Labubu not the first toy craze, and certainly won’t be the last

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Pop Mart has struck it rich The Chinese company that caters to toy connoisseurs and influencers stated this week that it expects profit for the first six months of this year to jump by at least compared with the prior-year period largely because of its smash hit plush toy the Labubu Pop Mart joins a small list of companies that have tapped into the zeitgeist drawing in millions of buyers who for one reason or another merely must get their hands on a toy or gadget of the moment But what makes the Labubu a must-have or any toy for that matter is a decades-old question that toy makers have yet to figure out Here s a look at particular of the the greater part popular toys over the years Cabbage Patch Kids FILE Talon Shaffer right kisses a Cabbage Patch Kid after it was delivered by Cyndi Pappadouplos a licensed patch nurse at Babyland General Hospital the birthplace of Cabbage Patch Kids in Cleveland Ga on Nov AP Photo David Goldman File Cabbage Patch Kids began as chubby-faced dolls with yarn hair that came with adoption papers During the s the dolls were so popular that parents waited in long lines at stores trying to get a hold of them More than million Cabbage Patch Kids were sold worldwide during their heyday Cabbage Patch Kids which were created by Xavier Roberts and initially sold by Coleco were relaunched in looking to take part in the accomplished return of other popular s toys including Strawberry Shortcake Care Bears and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles A Cabbage Patch Kid museum named BabyLand General Hospital still exists in Cleveland Georgia The dolls entered the National Toy Hall of Fame in Beanie Baby FILE An authentic Beanie Baby is seen on display at eBay s San Jose Calif headquarters on Oct AP Photo Paul Sakuma file Beanie Babies captivated consumers in the mid- s The cuddly toys were under-stuffed for maximum hug-ability stamped with cute names on their Ty Inc tags and given limited edition runs Plenty of people collected traded and sold the toys with the hopes that their value would just keep going up at the dawn of the e-commerce age It made particular people money and the founder Ty Warner a billionaire in three years In Warner learned that he would not go to prison for hiding at least million from U S tax leadership and instead received two years probation Warner one of the highest profile figures snared in a federal probe of Americans using Swiss bank accounts to avoid U S taxes had pleaded guilty to a single count of tax evasion Tamagotchi FILE Aki Maita Japanese developer of the Tamagotchi digital pet shows on Monday December the new product AngelGotchi after a press conference in Hamburg Germany AP Photo Oliver Fantitsch file Looking for a pet without the real-life responsibilities Well then the Tamagotchi electronic pet from Bandai was for you Consumers were hooked on the egg-shaped plastic toy that first launched in Japan in and became a craze worldwide in the late s and s Users were tasked with taking care of their virtual pet by pressing buttons that simulate feeding disciplining and playing with the critter on screen If a Tamagotchi is neglected it dies In Tamagotchi was reborn as a mobile app duplicating the experience of the plastic handheld toy The toy was inducted into the World Video Competition Hall of Fame in May Fidget Spinner FILE Funky Monkey Toys store owner Tom Jones plays with a fidget spinner in Oxford Mich Thursday May AP Photo Carlos Osorio File Fidget spinners the -inch twirling gadgets that took over classrooms and cubicles were all the rage in The toy was considered somewhat of an outlier at the time given that it wasn t made by a major company timed for the holiday season or promoted in TV commercials Fidget spinners were more easily unveiled at gas stations or -Eleven than at big toy chains Fidget spinners had been around for years mostly used by kids with autism or attention disorders to help them concentrate but they became more popular after being featured on social media While hot toys are often made by one company fidget spinners were made by numerous manufacturers mostly in China The toys were marketed as a concentration aid but became so popular among children that several schools started banning them saying that they were a distraction Labubu The Labubu by artist and illustrator Kasing Lung first appeared as monsters with pointed ears and pointy teeth in three picture books inspired by Nordic mythology in Related Articles Kiss cam fallout continues Astronomer CEO put on leave Did money or politics cause Colbert cancellation Either way the economics are tough for TV Fashion startup founder charged with million fraud Home Showcase Norwood labor of love Ticker Congress approves Trump s billion cut to general broadcasting and foreign aid In Lung struck a deal with Pop Mart a company that caters to toy connoisseurs and influencers to sell Labubu figurines But it wasn t until Pop Mart started selling Labubu plush toys on key rings in that the toothy monsters suddenly seemed to be everywhere including in the hands of Rihanna Kim Kardashian and NBA star Dillon Brooks K-pop singer Lisa of Blackpink began posting images of hers for her more than million followers on Instagram and on TikTok where Labubu pandemonium has broken out Labubu has been a bonanza for Pop Mart Its revenue more than doubled in to billion yuan billion thanks in part to its elvish monster Revenue from Pop Mart s plush toys soared more than in nearly of its overall revenue according to the company s annual description