What the Heck Is a Labubu and Why Should Small Biz Owners Care?

Andréa Jones [00:00:00]:
If you're sitting here like me, wondering, wtf is a Labu boo, Then in this episode, I want to talk to you about the latest and greatest Internet sensation. And why should you should care as a small business owner. This is the Mindful Marketing Podcast. Let's get into it. But first, a word from our sponsor. Riverside is the all in one podcast recording and editing tool that I use for this right here show. I use it to edit not only the audio and the video, it is like Chef's Kiss magical, making the entire process so, so easy. Plus, I love their magic AI clips.

Andréa Jones [00:00:36]:
Their little AI robot in the background pulls out the most impactful moments of the episodes without me having to comb through and do it myself. Resizes them for social media. So those vertical videos you see on TikTok and Reels, those all come from Magic AI inside of Riverside. It's literally one click. It spits out 10 clips. I pick the best one and away I go. Saves me so much time. If you want to get on the Riverside train, check it out today.

Andréa Jones [00:01:03]:
The links in the show notes and make sure to use my code DREA D R E A at checkout to get 15% off your membership. All right, I gotta pre apologize because I'm sick again. I know. I feel like I apologize for this on every single podcast episode, but legit, this has been one of the weirdest parts to me of having kids is like, how frequently I'm sick. So y' all just gonna have to listen to the raspiness today. Okay, So I went to Threads the other day and I posted, someone please tell me what the F is a Labubu. I don't know. I started seeing these pop up everywhere.

Andréa Jones [00:01:40]:
I was on TikTok just doing my daily scroll, and I noticed someone doing this video of, like, the evolution of their labubu obsession. And I'm not. I don't know what it is, right? So they had one little, like, gremlin looking thing hooked onto their bel, and then it was like two, and then it was 10, and then they were surrounded by them. And I was like, okay, that person's just weird. But because I watched the whole video, y' all know the algorithm was doing its algorithm thing. It started showing me all these labuboos, and I was like, I don't care about this. But I'm also low key, fascinated by the level of obsession, because you don't just see someone with one of them. Like, when I see the videos, I see people with, like, a ton of them.

Andréa Jones [00:02:21]:
And so I Went to threads. I asked. 28 comments later, y', all, this is Beanie Baby but ugly. I feel like that's like the best, the best explanation. Brazen lawyer. My client, former client Bianca Jordan, said, gen Z's Beanie Baby but ugly. And I was like, yes, Bianca, thank you. It is like an ugly Beanie Baby because people are collecting them, but they're, like, going up in value because of like, like their popularity.

Andréa Jones [00:02:54]:
Another people, another person said, this is Siobhan Jones. She said, think trolls without the charm on its belly. Someone else said, this is Amber. She said, it's a Gen Z Mon Chi Chi. And I'm like, I don't even know what that is. I don't know what it is. And then Natalia said, it's a haunted goblin toy with a resale value higher than your rent. Don't ask questions.

Andréa Jones [00:03:16]:
Just accept this rule. And Natalia, for you, my question is, in this economy, who is buying these? And so as I was asking that, I was like, yeah, I feel like this is a conversation for today. So we're going to talk about basically the 2025 version of a Furby or Cabbage Patch doll, which I still have haunting memories of going to a Cabbage Batch doll. I don't know if it was a museum or what as a kid, but those things frightened me. Okay, but today we're going to talk about why these little collectible toys are so popular and why people are obsessed with them. Because I think there's something about building some sort of internal obsession with your people. Like, we want our people, our community, to be really into it, right? Like, that's all. That's all we want out of our business.

Andréa Jones [00:04:09]:
Like, we don't just want, like, casual people. We want the people who show up for us day in and day out. We want the people who spread the good word of our business. Like, all these people are in these industries are talking about Labubu. Okay? So I think the first thing that I want to highlight about Labubus is that they're weird. They are weird looking. They're weird looking and they're creepy. Go Google it.

Andréa Jones [00:04:34]:
They're creepy. I think that's the point. Like, that's what I'm taking away from it at least is like, girl, be weird. Like, the whole point behind this thing is that they look a little off. And I feel like if you just had made like, a cute little, like, if. If they just came out with a cute little, like, normal looking, like, let's say bear, we would be like, that's cute. And Then move on. But the fact that these things look creepy and weird and it's not for everybody.

