Pop Mart and Labubu: When Cuteness Sets the Price

Labubu and the Power of Emotional Design

While the world fixated on AI and watched Nvidia break records, something quieter was happening: Pop Mart’s stock was quietly climbing. And at the heart of it all was Labubu—a tiny, wide-eyed character that has become nearly impossible to ignore.

Labubu is cute. So are Skullpanda, The Monsters, and many of Pop Mart’s original characters. But this isn’t just about aesthetics. There’s something deeply comforting about these figures. They offer a kind of emotional warmth—nostalgia, safety, even a sense of identity. In a fast, unpredictable world, cute characters feel grounding. They remind us of simpler times, or maybe just give us a reason to smile today.

Pop Mart understands this. Their success didn’t come from copying existing trends—it came from knowing what people feel. What started as a toy company became a business that taps into emotional needs. That’s not a small insight. It’s why their characters went viral on TikTok and Instagram without a single influencer in sight. People saw them, felt something, and that was enough.

Emotion Moves Markets

Some might say buying collectibles is irrational. But that view misses a bigger shift. The rise of “kidults”—adults who buy toys, games, and nostalgic items—isn’t just a passing trend. It’s becoming a new form of consumption that makes perfect sense in today’s world. It’s emotional, yes. But it’s also intentional. People want to own things that make them feel good, even if those things don’t serve a practical purpose. That emotional value is the value.

Investors aren’t immune to this, either. Pop Mart’s stock jumped more than tenfold in just two and a half years. It wasn’t only because of earnings—it was because people started seeing Labubu and Skullpanda everywhere. When characters become part of everyday culture, the numbers tend to follow.

Of course, all hype eventually meets reality. But what makes Pop Mart interesting is how they’re handling that moment. They’re not playing it safe. They’re expanding into animation, building a theme park, and exploring new ways to scale their intellectual property. They’re not just selling toys anymore—they’re betting that these characters can define a world, like Disney or Nintendo once did. In doing so, they’re not just riding a wave—they’re trying to set a new fundamental value that justifies the price people are already willing to pay.

Labubu may look small, but the shift it represents is big. Emotional connection isn’t a side effect—it’s the core product. And in today’s market, that just might be the most rational investment of all.