When Brands Win the Product Lottery: Times Consumers Have Gone Feral for Trendy Items

If you’ve been on TikTok in the last few months, you’ve likely seen or heard something about Labubu. For those who haven’t, Labubus are small plush keychains that come in various colors and feature different facial expressions. You can dress them up or attach them to your bag. They’re also almost impossible to get ahold of.  

Labubu Love 

Labubu is a character created by artist Kasing Lung, and she first appeared in the book "The Monsters" in 2015. In 2019, Chinese retailer PopMart began making collectible figures and plush keychains of Labubu. In 2025, six years later, Labubu’s popularity was ignited when Lisa, a member of the K-pop group BLACKPINK, was spotted in several pictures with a Labubu on her bag. That was all it took for Labubu to begin selling out across PopMart stores and websites.  

Celebrities like Lizzo have fully embraced the trend, mentioning it in song lyrics and pairing outfits with her labubus. It seems like everybody wants to get their hands on a Labubu, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to snag one. This has led to people buying as many as they can and selling them for well above retail price. Anyone who can’t score them on the PopMart website or from a reseller is left with one option: purchasing a fake Labubu, called a Lafufu.  

Social media has also contributed heavily to Labubu’s popularity. There are several creators on TikTok whose entire accounts revolve around Labubus and sharing strategies to help out-of-luck consumers snag one of their own. PopMart has also leveraged social media, promoting their cute and creepy keychains on Instagram and TikTok, as well as selling merchandise through 2- to 3-hour TikTok Lives.  

While I’ve fallen deep into the Labubu rabbit hole, I’ve noticed that this kitschy craze isn’t a new phenomenon. 

Ballistic Over Beanie Babies 

Labubu isn’t the only cute and cuddly collectible that people have gone crazy for. 2020s trends, such as Labubu and Squishmallows, had the way paved for them by simple stuffed animals with small red tags. That’s right—the Beanie Baby.  

The Beanie Baby craze of the late 90s isn’t all that different from the modern-day Labubu trend; if anything, it might be more intense. The toys were out of stock everywhere, and counterfeits ran rampant. There are even stories of Beanie Babies spilling out of delivery trucks onto highways, prompting people to scramble to grab them off the road, and thieves ignoring cash registers to walk out of stores with Beanie Babies instead.  

Tickle Me Elmo Escapades 

Another beloved stuffed toy that sent people into a frenzy was Tickle Me Elmo. In 1996, parents were so desperate to get their hands on the furry red toy that many people got into physical altercations in stores, and even trampled Walmart employees to purchase one. The reseller market was especially frenzied for Tickle Me Elmo, as people would sell theirs for $1,000 in some cases, even though the toy originally sold for around $30. Several other iterations of moving, talking Elmo toys were released in subsequent years, but none were as popular as the original.  

High Stakes for Securing a Stanley 

A more recent trend, and one that’s less soft and fuzzy, is the Stanley cup. The Stanley craze is especially interesting because it isn’t a new product. In fact, the company is over 100 years old, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that it truly gained momentum. Like Labubu, Stanley leveraged their social media presence by partnering with influencers and making themselves a staple of #WaterTok, a community of people mixing flavored powders and syrups into their water. Stanley has also been the cause of a few grocery store fights due to limited edition Valentine’s Day cups and Starbucks collaborations.  

Trendy Takeaways 

While it’s fascinating to learn about different products that have flown off the shelves and into the hands of frantic fans (at least it is to me), there is a takeaway for brands in all of this. When I spoke to my colleagues about Labubu, most of them noted that they hadn’t heard of it before. This raises an intriguing point: if you’re missing the Labubu trend, what other trends are you overlooking? There could be one happening in your industry that you haven’t ever heard of.  

Social media can sometimes seem inconsequential or frustrating, but it provides valuable insights into what consumers are buying—and how brands can tap into that demand to fuel their growth. If you want to capitalize on trends like these, it might be time to download TikTok.  

When in doubt, BSM Partners can help you delve into the TikTok territory and gain important consumer information that you can use to grow your brand. And while you wait to become the next Stanley or Labubu, BSM Partners can help you create a product consumers will go crazy for.  

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About the Author

Cady Wolf is an Analyst at BSM Partners. She graduated magna cum laude with a degree in English from Brigham Young University-Idaho, and she currently lives in Rexburg, Idaho with her husband, their two cats, and pet tortoise. She loves animals and learning about how to help pet brands and pet parents alike.