Andréa Jones [00:05:02]:
The people who it is for, they're obsessed. The level of obsession is heightened because it's so different and unique and weird. So much so that lebooboo fans are, like, so screaming at people to the level of, I'm sorry, my vegan listeners, but vegans. When y' all become vegans, it's not just that you're vegan, it's that you want everyone else around you to also be vegan. That's what I'm feeling from Labubu fans. They're like, not just you should have a Labubu, but everyone should have a Labubu. And it's like, become their obsession. And I can't say the word anymore.

Andréa Jones [00:05:36]:
Like, I'm hearing myself. It sounds weird. Anyways, they're not trying to be for everyone. They're being weird for their people. And I think about other industries where this level of obsession applies. I saw a video on TikTok last week of this guy talking about Apple versus Android users. And I feel. I felt this video so much like he was talking about how this Android user was trying to convert him over.

Andréa Jones [00:06:05]:
And people do that. If you have an Android and someone else has an Apple, you, like, try to convert people over. And I will tell you this right now, I have Apple everything. I have the Apple phone, the watch, my computers. Like, everything is Apple. And technically, I could admit Android can be better. Like, I am not too proud to admit that Android can be better. I can't tell you why I will be an Apple user for the foreseeable future.

Andréa Jones [00:06:31]:
I don't see myself ever switching that. They could double, triple the price of their stuff and I would still go, well, I guess I'm just going to have to pay to double or triple. Like, there's something about it where, like, I'm bought in. Same thing for my Starbies. Although I found a local coffee shop near me that's, like, better than my Starbucks. And so I go there now. So, like, yeah, sometimes if it's better, I'll, you know, I'll switch. But however, whatever the case may be, when you find something that you're like, this is my thing, it's hard to change people's minds.

Andréa Jones [00:07:03]:
And so that's the power of being, like, a little bit different, unique or weird. Okay, second thing, Labubu is a limited edition now. I had to look this up. Just like with Beanie Babies, they only make a certain number of them now. I looked it up very briefly because I cannot look at the pictures of these things. They freak me out. And if I end up with nightmares from studying for this episode, I'm blaming y'. All.

Andréa Jones [00:07:30]:
But people line up, they set alarms. They're treating them like limited edition Pokemon trading cards. Yu Gi oh, cards, whatever the case may be. And then it's not just that. They're building this whole, like, fictional world behind it, there's lore, there's characters, there's everything, right? And so this obsession feels orchestrated a little bit by the people behind Lububu, but also people are buying into it, right? And because of the limited runs plus the storytelling, I feel like that leads to some of this brand obsession. I don't think it's accidental. Like, the people who created this, I think they kind of studied why people like these things. It kind of reminds me a little bit of Crocs, okay.

Andréa Jones [00:08:25]:
Because I'm a new Crocs convert. Y' all know this here on the podcast. I thought crocs were ugly for the longest time. Actually, I still think they're ugly. They're ugly shoes. But my mom came over to visit, like, a year ago, and she said, just try them on. Just try them on. And I said, you know what? Let me just slip them on while I, you know, take the trash out, y'.

Andréa Jones [00:08:46]:
All. They're so comfortable that I was like, oh, I understand. I understand now. And now I have a pair of Crocs that I use to, like, walk the dog and do my daycare drop off. So I feel like that is it with Labuu, too. It's like, it's so ugly that it's, like, circled back around to being cute again. But because it's got, like, this storytelling and the lore, and it's so limited, people are so bought into it. So as a business owner, I want you to think about, you know, how can we frame our work in a way that adds in the storytelling, Right.

Andréa Jones [00:09:23]:
And also makes it limited time built in scarcity. I will say my huge, like, asterisk to this is like, we're not doing fake scarcity, right? So when you build in scarcity, it's intentional. Could they make more Labuboos? Yeah, they could, but they made an intentional decision to say, this is it. This is how many we're going to make, and then we're moving on to the next one. And so I ask you, how can you do that in your business? So, for example, recently I did a sale on one of my products that did really well. And it's because I just set the sale for four days. I'm doing a four day sale. This is the time that I'm doing selling.

