A year on, China’s designer-toy boom still hasn’t produced a ‘second Labubu’

The chase for a second Labubu

One year after Labubu vaulted to the top of China’s designer-toy scene, the industry is still searching for a true successor. Copycats proliferated—soft plushes with erect ears and scowling faces filled retail shelves—but none has matched Labubu’s breakout status. Investors and newcomers asked the same question: can you build the next Labubu? Many rushed in. Few built durable businesses.

Pop Mart (泡泡玛特)’s Labubu became a lightning rod for the market. It has been reported that a rare initial mint of Labubu sold for RMB 1.08 million at auction, and that Pop Mart’s stock surged nearly 20‑fold over a year and a half after early 2024. That boom opened the industry’s perceived ceiling and triggered an influx of capital and imitation: product cycles were compressed, 3D‑printed prototypes and AI-assisted design were deployed to speed output, and studios worked under weekly production rhythms.

Why copying didn’t equal success

The rush exposed the category’s real barriers. Founders who tried to follow the Labubu path discovered heavy upfront costs, slow cash conversion and demanding channel partners. One entrepreneur who raised RMB 4 million found it insufficient: mold costs, tiny initial wholesale orders from key accounts, long factory-to-retailer cycles and tight cashflow sank margins. It has been reported that Qimengdao (奇梦岛), a company that pivoted into toys, posted a Q4 net loss of RMB 25.4 million—an example of how hard the economics can be.

The result was a market that favoured speed over craft. Capital demanded rapid validation; IP incubation windows were slashed from nine months to six or even weeks. That “fast” logic encouraged low‑cost AI design and outright copying, which many creators say has driven out original talent and left the field homogeneous. Some teams have folded or pivoted to lower‑risk services; others doubled down on volume.

What comes next?

The flirtation with fast money has cooled some enthusiasm, but it hasn’t erased investor appetite. The core question remains: can China’s designer‑toy sector grow beyond episodic viral hits to sustain long‑term, original IP? For Western readers, the lesson is instructive: a hot cultural product can unlock vast value, but replicating that value requires more than mimicking shapes and marketing stunts—it demands capital depth, patient channels and, crucially, creative diversity. Who will learn that lesson first: the makers chasing trends, or the ones willing to build something new?