Russians spent a massive 3.6 billion dollars on Labuda within six months.

In the first half of 2025, a new toy sensation has taken Russia by storm – Labubu, a line of toys created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung. The Chinese toy giant, Pop Mart, which registered the Labubu brand in Russia, has seen a significant surge in revenue and market capitalization, making waves in the global toy industry.

According to data from Yandex Wordstat for queries and aggregated data on non-cash payments in Russia, Labubu toys generated approximately 3.6 billion rubles ($44.51 million) in revenue during the first half of the year. The most toys were sold in Russia during the current summer before graduation, with the peak day being June 27, when an impressive 480,000 Labubu toys were sold nationwide.

The search interest in Labubu in Russia increased by an astonishing 2400 times, from a modest 2,500 queries in March to a staggering 6.2 million queries in June. Moscow and St. Petersburg were the absolute leaders in online toy searches for Labubu, with 580,000 queries and 252,000 queries, respectively.

The North Caucasus republics showed increased interest in Labubu, with regional indicators of search queries in Dagestan being 166% of the Russian average, in South Ossetia - 144%, in Kabardino-Balkaria - 135%, and in Karachay-Cherkessia - 131%.

The success of Labubu in Russia has not gone unnoticed, with Pop Mart's market capitalization surpassing HK$332.84 billion ($42.4 billion) by June 2025. The founder of Pop Mart, Wang Ning, became the youngest billionaire in China with an estimated fortune of $22.3 billion at the beginning of July 2025.

Interestingly, the market capitalization of Russia's most valuable public company, Lukoil, was 4.24 trillion rubles ($44.51 billion) at the same time, placing it just behind Pop Mart in terms of value. Novatek, which ranks second, had a market capitalization of 3.29 trillion rubles ($42.13 billion), while Gazprom, in third place, had a market capitalization of 3 trillion rubles ($38.77 billion).

As the Labubu toy phenomenon continues to unfold in Russia, Pop Mart plans to expand its offerings under the Labubu brand. Under the brand, Pop Mart plans to produce and sell toys, merchandise, cosmetics, electronics, bags, clothing, and other goods in Russia, marking a significant step in its global expansion efforts.

Separately, Soyuzmultfilm also filed a trademark application for "Chebub", adding another layer of intrigue to the Labubu story. The Labubu toy phenomenon in Russia is a typical example of a contemporary viral consumer trend developing in the digital environment, and it will be interesting to see how it evolves in the coming months.