Andréa Jones [00:10:00]:
It made sense for me. Made sense for my content calendar. And like, technically, yeah, I could extend the sale or I could shorten it, but I think the reason that it worked is because it was the right product with the right amount of scarcity and the right amount of storytelling is my big inbox energy. By the way, Workshop, which is usually $97, I discounted it to what, like $17. And a bunch of people bought it because I set it as a limited time parameter. Especially in the summer when we don't want to be messing around with social media too much. It's like, okay, focus in on email. Right? Okay, so that's the second piece of this labubu phenomenon is like, scary tell storytelling and scarcity.

Andréa Jones [00:10:40]:
And the first piece is like, own your weird. Okay, there are two more pieces to this. The. The third piece. Why I think this works is because it is almost maximalist in the way that this is presented. It's like chaos meets cute meets ugly in, like, a weird mix. I. I can't.

Andréa Jones [00:11:04]:
I'm trying to figure out how to describe this, because I do feel like the aesthetic online right now, there's like, certain aesthetic buckets, right? And one of the aesthetics is, like, minimalist. Like beige neutrals, like clean girl coated. Okay, That's. That's an esthetic, and this is the opposite of that. I feel like this is, like, maximalist. Lots of colors, all of the things. And so I kind of feel like people are loving that. I know I am.

Andréa Jones [00:11:37]:
And you may notice in my videos, I'm going to start going that way. I got, like, these two new bookshelves in my office, and I feel like that I like the brightness of it. I'm not the type of person to do, like, the neon lights behind me and like, the mood lighting like other YouTubers do. I like the brightness, but I want it to be colorful. So I'm thinking about, like, this wall behind me. How can I add, like, some artwork? Or I can do lights, but let's make it, like, super colorful. And even this rug, like, if y' all aren't watching the video, go over to my YouTube channel. But the rug underneath me, I want it.

Andréa Jones [00:12:12]:
I want to switch it out for something, like, super vibrant. All the colors, like, I want all of the colors in a way that doesn't compete with me on the screen, right? So I feel like the boo boo is Going that way, it's like chaos meets cute. And it's not Instagram perfect. And I think people like that, right? And I will say this. The level of chaos still feels curated. Can we say, like, curated chaos? I love that. Curated chaos. It's like, there's definitely an aesthetic, but it's not the, like, beige aesthetic.

Andréa Jones [00:12:42]:
And I think people like that, right? So as a small business owner and a brand and a content creator, and start thinking about defining your aesthetic, but knowing that your aesthetic doesn't have to be polished. I'll say that about mine, too. Like, when you're listening to this podcast, this is how I talk in real life. My husband calls it monologuing. And he does it, too. We were both talker. He does a radio station. I do a podcast.

Andréa Jones [00:13:12]:
And so when we get into monologuing, this is just how I talk. Like, in real life. My friends can tell you, my husband can tell you this is just. This is just me, right? I don't talk perfectly. I have a lot of filler words. I lose my train of thought. I interrupt myself, I tell stories. But I think that's part of me, and I've just embraced it more and more over the years.

Andréa Jones [00:13:35]:
If you go back, you know, 300 episodes ago, I was a little bit more buttoned up, a little bit more polished, because I thought that's what people wanted to hear. But the more I relaxed, the more people actually listen to what I'm trying to say. And so for me, too, it's a lot easier to create content, because literally all I posted that yesterday, and I sat down today to record this podcast about Labubu after going in my. Into my deep dive. Okay. And so it doesn't have to be perfect. I just need to show up and share the info, right? And so I want you to think about what that looks like for you. Maybe it's not a content calendar.

Andréa Jones [00:14:08]:
Maybe it's knowing that you post better in real time. Or maybe it's not, you know, doing email marketing. Maybe, you know, you're better at podcasting. Or maybe it's not having studio lights and doing a big YouTube production. Maybe, you know, you're better at writing blog posts. Like, whatever it is, you don't have to follow the prescribed, like, do this, do that, do this marketing advice. You can choose what you want, and then your people will become obsessed with it. The next thing I want to say about this is.

Andréa Jones [00:14:35]:
And Labubu. Is it. And Labubu. A Labubu. It's optional, baby. It's optional. Okay, I feel like this is a huge one because I used to work in the spa industry. I work in marketing.

Andréa Jones [00:14:47]:
People keep saying you're the first thing to get cut when, you know, people aren't making money. Blah, blah, blah, blah. Y'. All. In this economy, people are spending money on the boo boos, okay? Why? Because it's tugging at their heart, not their head. Okay? People make buying decisions a lot of times with this guy right here, your heart. They feel the delight, I guess, of looking at these ugly little things. They feel the nostalgia.

