Headlines say Pop Mart’s Labubu craze is all about clever marketing, blind boxes, and ‘ugly cute’ design. But that’s just scratching the surface…
The REAL juicy bits? A layered, cultural, and strategic puzzle that turned a humble Chinese toy brand into one of the most fascinating commercial whodunnits in recent memory.
I’m Kelly, a bilingual ex-marketing strategist turned journalist, and I’ve lived through the cultural shifts that made this frenzy possible. Digging deep into both Chinese and English sources, I’m unearthing the fascinating historical, psychological, and cultural forces behind one of modern China’s (and maybe even the world’s?) strangest consumer obsessions.
Follow this six-part series as we peel back the layers to find the real ‘pulp’… it’s time to unpeel this Mandarin.
🍊 Instagram → @mandarin_unpeeled