Move over Labubu – Fugglers look to take crown from Hong Kong-designed plush toy

Competition for plush toys is heating up, with British monster-like characters, Fugglers, emerging from the shadows following the recent runaway success of Labubu, a collectible doll created by a Hong Kong designer.

Fugglers, which recently appeared on the popular Chinese social media platform RedNote, stretch the “ugly-cute” moniker to the extremes.

They are threatening to steal the limelight from Labubu, designed by Hong Kong-born Lung Ka-sing and manufactured by Beijing-based Pop Mart. Labubu plush toy monster elves are known for their distinct mischievous grins and what has been dubbed an “ugly-cute” aesthetic.

Fugglers, the brainchild of British artist Louise McGettrick and distributed by UK-based Addo Play, are a line of “funny-ugly monsters” identifiable by their “human-like teeth, vacant eyes and disturbing demeanour”.

Developed in 2010 – five years before Labubu hit the market – Fuggler plushies enjoyed a surge in interest on social media platform TikTok last year but only emerged on RedNote recently, with one related hashtag garnering 3.1 million views.

Although the figure pales in comparison with the around 2.5 billion views for Labubu on the same platform, it has not stopped users from debating whether Fugglers will seriously compete for the throne of collectible toys.