Hello and welcome to the 176th edition of Fresh Salmon.

If you're new here, welcome aboard! 🧡
And if you’d like to catch up on past issues, click here.

The Billion-Dollar Toy You’ve Never Heard Of

There’s a $44B Chinese company exploding in value, and it’s built around an ugly-cute troll-like toy called Labubu. From Rihanna’s handbag to Blackpink’s obsession, Labubu is the new Beanie Baby + Pokémon + Stanley Cup rolled into one. Here's what this craze teaches us about mimetic virality, economic psychology, and building breakout brands from niche to mass.

Meet Labubu: The Ugly-Cute Doll That Ate the Internet

A year ago, Pop Mart was a $7B company. Today? $44B.

And the reason? A goblin-toothed, big-eyed doll named Labubu - a character from an artist in the Netherlands, brought to life by Chinese toy giant Pop Mart.

The formula? Blind box + luxury clippable keychain + mimetic desire + TikTok + celebrity endorsement. It’s the new age Beanie Baby. It’s weird, irrational, and totally unstoppable.

What’s Really Going On Here?

Let’s break down why this actually happened:

1. Lipstick Effect:
   In uncertain economic times, people trade big luxuries for small indulgences.
   Can’t buy the Chanel bag? Buy the $25 collectible to clip onto it.

2. Blind Box Economics (aka Gotcha Games):
   You don’t know what doll you’ll get. It’s Pokémon cards meets dopamine loops.

3. Celebrity Endorsements by Accident:
   Lisa from Blackpink, Rihanna, Kim K, and Beckham were spotted with Labubus, not sponsored. That gave it cultural firepower.

4. Mimetic Desire:
   The less available it is, the more people want it. The harder it is to get, the higher the price people will pay. Labubu = desire engine.

5. Status Symbols Gone Kawaii:
   Add a loop. Clip it to your purse. Show it off. Instant flex.

6. The "Ugly-Cute" Phenomenon:
   It’s not beautiful. It’s unsettling and cute at the same time. Think Gremlins. Think viral.

7. Lollapalooza Effect (Munger):
   It’s not one factor. It’s all the above - stacked and amplified.

A Playbook for Mimetic Products

Labubu isn’t an accident. It’s a case study in viral product mechanics:

• Start with niche weirdness: “Ugly-cute” isn’t mass-market at first. It’s a cult.

• Make it collectible: Blind box or surprise pack = more repeat purchases.

• Design for portability + social signaling: That keychain loop changed everything.

• Seed it in culture: No ad dollars. Just a few celebrities with an irrational obsession.

• Don’t just go viral - go mimetic: Create desire by making others want what someone else already has.

So What? Why Should You Care?

Because if a little troll-looking doll can go from $0 to $700M/year in revenue, so can your weird idea.

Labubu teaches us that emotional irrationality scales faster than utility. And if you can package status, identity, and luck in one object - boom!

Thought Experiment: What’s Your Labubu?

Ask yourself:

• What’s something your customers irrationally want to signal?

• Can your product become a story someone wants to wear, share, or flex?

• Could your product be ugly-cute, weirdly functional, or collectible?

It’s 2025. Weird wins.

The Hype Will Die

Like all collectible bubbles, Labubu will burst.

• Cabbage Patch: 2-year peak

• Beanie Babies: 3-year peak

• Pokémon: 2 mega-peaks, decades apart

• Stanley Cups: already plateauing

Pop Mart’s stock? Probably worth shorting in late 2026.

But until then, it’s a case study in viral brand mechanics that founders and marketers shouldn’t ignore.

Interesting Thing That I Read This Week

That’s it for this week! If you found this newsletter valuable, share it with a friend.

See you next time!

Do what is good for your soul ❤️

All the best,

Vivek

PS. Whenever you are ready, here are 3 ways in which I can help you and your business:

#1: B2B Marketing Consulting and Go-To-Market Advisory for your business.

#2: 1-on-1 Personal Coaching and Mentoring on anything related to Marketing and Go-To-Market Strategies for you.

#3: Promoting you or your brand via this newsletter.

For any of these things just shoot me a reply, and we will arrange a time to chat.