Maybe you’ve only just heard of POP MART. We don’t blame you if that’s the case. After all, it feels like, overnight, POP MART’s iconic Labubu figure took over the world. But while it might seem like POP MART and its Labubu, of the brand’s The Monsters collection, stole hearts and minds in the blink of an (adorably oversized) eye, POP MART achieved this critical mass, not in an instant, but over 15 years of accumulated hard work, artistic excellence, and a fan-oriented approach. You see, although they are the It collectible of our current moment, like most of POP MART’s releases, Labubus are figures based on the original work of an independent artist that POP MART collaborated with. And it’s this spirit of raising up the artist to manifest truly wonderful creations that has led POP MART to its longevity and ultimate success.
At San-Diego Comic Con, Nerdist had the pleasure of talking to Emily Brough, Head of Licensing at POP MART Americas. And Brough walked us through the long legacy of POP MART’s success and shed light on its incredibly bright future.
At San Diego Comic-Con, POP MART brought out an array of global debuts, products that we got our very first look at, at the event, and then will be rolled out to stores later in the year. Among the line-up were both original and franchise IPs that Brough shared POP MART has seen great success with. In fact, she revealed that the SDCC POP MART booth required “a whole lottery system to ease the lines.” Otherwise, we imagine the booth would have been flooded with convention goers eager to get their hands on some of the incredible toys featured in the space.
Among them, I met Nyota, who is created by an artist based in China from PDC, also called Design Center. Brough explains, “This is an internal design house that we have where we work with the designers that are on staff to bring their characters to life and feature them as the artist, feature their characters. Nyota is a real breakout hit. The character has been on the market for a very short amount of time. We just launched in late 2023/2024, and, already she’s one of the best sellers within the US.” In fact, Pop-Mart brought Nyota’s artist, KaKa, for a signing at SDCC—a unique experience for fans and creator alike, as not all toy makers spotlight their artists in such a way.
Nyota’s big eyes peer up at me as we pass her, and truly, she is like no other doll design I’ve seen out there, adorable and whimsical. Nyota brings to life a gentle curiosity and a sweet shyness that’s palpable. It’s clear that an artist’s original style truly inspired these figures’ existence. The collection has a point of view and style all its own. POP MART also takes care to release their collections at different price points and sizes, allowing for a broader audience to enjoy the magic of their collections.
At SDCC, we see smaller Nyota figures that come at a lower price point, and larger, fully standalone versions of the character, which, of course, equate to a more expensive purchase. But that means that everyone, from younger children attracted to the precious design of Nyota to collectors intrigued by the unique art style, can find a Nyota that’s right for them.
Next to Nyota is POP MART’s Peach Riot line, one of my personal favorites. Brough proudly shares, “Whenever we have Libby Frame,” the artist of Peach Riot, “we have lines and lines out the door. People love talking to her. And Libby loves to see them. She’s very fan-friendly and she loves to interact with her fans, so it’s always fun to see her as well. ” Yet another example of POP MART’s focus on highlighting the artists it works with, which we personally really enjoy and applaud. “The majority of our business is focused on our independent artists,” Brough emphasizes to us. “This category is so important to us.”
In front of us, the ladies of Peach Riot are rocking out in full force. “The fun thing about Peach Riot,” Brough reveals, is that “it’s three figures, which is unusual for POP MART. Usually, with our own IP, it’s only one character, but this is a high school band. They’re Riot Grrrl themed. They’re rebellious, they’re fashionable, and they’re just chasing their creative dreams trying to make it happen.” This is definitely one of POP MART’s most relatable figure lines, and I can see why. Who wouldn’t want to join Peach Riot’s band? I know I would. The figures have an electric energy that can’t be denied. Just looking at them, you know they’ll achieve their dreams, and you can too.
We also have a soft spot for another of POP MART’s original creations, DUCKOO, created by Chokocider. DUCKOO is, let me tell you, so cute. And also a non-binary icon, presenting more masculine or feminine depending on the design, helping the character to be perfect for any and everyone. DUCKOO, Brough shares, “has an amazing personality. And its whole thing is that it’s super spontaneous. DUCKOO is willing to try anything. So all the series feature the character in super incredible roles.” Brough also wants us to take in the expression on DUCKOO’s face, which is iconic. DUCKOO, she further reveals, was a natural hit. “It found this natural audience without really any extra special marketing or anything.” And we can see why.
We pass by a few super-sized figures, POP MART’s MEGA line, which transforms their figures into huge versions of themselves in more limited-edition ways. At SDCC, we see MEGA SPACE MOLLY 400%, POP MART’s first-ever character in a space suit, in a few different forms. These include a Hot Wheels collaboration and a version designed by an independent contemporary artist from the UK named Jon Burgerman. Burgerman, let me tell you, is a man with a STYLE.
The figures, Brough reveals, come in the 400% size and also in the 1000% size, which are even bigger and more limited. 400% figures can cost between $300 and $400. Meanwhile, 1000% size can get up to a $1,000! But hey, if you’re a collector, it’s an exciting offering.
Independent artists are the crux of POP MART’s focus, but they also do some incredible work with IPs you know and love. At SDCC, Star Wars and Chucky, two of our Nerdist favorites, are front and center. The Star Wars Bobble Head figures caught my eye even before I got up close to them. They are adorable.
And the Darth Maul figure is not just a want, but a NEED, as far as I’m concerned. The figures are a brand new format for POP MART, and they’re debuting globally at SDCC, but will head to the rest of the market very soon.
