If you've started looking at blind-box collectibles in the last two years, almost every rabbit hole leads back to one name: Pop Mart. The Beijing-based designer-toy company is the closest thing this corner of collecting has to a household brand — and yet it's still bewildering when you first encounter it. Sealed boxes that look like premium chocolate. Figures going for £200 on eBay that retailed for £15. Queues outside Westfield stores at 8am. Twelve different series of the same character. This guide takes the long way round: what Pop Mart actually is, where it came from, why it took over the toy aisle of every Asian airport before reaching the UK, and what you need to know if you want to start buying without losing your evening to a Discord drop server. The 60-second version Pop Mart is a Chinese retailer and designer-toy publisher founded in 2010. They sell small collectible vinyl figures — usually 7-9 cm tall, sometimes plush, occasionally larger — in sealed blind boxes. You don't know which figure from a series you're buying until you open it. Each series typically has 11-12 regular figures, plus a small number of rarer secrets and super-secrets with much lower pull rates. You can read the full mechanics in our rarity guide. The company works with artists worldwide — most famously Hong Kong's Kasing Lung (LABUBU / The Monsters), Thailand's Molly Yllom (CRYBABY), and a stable of in-house designers — to create characters that anchor multi-series, multi-year runs. The good ones develop genuine fan communities. The hits, like LABUBU, become global phenomena. A typical sealed box from Pop Mart UK costs £15.99-£19.99. Most secrets resell for £40-£200 within a week of release. MEGA figures (the larger 400% or 1000% scale versions) retail for £200-£500 and can fetch £800-£2,000 second-hand for sought-after pieces. Where Pop Mart came from Pop Mart was founded in 2010 by Wang Ning in Beijing as a small chain of "trendy lifestyle" stores — initially selling miscellaneous designer goods, stationery, and a few collectible toys. The pivot came in 2015 when Wang noticed that the blind-box format from Japanese capsule toys (Gachapon) consistently outsold everything else on his shelves. Pop Mart secured the China distribution rights to Sonny Angel (the Japanese cherub figures) and used the sales data to build a thesis: people would pay a premium for surprise, especially when the surprise was a single artist's distinctive design language. Wang began approaching independent designer-toy artists across Asia and signing them to multi-series deals. The bet paid off. In 2017, Pop Mart launched MOLLY (Kenny Wong's pouty-faced character) as their first major own-IP series. Within three years they were the largest art-toy company on earth. They went public on the Hong Kong stock exchange in December 2020 at a valuation of $7 billion. As of late 2024 the company sells in 30+ countries with flagship stores in London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Singapore and Tokyo. What a Pop Mart figure actually is A standard Pop Mart figure is a small vinyl character — usually unjointed, hand-painted, around the size of an espresso cup — designed by an external or in-house artist. Each character anchors a series: a themed set of 12 figures sharing a concept (cooking, weather, dreams, urban life, whatever the artist felt like exploring). Series are released in waves over months and years. A character like LABUBU has had dozens of series since 2019; SKULLPANDA has fifteen; CRYBABY is closing in on twenty. New series stay in production for a few months, then either become permanently retired or get rotated into "vault" runs much later. Beyond the standard format, Pop Mart also produces:
Pendants — keychain-sized versions of figures, usually £8-£12 retail Plush — soft-toy versions, mostly for The Monsters and CRYBABY (£20-£35) MEGA — large 400% (28 cm) or 1000% (70 cm) collector-grade vinyls at £200-£500 retail Crossover collaborations — Coca-Cola, Disney, Sanrio, Mickey, regional festivals; usually one-off limited runs
A series box (the standard 12-figure case) usually contains every regular figure plus a chance at one secret, sealed individually inside the case. Buying a full sealed case removes most of the gamble — useful if you want the full set but expensive (~£190-£240 per case). The brand's biggest IPs Pop Mart's catalogue is wide — over 30 active IPs as of late 2024 — but five characters drive the bulk of attention:
LABUBU / The Monsters — Kasing Lung's toothy, mischievous creatures. The biggest character globally in 2024. See our LABUBU explainer for the full story. CRYBABY — Thai artist Molly Yllom's emotionally-honest figures. Each release sells out instantly in the UK and on Pop Mart's app. SKULLPANDA — Xiong Miao's dark, philosophical character; the deep cuts of the catalogue. MOLLY — Kenny Wong's blue-haired pouty character; the original Pop Mart breakout and the foundation series that built the company. DIMOO — Ayan Deng's wide-eyed, surreal world; a slow but consistent fan favourite.
Beyond the top five, HIRONO, PUCKY, Twinkle Twinkle, Hacipupu, Peach Riot, and Disney crossovers all have committed niches. Where to actually buy Pop Mart (UK and Europe)
Official Pop Mart UK store (popmart.com/gb) — fairest prices, official drops, but ships from a UK warehouse with short stock windows. The shopping experience is genuinely good — official photography, real-time stock, no scalper markup. The catch is that high-demand series sell out within minutes. Pop Mart UK stores — flagship in Westfield London, smaller pop-ups elsewhere. Best if you want to try the format before committing online. Stock follows the website but staff sometimes hold popular new-release boxes back from the floor. Pop Mart vending machines — appearing in some shopping centres and stations. Sealed boxes only, no choice of figure. Whoopea (UK reseller) — second-hand and discount stock; reasonable prices on older series. Amazon UK — affiliate-friendly listings for select series, often slightly above retail. Useful when Pop Mart UK is out of stock. Avoid unverified eBay and Vinted listings for sealed boxes unless the seller has 100+ feedback and clear photos — the counterfeit problem is real and growing.
For pendant and MEGA formats specifically, Pop Mart's own US store sometimes has stock the UK doesn't, and shipping is reasonable. A note on regional differences Pop Mart's catalogue varies by region. A series that launches in mainland China might not reach the UK for 6-12 months — or never. Some series are deliberately region-exclusive (Japan-only Hachi crossovers, Chinese New Year limited editions). This is genuine, not artificial scarcity: licensing, manufacturing logistics, and demand-shaping all play a part. What this means in practice: a US tester might own figures from a series that's never been visible to a UK collector, and vice versa. The Shelfd catalogue covers every region Pop Mart sells in. Where Pop Mart goes from here The brand is doubling down on three directions:
Plush and apparel — softening the "vinyl-only" identity, capturing the kidult market beyond pure figure collecting. Themed retail spaces — Pop Land in Beijing opened in 2023; LA's Pop Mart Cafe followed. Expect a London experiential space within 18 months. Original IP development — investing more in slow-burn characters rather than relying on three or four cash cows.
For collectors, the practical implication is that the catalogue keeps growing faster than any one person can track. Following 2-3 IPs you actually love beats chasing every release. Pop Mart's appeal is its breadth; your shelf's appeal is its focus.
Updated 2026-05-17. If you spot a factual error, let us know — we keep this page current as new series and crossovers land.