A plush toy named LABUBU, with its iconic "buck teeth" and sly smile, is releasing tremendous energy in an unexpected way, stirring the hearts of young consumers around the world. From the "unboxing frenzy" on social media platforms, to the overnight queue in front of overseas stores, to the first generation LABUBU that sold for up to 1.08 million yuan at auctions... This little monster doll created by Chinese company Pop Mart has not only become an outlet for young people's emotional expression and cultural identity worldwide, but also made "Made in China" a "top tier" product. At first glance, it looks a bit "strange", and then at LABUBU, it looks a bit "cute", breaking the traditional aesthetic "routine" and retaining the cute side of plush toys while giving them a playful and rebellious personality. The temperament of being both righteous and evil precisely targets the desire of young people to be themselves. As one netizen commented: Whenever I see LABUBU's bad laugh, I feel like it's saying, 'No matter how others think, being yourself is the most important thing.'. LABUBU's "circle breaking password" is not complicated: it not only brings random surprises through blind boxes, but also engages in many fun cultural collaborations around the world, and has gained the love and recognition of many celebrities. With the continuous breaking of social media circles, young people discuss forwarding, collecting and purchasing, and LABUBU has become a social "hard currency". The scale of China's popular game industry where LABUBU is located has soared from 6.3 billion yuan in 2015 to 60 billion yuan in 2023, an increase of nearly 10 times, and is expected to exceed 110 billion yuan in 2026. Driven by products such as LABUBU, Bubble Mart's performance in the first quarter increased by over 160% year-on-year, with overseas market growth exceeding 470%. The explosive performance has also driven up the stock prices of "new consumer" companies such as Bubble Mart. Behind this is a profound change in the consumer value judgment of Generation Z. Young consumers are no longer satisfied with the simple functional attributes of products, but are more concerned with emotional value, experiential value, and social attributes. Connecting design creativity, precision manufacturing, cultural dissemination, and consumer experience, this new industrial chain has demonstrated tremendous economic momentum not only domestically but also overseas. Looking at the domestic market, China has become the fourth largest IP retail market in the world by 2023, with an annual IP retail sales of nearly 100 billion yuan. From the perspective of per capita IP consumption, China is far lower than other countries ranked in the top 10 in terms of market volume. This also means that there is still much room for growth in China's popular games and IP market. The policy's warm breeze is blowing frequently, creating a favorable development environment for domestic "trendy products" and "IP consumption". The "Special Action Plan for Boosting Consumption" issued in March this year clearly proposes to "explore the domestic and international incremental market for domestic" trendy products "and" support the promotion of new forms and models of consumption ". The Ministry of Commerce has made it clear to promote "IP+consumption" and smooth the entire chain of IP authorization, product development, and marketing promotion. Looking overseas, from the earliest wave of 3C digital technology to the recent popularity of new energy vehicles, from e-commerce platforms to electronic games, an increasing number of Chinese brands have gained international recognition. This time, it is China ChaoPlay brand that has come to position C. "One BU is hard to find" overseas, and the global social media discussion is high... China Fun is refreshing overseas consumers' perception of Chinese cultural brands. From "Made in China" to "Made in China" and "Created in China", Chinese products and brands continue to cultivate and climb the industry chain, proving their competitiveness in various fields time and time again. The trendy and creative games that are popular worldwide demonstrate the confidence and strength of Chinese original IP to go global. By incorporating more Chinese elements and drawing on creative nutrients from around the world, Chinese cultural brands will give new meaning to global trend culture and create more popular products from China. Looking at the popular Chinese cultural and creative products that have gained popularity in recent years, whether it is the Black Myth Wukong, Nezha, or LABUBU, Chinese cultural IP has gone global and is no longer satisfied with simple image output. The "Made in China" that contains cultural values provides ample emotional resonance and value recognition for young people around the world, thus generating considerable global "money making" capabilities. The pursuit of beautiful things and the longing for a better life knows no borders or ethnicities. The LABUBU fire is about telling the attraction of Chinese creativity, Chinese quality, and Chinese culture in a language that the world can understand. There is reason to believe that "Created in China" represented by LABUBU is innovating the expression of "China story", sharing innovation opportunities with the world, and giving people around the world more opportunities to feel the increasingly "cool" China. (New Society)