Labubu Demand Analysis: Tracking a Character IP Lifecycle with Data

Labubu has become one of the most talked-about character IPs of the 2024 to 2026 period, and from an IP intelligence standpoint, the franchise is also a useful case study in how character-IP demand actually evolves over time. This article uses Labubu as a worked example for reading character IP demand through the lens of IP Ranking's multi-source data.

Below, we walk through what the demand signals look like today, how they have moved over the past two years, what the different demand dimensions tell us about the IP's current phase, how character-IP demand behavior differs from anime-title IP behavior, and what brands, licensees, retailers, and agencies can practically read from this case.

01Why Labubu Is a Useful Case for Reading Character IP Demand

Labubu, designed by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung and manufactured by Pop Mart, became one of the fastest-growing character IPs in 2024 and 2025. From an analytical standpoint, what makes Labubu interesting is not that it became viral but that it stayed visible after the viral phase.

Most character IPs that go viral on social platforms either fade within six to twelve months or settle into a regional niche. Labubu's data shows a different pattern: search demand continued at high levels, geographic reach kept widening, and the social-buzz curve normalized into a sustained baseline rather than collapsing.

For brands, agencies, licensees, and retail teams, that distinction matters. A viral peak and a sustained brand are very different commercial opportunities, and reading which phase an IP is in is one of the more useful things IP intelligence work can do.

02What the Data Shows About Labubu Today

Using IP Ranking's multi-source data, the snapshot of Labubu as of April 2026 is as follows.

CVS score: 54 out of 100. Google Trends coverage spans 64 countries, with peak interest in Hong Kong (Google Trends score of 100) and strong signals across Southeast Asia. The CVS view surfaces several demand dimensions for the IP, currently reading Social Buzz 23, Search Demand 100, Global Reach 74, and Source Coverage 17.

The composite reading is that active demand is very high globally, geographic spread is broad, social-buzz intensity has normalized from its viral peak, and the source mix that the score draws from is still being expanded as additional data sources are integrated.

03Geographic Distribution

Labubu's strongest demand markets are in Asia-Pacific. Hong Kong leads with a Google Trends score of 100, followed by Southeast Asian markets such as Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam. European and North American interest is growing but remains secondary in the current signal mix.

This pattern is consistent with the publicly reported direction of Pop Mart's business: the company has reported strong growth in The Monsters product line, which contains Labubu, as a key contributor.

For licensees and brand partners, the read is that the immediate addressable market is in Asia-Pacific, with Europe and the Americas in an earlier stage of demand-building. The shape of regional rollout work should match this, rather than assume a uniform global pattern.

04The Demand Lifecycle: Four Phases

What makes Labubu a useful case study is that its lifecycle is now long enough to read in distinct phases. The pattern visible in IP Ranking's data is consistent with four stages.

4.1Viral Breakout (2024 Q1 to Q2)

In the first half of 2024, Labubu experienced a viral breakout on TikTok and Instagram. Celebrity exposure played a significant role, with Lisa from BLACKPINK widely cited as a high-visibility touchpoint that converted latent collector interest into broad consumer awareness.

In demand-signal terms, this phase shows a sharp social-buzz spike combined with rapidly rising search demand, before geographic reach has caught up.

4.2Peak Demand (2024 Q3 to Q4)

Through the second half of 2024, Pop Mart sales surged and secondary-market prices reached three to five times retail. Demand intensity was at its peak, and the CVS-relevant signals (social activity, search interest, and platform engagement) were at their highest combined level.

This is the phase where an IP looks "hot" in every direction at once. It is also the phase most likely to mislead a partner into expecting the trajectory to continue at the same slope.

4.3Sustained Expansion (2025 H1)

Through the first half of 2025, demand sustained at high levels and geographic reach kept widening into Europe and the Americas. This is the phase where the IP transitions from a single-market viral asset into a multi-region brand. Social-buzz intensity does not need to be at peak in this phase; what matters is that search demand and geographic reach hold up as the post-peak normalization sets in.

4.4Normalization (2026 Q1)

By the first quarter of 2026, the IP entered a normalization phase, with demand stabilizing at an elevated baseline. Social-buzz signals softened from their 2024 peak, while search demand and geographic reach remained strong.

This is the phase Labubu is in as of the snapshot used in this article. The relevant read is that the IP is no longer behaving like a viral trend, but like an established character brand with sustained but not peak intensity.

05Reading the CVS Dimensions for Labubu

The CVS view reports several demand dimensions, each of which carries a different read.

5.1Search Demand at 100 of 100

Search Demand at the maximum value indicates that active consumer interest in Labubu remains very strong globally, even after the post-viral normalization in social activity. Search behavior tends to lag social-buzz by a few quarters because it captures intent and consideration rather than discovery.

