From The Wall Street Journal:
Creepy little trolls started popping up on Shannon Goodwin’s TikTok feed in March. Before she knew it, she had plunged deep into their world.
She is now storing dozens of keychain versions of the “ugly little critters,” also known as Labubus, in a closet alongside her Louis Vuitton bags to avoid being judged by her teenage daughter. Labubus started sweeping the world last year after Lisa, the K-pop band BLACKPINK’s Thai singer, held one in a photo she posted on social media. The Labubu hunt also taps into customers’ gambling impulses, since most of the Pop Mart’s products are sold in so-called blind boxes. “It’s a feeling like this Labubu chose you,” said Shkorinenko.