Andréa Jones [00:15:14]:
It feels, you know, it does. It feels like a Furby, a Beanie baby, whatever. So, like, the parents who are our age millennials now are buying these ugly little things for their kids because they want it or themselves because they want it. And they want it because they just want it. That's it. They want it because they want it. And I feel feel like sometimes we go too far in the marketing to try to orchestrate desire from people instead of figuring out what people want and then giving it to them. And I talk about this a lot with my mentees in the mentorship program where I talk to service providers, social media managers, web designers, Facebook ad strategists, marketers, right? Y' all are out here trying to orchestrate desire for your offer when desire already exists.

Andréa Jones [00:16:01]:
Ain't nobody wants to write their own emails. They don't want to run their Facebook ads. They definitely don't want to post on Instagram. Okay? So, like, some of this is just showing up and allowing people to, like, see that you have it to offer and them going, phew, that's exactly what I wanted. Right? And they may not need it, but they want it and they want to buy it. Hey. And so I think that that's something that you have to acknowledge in the work that you do. It sometimes can be a hard pill to swallow, because as artists, we want people to, like, crave our stuff because of the deep intrinsic value, when at the end of the day, they just go, I like it.

Andréa Jones [00:16:39]:
So I bought it. So I think that could work for any sort of industry. You know, people like something, they feel it in their heart, and then they buy it. It doesn't need to be a huge mental back and forth decision. Now, my reflection for you at the end of this episode is this. If you were to be Labubu, what would you be? Okay, if you were to be a Labubu, what would you be? What is your Labubu of your brand? Right? What is the thing that is a little bit weird it, you know, causes this obsession because of the storyline. It has scarcity built in. It's.

Andréa Jones [00:17:25]:
It has its own esthetic that's not, you know, the Instagram minimalist, polished aesthetic, but it has an aesthetic and people just see it and they want to buy it. Right. What is that in your business? How can you create that or amplify that in your business? And this Labubu is a trend. I want to emphasize that, too. It's a trend. There will be another one. Just like Beanie Babies were a trend, Furbies were a trend. Cabbage Patch Dolls were a trend.

Andréa Jones [00:17:52]:
Just because something's a trend doesn't mean you don't do it. Right. Fidget spinners, that's another one that was a trend. Just because it's a trend, it doesn't mean you don't do it. But if you have your ears and eyes open and you listen to what people are saying they want, and then you find a way to show up in that way, it can be very, very helpful for you to stay memorable with your story, to add in scarcity, to. To speak to people with their heart first, then their minds. I think it'd be such a powerful marketing strategy for business. So I'll give an example.

Andréa Jones [00:18:24]:
An example that I give a lot of times when I talk idea, and it's the idea of a business that's a dog kennel of sorts, you know, a doggy daycare or overnight stay, doggy hotel, whatever word you want to use there. And a lot of times with marketing this type of business, you can market things like, you know, we take really good care of the dogs. We have, you know, X number of rooms, X number of staff members. But I have a dog, and for me and my dog, we need to know the benefits. Like, are they going to be cuddled? Are there doggy treats? Show me pictures of the dogs having a lot of fun and I'm sold. Right? Like, you don't necessarily need to be so technical in how you show that thing, because I will get to the technicalities later when I'm making the buying decision. But immediately, if you put a picture in my feed of a dog having a grand old time on, like, a giant stick stuffed couch playing with other dogs at your doggy daycare, I'm like, my dog needs to go there immediately. And so I feel like sometimes as the business owners, we get so technical and like, how we present our offer when we really need to speak to the heart first.

Andréa Jones [00:19:37]:
All right, if you have a Labubu and you actually like it, please DM me on Instagram. I'm online. Drea, I need to know personally why you like it. I. I have a lot of reasons why people don't like them, but the more we talk about, the more they're selling. So I need to know, like, what is your personal obsession with it? And then stay tuned. I have more episodes, of course, coming at you every single Tuesday. Thank you so much for enjoying the show.

Andréa Jones [00:20:01]:
If you really do like it, it helps out a lot if you have a five star rating on Spotify or Apple podcasts. I'll see you next week. Bye for now.