5.2Global Reach at 74 of 100

Global Reach at 74 indicates strong geographic spread across 64 countries. Reach at this level is consistent with a brand that has crossed the threshold from regional to cross-regional, even if the depth in each region is still uneven.

5.3Social Buzz at 23 of 100

Social Buzz at 23 is below the peak. This is typical of the post-viral phase. A normalized social-buzz signal is not a bearish indicator on its own; it usually accompanies the IP's transition from discovery to purchase intent.

5.4Source Coverage at 17 of 100

Source Coverage at 17 reflects that the IP is currently observed primarily through Google Trends. As additional data sources are integrated into the view, this dimension will tighten. Source coverage is a methodological signal more than an IP-quality signal.

Important caveat: the CVS score is not a valuation or a revenue estimate. It is a composite reading of demand signals at the time of the snapshot, surfaced as a 0 to 100 view.

06What This Tells Us About Character IP Behavior

Labubu's pattern is structurally different from how anime-title IPs typically behave.

For anime title IPs, the demand curve usually correlates with the broadcast or streaming release schedule. A new season produces a demand spike, and the curve modulates between seasons depending on streaming presence and franchise events.

Character IPs like Labubu do not have a broadcast calendar to anchor the curve. The value driver is product cadence, community ownership, and scarcity mechanics rather than release-window publicity. The lifecycle phases (viral breakout, peak, sustained expansion, normalization) are real phases of a product-led IP rather than reflections of a release schedule.

This is why the same CVS dimensions can read differently between anime-title IPs and character IPs. The same number can mean very different things depending on the underlying category structure.

07Implications for Brands, Licensees, Retailers, and Agencies

Four practical reads from the Labubu case.

First, a current snapshot tells you the phase, not the trajectory. A CVS reading is most useful when combined with the lifecycle phase context. A 54 in the normalization phase reads very differently from a 54 on the way up to a peak.

Second, regional rollout should match the actual demand geography. Asia-Pacific is the immediate addressable market for Labubu; Europe and the Americas are in an earlier demand-building phase and warrant a different rollout pace.

Third, the post-viral phase is not a low-opportunity phase. Sustained search demand with normalized social buzz often indicates consumers moving from discovery to purchase intent, which is exactly where licensing, merchandise, and retail partnerships convert. The lower social-buzz number is not a signal to step away.

Fourth, the character-IP category requires its own reading lens. Treating a character IP like an anime IP, and waiting for a "new season" type spike, misreads the actual structure of the category. Character IPs are paced by product calendars and community ownership, not broadcast windows.

08The Limits of CVS and Demand Signals

CVS and the demand signals surfaced in this article are useful, but they have known limits.

They show demand intent and relative visibility. They do not show licensing deal flow, merchandise sell-through, secondary-market trajectory in detail, or commercial outcomes such as deal margins. A high CVS reading is necessary for a strong commercial conversation about an IP; it is not sufficient on its own.

The view is also dependent on the underlying source mix. As additional sources are integrated, the reading will become more precise but will also shift, sometimes in ways that look like changes in the IP when they are actually changes in the measurement surface.

For these reasons, CVS is best used as a structured demand reading that complements partner-side information, not as a stand-alone valuation.

09How This Connects to the IP Ranking Framework

This case study reads Labubu through demand signals, geographic reach, and source coverage. Those are specific dimensions inside the CVS view.

At a more conceptual level, IP Ranking treats character IP through three lenses: how strong demand actually is, how broadly that demand is distributed geographically, and how well that demand can be converted into commercial activity. Labubu's case illustrates how each lens applies in practice.

CVS is one of several scoring views the platform supports. Its specific construction is documented separately on the Methodology page. The point of this case study is conceptual: how to read character-IP demand patterns, not how the score is calculated.

10IP Ranking View

For brands and licensees, the deliverable is not that Labubu has CVS 54, or that Search Demand is 100, or that Global Reach is 74. It is that the combined signal pattern tells you which phase the IP is in, and that phase has different implications for licensing, retail, and brand work.

IP Ranking continues to track character IP demand patterns through CVS and related views. Labubu is one of the cleanest current examples of a character IP whose lifecycle phases are observable in data.

11Frequently Asked Questions

12Conclusion

Labubu is more than a viral collectible. In IP Ranking's data, it is one of the cleanest current examples of a character IP whose lifecycle phases (viral breakout, peak, sustained expansion, normalization) are now legible in demand signals.

The current CVS reading of 54 is a snapshot of an IP in the normalization phase: active search demand remains very high, geographic reach is broad, social buzz has normalized from peak, and the source mix is still expanding. Combined, those signals describe an IP that has transitioned from viral trend to established character brand.

For brands, licensees, retailers, and agencies, the actionable takeaway is the phase reading, not the headline number. The phase the IP is in determines what kind of commercial work is appropriate, where to invest regional effort, and how to design activation around the underlying product cadence and community.