How 1 weird toy created a multibillionare!

10 Jan 2026 · 1 min

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1:21

A short YouTube explainer (by Dan Novaes) describing how Popmart and CEO Wang Ning turned a picture-book character — the Labubus collectible (also called Leboo/Lebbus in the narration) — into a viral blind-box product. The video traces the toy’s discovery around 2016, a 2019 creator partnership, Popmart’s blind-box and limited-edition strategy, celebrity exposure in the U.S. (Dua Lipa with a Leboo keychain), and rapid market effects: by mid‑2024 Popmart hit about $45 billion market cap (a ~600% year-over-year increase), with roughly $38 billion attributed to the Labubus craze.

Questions this video answers

Around 2016.

2019.

About $45 billion.

Approximately 600%.

About $38 billion.

Chapters

The youngest billionaire in China made $38 billion off one viral toy meet Wang Ning, the CEO of Popmart most known for their Labubus, a collectible plush monster elf created by the artist Katzin Leung. Discovered at a toy convention around 2016, Ning saw a massive opportunity of using this toy for blind boxes, but the IP was first used in picture books inspired by Northern Europe folklore, most known for their cold climate and natural landscapes perfect for these monster elves. In 2019, Kassin and Wong partnered to bring this story to the collectible toy world, but after four years, nothing really caught on and it was seen as weird to most toy collectors until popmart decided to turn the toys into keychains put in blind boxes. Giving buyers the excitement of not knowing which one they would get kept them coming back for more. But it was also that ugly cute look most people enjoyed that stood out from traditional plush toys at the time. Adding in limited edition and scarce products created FOMO and massive resale hype. The craze started in China, of course, but leaked over to the US after popmart decided to open up stores in LA and New York. Which is when Dua Lipa was spotted with the Leboo keychain, creating the viral meme of what the hell is Leboo? By mid 2024, stores were selling out of their products within minutes, giving Popmart a $45 billion market cap, a 600% increase from the year prior, strictly based off the demand and popularity of Lebabus, adding nearly $38 billion to the company off one viral toy. For more entrepreneur stories and information like this, follow UBK.