Labubu craze sweeping Switzerland: these dolls are creepy, quirky and highly sought-after
15.8.2025
Translation: Katherine Martin
Labubus are taking Switzerland by storm. Clipped onto handbags and backpacks as fashion accessories, snapped up as collector’s items or cherished as cuddly toys, these snarly little creatures are now Galaxus’s best-selling stuffed animals. Despite their controversial appearance, the dolls currently account for a quarter of the shop’s cuddly toy orders.
The in thing in 2025? Decorating your rucksack, handbag or even your phone with a snarling, brightly coloured, googly-eyed stuffed animal. Yep, we’re talking about Labubus, the soft toys that have divided opinion more starkly than almost any other in recent years. Derided on social media as «ugly», «creepy» and «godforsaken», they’ve become a sales sensation in countries all over the world this year, including Switzerland.
Galaxus added a modest selection of Labubus to its range this summer. At the time of writing, there are currently nine to choose from. But despite this limited variety, most of the cuddly toys sold individually on Galaxus in July 2025 were from Labubu manufacturer, Pop Mart. As a result, the dolls have overtaken last year’s «it» toy, Squishmallows, despite the Galaxus range containing over 500 varieties.
With the quirky dolls continuing to gain significant market share in August, Labubu mania’s showing no signs of tapering off. In fact, a quarter of soft toys ordered from Galaxus fall under the Pop Mart brand.
So, how did these creepy creatures make it to the peak of cuddly-toy stardom so quickly? Category Business Manager Lara Diener, whose remit includes Galaxus’s soft toy range, explains: «Labubus come in blind boxes, so you don’t know the colour or details of your doll until you unbox it. That means you get a surprise – and potentially something new – with every purchase.» Lara points out that millions of people are watching Labubu unboxing videos on social media, which in turn is continuing to fuel the hype.
Who’s buying Labubu dolls?
Zurich and Geneva like to think of themselves as the trendiest places in Switzerland. As far as the Labubu trend is concerned, however, the two cantons are lagging. When the sales figures are adjusted for population, Zurich is only the seventh most prolific buyer of Labubu dolls, with Geneva coming in ninth place. So far, Zug and Basel-Stadt are home to the highest number of Labubu buyers.
Women account for two thirds of Labubu orders, with 35 to 44-year-olds proving most likely to take a shine to the toothy toys. In fact, a third of female customers come from this age group. Of course, it’s unclear how many of these purchases are for the shoppers themselves and how many are being passed onto their children.
It remains to be seen how this still burgeoning trend will develop. Will Labubus have more staying power than Squishmallows? Whatever the case, Galaxus is bracing for demand to continue surging over the next few months: «We’re expanding our range, so our customers will soon have even more Labubus available to them,» Lara reveals.
What do you think of Labubus? Are they cool, creepy or just plain pointless? We’re looking forward to reading your comments.
Header image: Shutterstock
Tobias Heller
Communications Manager
Tobias.Heller@digitecgalaxus.chToys
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