Outside the POP Mart shop in Los Angeles, young people lined up for hours in the 38°C heat just to "get their hands on Labubu"; a 131cm-high mint-coloured, first-generation Labubu sculpture was sold for 1.08 million yuan at the Forever Spring Auction 2025; and a research report released by J.P. Morgan said that Labubu was sold for 1.8 million yuan in May.Search heat has exceeded Hello Kitty ...... When LABUBU to "ugly cute" posture swept the global tide of the toy market, this small monster with nine sharp teeth, has a crooked smile, is to break the circle of the trend of reconstruction of the stationery industry ecology.

(Photo courtesy of Xinhua News Agency)

In recent years, the rise of national trends and the wave of emotional consumption have gone hand in hand, from "Ne Zha 2" topping the global box office, to "Black Myth: Wukong" triggering the gaming world, the commercial value of cultural symbols has been redefined."Labubu breaks the definition of traditional cute pet, combines wild teeth with healing plush, meets the dual needs of Generation Z for individuality and warmth, builds an IP ecology covering online and offline, and allows a toy image to grow into a cultural symbol.

Labubu is not only a landmark case of the rise of China's hip toy industry, but also a microcosm of the transformation of Made in China to Created in China.Once upon a time, China was the foundry of Disney and Marvel toys, but now Labubu has taken the world by storm and achieved a comeback, allowing the super IP track to have the figure of Chinese brands.According to the International Licensing Industry Association, China will overtake Germany to become the world's fourth largest IP retail market in 2023, with annual IP retail sales approaching 100 billion yuan.

As consumer demand for cultural value and emotional experience climbs, the cross-border fusion of stationery and hip-hop is becoming a new direction for the industry.The aesthetic elements in traditional culture, the ecological thinking of IP operation, and the narrative logic of globalisation all provide rich inspiration for stationery design.At this year's Ningbo International Stationery Fair, the figure of trendy stationery has become more and more eye-catching, and many exhibitors have broken the traditional boundary of "stationery" and expanded their product lines to the fields of cultural creation, trendy play and emotional healing, attracting a new generation with the design concept of "emotional value pulling full"

In the face of the current rise of national trend and emotional consumption prevalent, many stationery companies deeply feel that having their own IP is like holding a key to open the new door to the market, they are no longer satisfied with simply co-branding with popular IP, choose to create their own cultural symbols.

These stationery products with independent IP, not only in the design of ingenuity, but also in the cultural connotation of the depth of excavation.They are no longer just tools for writing and recording, but also carriers of cultural values and emotional support.Through the creation of independent IP, stationery companies have given more added value to their products to meet the double demand of consumers for cultural value and emotional experience.

The explosion of LABUBU is not only the victory of an IP, but also the epitome of the upgrading of the cultural and creative industry.When stationery companies learn to impress people with emotional value, link the world with cultural narratives, and break the boundaries with innovative designs, the trendy stationery placed at the Ningbo International Stationery Fair may be breeding the next phenomenal hit.