Product Code Database
Pop Mart (Chinese name: 泡泡玛特 Pào pào mǎ tè) is a Chinese toy company based in Beijing. The company is known for selling collectible toys and figurines in a "blind box" format. They offer toys of their in-house IPs, such as Labubu, in partnership with co-branded promotions, such as Disney characters, The Powerpuff Girls or Harry Potter.
The Financial Times described the company as having "elevated toy-buying to an act of trendy connoisseurship among China's young affluent consumers", and as having been 'credited with creating the market for so-called designer toys'.
Around half of its sales are made at physical outlets, with the rest made online. The company additionally operates a social media and toy-trading app as part of its marketing strategy. Its toys are known for selling to collectors on the second-hand market; venture capital firms have been known to invest in its second-hand products.
The brand's initial marketing strategy engaged with youth culture trends in China, selling toys in prices in a range between 29 and 89 Renminbi. Over time it grew to 288 outlets and 1800 vending machines in that country. Its success in the 'blind box' format drove a $676m USD listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2020 giving it a market capitalisation of $7b at the time, and doubling its shares value after the first day of going public. However its revenue growth slowed and its shares slid below offer price.
The company later expanded its growth strategy beyond mainland Chinese markets, with the Financial Times reporting on plans in 2022 to open between 40 and 50 overseas outlets. It first expanded to the U.S., New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, and Taiwan, and the U.K. in 2022. In 2023 it expanded to Malaysia and France. In 2024, it opened its Philippines store. Some equity analysts have expressed scepticism at the company's ability to expand into the West, while executives of the company have described developing that growth market as the company's 'most important development focus'; and argued that the company's product offering is differentiated from existing western markets.
The success of the company has spawned multiple rival blind box toy companies in China.
The company works with designers and artists to develop characters. In 2021 it released a collection themed around the U.S. artist Keith Haring, and has collaborated with Moncler.
In 2025, the plush toy category—led by characters like Labubu and Skullpanda—saw a year-on-year sales growth of over 1,200%, contributing more than 21% to Pop Mart’s total revenue.
Pop Mart experienced growth and expansion due to its blind boxes. Research has shown that scarcity results in increased competition; the "blind" aspect of Pop Mart's most popular products creates an "artificial scarcity" environment that has been inferred by researchers to contribute to the global success of the company. In 2023 alone, Pop Mart revealed to have made $165m in net profits, with the main revenue coming in from the blind boxes of popular characters such as Skullpanda, Molly, and Dimoo. Researchers have attributed the success behind blind boxes to psychological factors such as "herd mentality" and "gambler's mentality". (2021). 9789462394834, Atlantis Press. ISBN 9789462394834 Success is also attributed to the fact that the majority of consumers are Millennials and Generation Z, with researchers speculating that younger generations hold greater attachment to material objects and, as a result, are the target demographic for blind boxes.
| + !Artist !Character or product !Based in | ||
| Coolrain & Labo | Coolabo | South Korea |
| Lang | Hirono | Beijing (China) |
| Xiong Miao | Skullpanda | Mainland China |
| Ayan Deng | Dimoo | Mainland China |
| Kenny Wong | Molly | Hong Kong (China) |
| Philip Colbert | Lobster Land | London (England) |
| Two Clouds | Azura | N/A |
| Pucky | Pucky | Hong Kong (China) |
| Seulgie Lee | Satyr Rory | South Korea |
| Ohkubo Hiroto | Instinctoy | Japan |
| Kasing Lung | The Monsters | Belgium |
| Yoyo Yeung | Yoki | London (England) |
| Libby Frame | Peach Riot | Los Angeles, CA (United States) |
| Molly | Crybaby | Hong Kong |
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