, quality cardstock. Fake cards often feel thin and the image can look like a low-resolution scan.
The sheer volume of fakes that flooded the market was a direct consequence of the labu labu labubu hype. It made buying from anywhere other than an official retailer or a trusted independent store like ours a huge gamble.
Beyond the Macarons: What LABUBU Is Actually About
Here's my honest take. The Exciting Macaron series is cute. It's a great series. But is it the best LABUBU series ever made? No. Not by a long shot, in my opinion.
It's just the most famous one.
The hype created a weird kind of tunnel vision where new collectors thought LABUBU was the Macaron series. But that's like thinking The Beatles only ever wrote "Hey Jude.LABUBU is the creation of Hong Kong-based artist Kasing Lung. He created a whole world called "The Monsters," populated by characters like LABUBU, Tycoco, Spooky, and Pato. They are mischievous, sometimes grumpy, but ultimately lovable forest elves. His art is whimsical and has a beautiful, storybook quality to it.
Before the Macaron madness, series like Have a Seat were the talk of the town. I still think the Have a Seat V2 series has some of the most creative and detailed designs in the entire LABUBU lineup. The crossover series, like the incredible Monsters x One Piece LABUBU, showed how versatile the character could be. These were beloved by the core community for their artistry and clever concepts.
If you came here from the labu labu labubu trend, I'm genuinely stoked to have you. But I'm also begging you: please look beyond the macarons. You are missing out on so much amazing art. Check out the "Zimomo" line, which are the larger-scale versions of LABUBU. Explore the older series. You'll find that the creativity runs so much deeper than just pastel colors. The best place to start is just by looking through a wide LABUBU collection to see the sheer variety that exists.
How to Collect LABUBU in a Post-Hype World
So, you're new, you're excited, but you're also probably a little intimidated by the prices and the fakes. What do you do?
First, breathe. The initial wave of insane hype has crested. While the Macaron series is still expensive on the secondary market, things have calmed down a bit. Pop Mart has also done restocks, which helps stabilize prices.
Second, expand your horizons. Don't pay $50 for a single Macaron blind box. For that same money, you could buy three or four boxes from a different, equally awesome series like Big into Energy or the latest flower-themed release. You'll get more joy, more variety, and a better feel for the hobby without feeding the scalper market. The general guide to LABUBU dolls is a good starting point to understand the broader landscape.
Third, buy from reputable sources. This is the most important rule. Buy from Pop Mart's official site, their physical stores, or trusted independent retailers (like us at PopNya, ahem). If a deal on a third-party site seems too good to be true, it is. A full case of Macarons for $100 on a sketchy website is not a deal; it's a box of fakes waiting to disappoint you.
The "labu labu labubu" sound was a gateway. It was a fun, silly, viral moment that introduced a character we love to a massive new audience. And that's a good thing. But it's just the beginning of the story. The real magic isn't in the hype; it's in the art, the community, and the simple joy of unboxing a little monster that makes you smile.
Welcome to the rabbit hole. It's fun down here.
*Disclosure: PopNya may earn a commission if you purchase through links on this page.