Meanwhile, Chucky Blind Boxes will be arriving in time for Halloween. And it’s POP MART’s first collection with everyone’s favorite horror doll. Each of the figures in the blind boxes captures some of the most memorable moments from the Chucky movies. And, of course, our BFF Tiffany makes one appearance to tease us and tempt us into buying yet more of the boxes. How could our lives be complete without Tiff?
And, then, drum roll please, it’s time for the Labubus. Personally, I’d thought myself immune to the Labubu obsession sweeping the nation. But looking at them up close and personally at the POP MART SDCC booth, I could feel my resolve melting. Their vinyl faces. Their big eyes. Their soft, pastel fur. Nooooooooo. They got me, they got me good.
Brough introduces them to me as “The Labubu, our mischievous little Nordic elf who has taken the world by storm.” A major understatement—but Labubus started just like any other POP MART release, the work of an independent artist, highlighted by the brand and brought to prominence by a meeting of minds and hearts.
“The Labubu’s origins are actually from a picture book by a Hong Kong-born, Netherlands-based artist named Kasing Lung. They came out in book format in 2015. And we started working with Kasing in 2019 to bring the characters to life. And then the vinyl-face plush really came about in the way that a lot of our product development comes about,” Brough shares.
She adds, “And that’s that we look for new and inventive ways to bring our characters to life that are unique to that character. We thought, ‘What can we do with Labubu that speaks to everything that she is? And that’s where we came up with this format, which has obviously done really well. But it’s really that I think authenticity and design that helps to breed this excitement that we’ve seen in the market. We work closely with artists on everything that we do. So all of these designs and ideas are in collaboration with Kasing and our design teams.”
We love the idea that it’s the sincerity of collaboration with the creative heart of the character that has made magic for POP MART. And even though you may have only just heard of the Labubu, their rise to prominence is “not so sudden.”
Brough notes, “She’s been around. This is the 10-year anniversary of the Labubu. And the art has been around for 15 years. So all of this has been making and building for a very long time. It’s been pretty gradual the whole time. Every month or so, we think, ‘Oh, that was a big shift’ and it just continues to grow. So I think it’s an awareness. And it also ties into our expansion globally. All this time, we’ve been opening more and more stores. We started just three years ago, here. We’re now up to 43 stores. Globally, we’re up to 550 stores. We have headquarters in LA, in Sydney, in Singapore, and London. So I think that once you hear about POP MART, you look around and it’s everywhere. And that’s because we’ve been building that, not just with Labubu, but with all our brands.”
When asked which Labubu is her personal favorite, Brough struggles to choose between all her children, but eventually lands on the Labubu Lazy Yoga series, noting she appreciates the fun and irreverence there and the way that the line is “just her, at home, going to yoga.” But all the series, Brough emphasizes, help build out the story of the character through the designs. “It’s an extension, either of their personality or their storytelling.” And it’s this strong focus on narrative that really resonates with people. Brough also brings up POP MART’s Skullpanda IP, where recently, the non-gender character (again, love) had a series called The Sound, which was all about the experience of finding themselves through sound. Brough found it to be a particularly moving series that tied nicely into the Skullpanda story overall.
Back to the Labubus, when asked if she has any advice for how eager fans can hope to snag the elusive creature, Brough points folks to the POP MART US’s TikTok live stream. She’s not sure if people actually have better luck buyting the Labubu via TikTok, “it’s all anecdotal,” but fans seem to “enjoy the experience of our live stream because we have these very dynamic and interactive posts, and they’re so excited to talk about product. So I see a lot of excitement there.”
She also points folks toward POP MART’s POP NOW option, which replicates the experience of a blind box online. “So you click on, there’s a display flap and there’s a certain number in there, and then you click on one and it’ll show you what it is not. And then you can do that two or three times, and then you put it into your cart if you would like to proceed. Once you pay, you actually get to see what it is. So you get to open up the blind box. That’s fun right there. So people love POP NOW.”
Finally, although there are many POP MART stores in the US, there are EVEN more Robo Shops, 2,500 in total. These vending machine-like structures bring all the magic of POP MART to so many more locations. So if there isn’t a POP MART near you, make sure to try your luck finding a Robo Shop.”
That’s all what’s going on right now. But Brough hints at much excitement to come. When it comes to Labubus, Brough teases, “It is their 10-year anniversary. We’ve got some exciting plans for Labubus.” But beyond that, it’s actually POP MART’s 15-year anniversary, a thrilling time.
“We’re continuing to really build and grow in the market here in the US, and then also globally,” Brough says, forward-looking. “So, I’m just excited to continue to bring this experience and new IP to the market and to see new stores and new ways for people to interact with our characters. All of it. I’m just excited for all of it. And especially for extending all the stories out for each of the characters with each series, and to see how fans respond. We will be bringing some new IP to the market continuously. And with the momentum that we’ve built over the past couple months, and the past years, I’m really eager to be able to bring new themes and formats and see how people react. We’ll, of course, continue to innovate when it comes to product development. But always, we’ll innovate according to the characters themselves. And I think that we’ll see more and more products that people are just going to really love.”
15 years in the pocket, hit after hit, a gorgeous array of artists, and a bright future ahead—we can’t wait to see what POP MART will do next.
The post POP MART May Seem Like It JUST Took Over the World with Labubus, But Its Power Has Risen for 15 Years appeared first on Nerdist.
Source: Kiat Media
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