A New Cultural Phenomenon
The collectible world has seen many crazes, but few have captured a moment like Pop Mart. The global explosion of Pop Mart didn’t come from a typical corporate ad campaign, it came from a grinning little monster named Labubu. With its oddly charming design and The Monsters series behind it, Labubu became more than a collectible, it became a cultural phenomenon. What followed wasn’t just success; it was the rise of a new kind of licensing empire.
Through key collaborations and blind boxes, Pop Mart rewrote the rules of consumer desire. From Coca-Cola to Disney, they’ve turned impulse into ritual, and collecting into connection. In this article, Hollywood Branded unpacks how Labubu became the unexpected catalyst for Pop Mart’s global growth and licensing domination.
Pop Mart: From Niche to Global Disruptor
Pop Mart began in Beijing in 2010 as a retailer focused on lifestyle gifts and playful design-forward products, from novelty items to homegrown figurines with cute, stylized appeal. But its steady rise to global visibility wasn't only because of the charming products they offered.
Photo: Pop Mart
Pop Mart tapped into the emotional power of storytelling by aligning with character-driven IPs, both homegrown and licensed, and turning them into collectible narratives people could engage with.
By capitalizing on surprise-driven purchases through blind boxes in 2015 and pairing it with character engaging stories and evolving aesthetics, Pop Mart transformed shopping from regular fan fun into a collector experience.
Photo: Galleria Dallas
Over time, licensing has became a core part of their strategy, allowing them to build deeper relationships with consumers by telling familiar stories in new, refreshing ways all while keeping discovery, rarity, and design at the center of the experience.
The Rise of Labubu
Among Pop Mart’s most defining creative partnerships was with Hong Kong-based artist Kasing Lung, the creator of Labubu, a wide-eyed, snaggletoothed creature that is equal parts endearing and unsettling. Labubu made its debut in 2017 as part of Lung’s The Monsters series, and quickly became Pop Mart’s breakout star.
Photo: Kasing Lung | Pop Mart | MyPlasticHeart
Photo: Reddit @Slight-Childhood4766
Its quirky, storybook-like, and emotionally expressive looks resonated with a generation raised on nostalgia but all about self-expression.
The character’s popularity reached new heights when BLACKPINK’s Lisa, an avid fan, began posting her growing Labubu collection on her social via stories in 2024, sparking a surge of interest across the k-pop and fashion communities that gained the attention of even high profile talent.
Photo: Instagram Story @ijustine
The breakout of Labubu helped crystallize Pop Mart’s now-signature formula: authentic artist collaborations and unique character IP leading to high emotional and cultural value.
Photo: Pop Mart | Coca-Cola
Photo: TikTok @popmart.usshop
Cry Babies and Market Expansion
With Labubu as its flagship, Pop Mart began expanding its artist collaborations to deepen emotional connection with its collector base.
One standout example is Crybaby, a series designed by Thai illustrator Ayan Deng (LittleAyan), which launched in 2021. The soft, introspective expressions and dreamy aesthetic struck a chord with Gen Z and millennial collectors who value design-forward storytelling with emotional nuance.
Photo: Pop Mart
The addition of Crybaby as one of Pop Mart's new product lines serves as a quiet, poetic counterpoint to the louder, mischievous characters (found in Labubu).
With the appeal to a similar audience, yet different personality traits, Pop Mart continued on their licensing journey to appeal to their current and new consumers.
One of these partnerships was with popular IP, The Powerpuff Girls, which brought more attention to the brand and Crybaby.
Photo: Pop Mart
Photo: Pop Mart
Pop Mart’s continued traction with Crybaby proved it could bridge niche and mainstream appeal by staying rooted in its identity as an Asian brand by bringing in new regional talent and leveraging globally familiar IPs.
The result is a product mix that feels both culturally authentic and widely accessible, resonating across markets without losing its core essence.
Leveling up with the Mickey Family
After seeing success with licensed collaborations, Pop Mart elevated its licensing game by partnering with Disney to create a new product lines of Disney specific collectibles..
Photo: Pop Mart
Photo: Pop Mart
A move that signaled its transition from a cult favorite to a global design brand, this partnership brought Disney's iconic characters into the Pop Mart universe in a stylized collectible form.
One standout collectible is the Mickey Family Cute Keychain Series, launched in 2023, which reimagined beloved characters with a modern, design-first aesthetic.
Photo: Pop Mart
These weren’t standard Disney toys, they were Pop Mart-ified, creatively reinterpreted for a new generation of fans and were made irresistible by playing off of the Labubu key chain design that took off. With the added factor of being able to interact with Disney characters at the park, fans couldn't help but bring Mickey Family boxes in so the characters could join in on the unboxing fun!
Additionally, by using the now Pop Mart classic drop model, urgency and collectibility was added to the already household Disney name, proving that Pop Mart could bring freshness and cultural relevance even to the most legacy-driven franchise.
Collector Economy
At the heart of Pop Mart’s enduring impact lies its reinvention of the blind box, a once-novel format that now defines modern collecting.
Photo: Pop Mart
By combining artist-led characters, strategic licensing, and limited-run drops, Pop Mart reminded consumers of the novelty of unboxing where surprise factor feeds excitement, the design feeds self-expression, and the rarity fuels trade and community.
Using the late 1900s trend of the keychains their advantage, partnering with veteran brands like Disney and Coca-Cola, and putting their own twist on it with something new (i.e partnering with artists with original art), Pop Mart has been able to simultaneously tap into consumer audiences that have disposable income while reaching younger audiences that drive trends.
The mass popularity then allows for fans to do more than just buy, but hunt, display, swap, and showcase.
In an age of fast digital everything, Pop Mart tapped into something tactile, emotional, and enduring. This has proven results where curiosity has turned into loyalty and fans into collectors. All of which have been made into cultural participants.
Their sustained cultural relevance is proof that when a brand chooses IP that fits not just the product but the personality of its audience, it can build and strengthen its community and stay part of the conversation long after the hype fades.
Eager To Learn More?
Want to see how brands are tapping into pop culture to build deeper audience connections? Check out more from our blog library, where we explore licensing strategy, character-driven storytelling, and partnerships that stick.
- The Licensing Strategy Smart Brands Are Using to Scale
- How Pop Culture Partnerships Can Future-Proof a Brand in 2025
- Blog 3Leveraging Hollywood Partnerships: How Brands Achieve Unmatched Cultural Relevance
- How Pop Culture Shapes What We Buy, Watch, and Say
- How to Leverage Fan Communities for Brand Partnerships
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