Labubu’s craze overshadowed the global collectible toy market and social media community throughout 2025, but as with every pop culture phenomenon, the question now is – “what’s the next trend after Labubu?”Labubu, Pop Mart’s quirky, elf-faced and blind-box character, became a status symbol for both kids and adults until last year, but now people are looking for the next big thing after its mainstream popularity and fast resale market.
There were many reasons behind the popularity of Labubu; the wildly unique cuteness, the completely unknown (‘Blind Box’) Edition and a lot of variants made it the star of gamified surprises, influencer culture, and the “kidult” generation of collectionhobby. Overnight lines in Pop Mart Stores and vending machines, unboxing videos on TikTok and Instagram, fake Labubu (Lafufu) spread all over the street-all this shows that when the trend reached its peak, the cycle of saturation and resale fatigue also started.
Now according to industry and youth culture experts, the biggest contenders for Labubu “after finnomenon” are two lines—Skullpandas from Pop Mart and Wakuku from the Chinese company Letsvan. Skullpandas (by Pop Mart, with designer Xiong Wei) first came out in 2021, but stylish, moody expressions and edgy outfits have made them the new choice of Gen Z in 2024-25. Skullpandas ‘ gray-white palette, minimalist look, cartoon skull motifs and fashionable street-style also made a huge crossover to the fashion accessories market—now many of the world’s biggest influencers make Skullpanda look like a bag charm or a desk icon. According to the Pop Mart report, Skullpandas international growth is the fastest after Labubu and the unboxing thrill is maintained due to the blind box concept.
On the other hand, Wakuku (Letsvan Toys, Shenzhen) is also emerging rapidly. Wakuku is a small, whimsical, androgynous character in pastel colors, which is being widely shared in the ACG (anime-comic-gaming) and meme communities. Wakuku’s comedy and expression heavy design,” tangled hair, dodgy eyes and funny costumes ” is viral on apps like Instagram, Xiaohongshu, TikTok. Trend experts believe that Wakuku’s rise is the same as Labubu’s-both blind box releases, affordable pricing, many rare secret variants, and social media unboxing challenges keep the market high.
Calico Critters, Sonny Angels, Cry Babies and Miniso Monsters are also gaining traction as options in Labubu’s based fan community. Such a small but whimsical and slightly odd—Corrector figure will get unboxing thrill, chaos (which one?) And pulling new buyers due to cheap size/price appeal. What is special is that whether Skullpandas or Wakuku or other quirky toys, The blind box concept that gives “the joy of surprise and rare edition” remains the biggest X-factor in today’s Consumer Psychology. The “unboxing dopamine rush” sitting in the human heart will remain intact with these new-generation toys.
Pop Mart itself is also trying to keep the craze alive in the coming months through smaller, more mobile-friendly versions of Labubu and cross-brand collaborations (like Vans, Chanel, Sony). But editions of lines like Skullpandas and Wakuku, new emotions or comedy-based toy characters will become the hottest choice for collectors and the ‘kidult’ community for the next two years.
Facebook installs a new platform to help you change the way social media plays a major role in this change—every trend goes global in a few weeks through TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube unboxing, and Facebook groups. As soon as a new quirky character, viral unboxing, influencer collab or rare variant appears, the same becomes “next Labubu”.
Overall, the trend after Labubu is moving towards cute, slightly mysterious and unboxing friendly blind box toys on social media like Skullpandas and Wakuku. Now the focus of both collectors and brands is on the combination of “surprise, rarity, nostalgia and mini fashion”—where everyone is looking for the next viral figure and blind box culture will remain a part of both the toy market and pop culture.