A trendy Chinese toy called LABUBU is becoming popular worldwide. Its products that integrate elf style have become popular on overseas social media platforms, and fans are willing to queue up all night to buy their favorite styles, even giving rise to rental business. The brand has opened theme stores and flagship stores in landmarks around the world. On June 12th, a LABUBU doll was photographed at a Pop Mart store in Futian District, Shenzhen. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Chu Yan) In recent years, China Chaoplay has become popular around the world. Many brands have opened online sales channels and offline stores overseas, which has ignited popularity. Taking LABUBU's company as an example, after expanding overseas and gradually promoting its globalization strategy, the company's business map has spread to nearly 100 countries and regions around the world. Behind the countless "circle fans" around the world, why can Chinese fashion play become popular quickly? The reporter observed that there are three detailed features worth paying attention to. Feature 1: Cross cultural global consumer goods LABUBU is undoubtedly one of the hottest trendy consumer goods in the world this year. In 2024, the sales volume of LABUBU's series of products will exceed 3 billion. A research report pointed out that the sales of the LABUBU series in the US and European markets surged 8 times and 5 times year-on-year in April this year, with many stores queuing up to buy. According to an analysis report by Deutsche Bank cited on the Forbes magazine website, few IPs can break cultural barriers and are both accepted by Asian cultures and loved by Western pop music and sports stars. At present, through the unique product design, rich sales channels and the development strategy of focusing on internationalization, China's fashion play industry has begun to break through different cultural backgrounds and geographical boundaries and become a global consumer product with cross-cultural attributes. Chinese creativity is moving towards the world stage at an unprecedented speed and breadth. Feature 2: The popularity of patience and innovative products is not achieved overnight. The person in charge of Bubble Mart told a little story to the reporter. When the company first started, it was not very famous and it was difficult to create joint IP products. We have thought of many ways to determine which work can become a popular IP. Finally, at the exhibition, we will see which artist's booth has the longest queue, which means it is more popular among consumers. We will talk to him about IP cooperation, gather excellent resources together, and quickly make an unknown company famous. ”On June 11th, citizens of Yuyao City, Zhejiang Province showcased their collection of LABUBU toys. Xinhua News Agency (photographed by Zhang Hui) not only that, but also for Chinese Chaoyou brand, fine design and continuous innovation are the "lifeline" of products. Wang Ning, founder of Pop Mart, mentioned many details in an interview, such as how to design the flow of offline stores to make consumers feel more rhythmic when shopping; How to attract consumers with display cabinet placement; How to optimize the decoration and maintenance process to enhance the user experience, etc. The success of these phenomenal cases, from the global popularity of Nezha 2 to the overwhelming demand for LABUBU, is essentially a two-way victory for the cultural industry in patient sedimentation and innovative breakthroughs. Nezha 2 took 5 years to complete production, during which over 4000 staff members were involved and more than 1900 special effects shots were captured. LABUBU has undergone a long-term cultivation from its birth in 2019 to its outbreak in 2025. Pop Mart and Hong Kong artist Long Jiasheng continue to iterate their designs, gradually upgrading the cultural symbol attributes of their "ugly and cute" character designs from the original "Forest Music Concert" series to the 3.0 series, all of which rely on long-term polishing and technological breakthroughs. Feature 3: Behind the popularity of the mature industrial chain LABUBU, it cannot be separated from the support of Chinese manufacturing. Wang Ning once said that as a global manufacturing powerhouse, China has a complete industrial chain and mature industrial ecology, with significant comparative advantages. It is on this strong manufacturing foundation that Chinese ChaoPlay brand can obtain strong product support in overseas markets, and the supply capacity of the industrial chain also provides support for sustainable growth. On June 6th, at the Taipa exhibition area, "Roaming in Macau with POP MART". The head of a marketing agency focused on the Chinese market in London stated that LABUBU's consumption phenomenon not only marks a milestone for Chinese brands, but also heralds a huge transformation. In the future, Chinese brands will not only rely on technological innovation to occupy market advantages, but also integrate technological advantages into products with more emotional resonance. Looking into the future, China's fashion game industry still has a large growth space in the global market. According to the Report on the Development of China's Fashion Play and Animation Industry (2024), the total value of China's fashion play industry is expected to rise to 110.1 billion yuan by 2026, with an average annual growth rate of more than 20%. These three characteristics all show that the Chinese fashion game brand has emerged on the international stage and has made remarkable achievements. However, at the same time, there is still ample room for improvement in the international recognition and influence of Chinese brands and IPs. Explosive products often encounter situations such as counterfeiting and market speculation, and still need to be continuously improved. If Chinese cultural IP wants to continue breaking through the circle and becoming popular, it cannot do without innovation and patience, and even more importantly, it cannot do without the strong support of Chinese manufacturing. To further establish emotional bonds with consumers regarding their attitudes towards life and cultural identity, resonance should be formed between "patient polishing" and "innovative breakthrough", and continuous efforts should be made in content innovation and commercial sustainability. Only then can cultural products be more attractive and vibrant, win the favor of consumers, ultimately form classics, and achieve a paradigm shift of "global popularity". (New Society)