Many say that Pop Mart is “loot-box economics.” Cute toys + gambling mechanics = $$$.
But… if it were that simple, every blind box brand would be a billion-dollar hit, right?
In this episode, we rewind to Pop Mart’s scrappy mall-vendor days and dig into the hidden forces that catapulted them to global stardom.
Spoiler: it wasn’t luck. It was a mash-up of mobile gaming habits, resale hype, and some very clever consumer psychology.
The boxes might be blind—but the strategy? Anything but.
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🌏 About Mandarin Unpeeled: Bite-sized explainers that unwrap how China really thinks, feels, and evolves, and how it is already impacting you — told by someone who’s lived, studied, and worked across both East and West.
References:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/worlds-most-expensive-labubu-sold-for-eye-watering-price/
Company official websites and financial report
https://marketingtochina.com/china-mobile-games-market-the-cash-machine/
https://www.businessinsider.com/tencent-game-honor-of-kings-what-china-gaming-gets-right-2025-3
Sound attribution:
Cash Register Purchase by mokasza -- https://freesound.org/s/810182/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
Retro Vintage Synth Pop Dance Cinematic Music.wav by szegvari -- https://freesound.org/s/614197/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
Pizzicato Orchestral Roll 3 by Soughtaftersounds -- https://freesound.org/s/145454/ -- License: Attribution 3.0
Pizzicato Orchestral Roll 5 by Soughtaftersounds -- https://freesound.org/s/145456/ -- License: Attribution 3.0