It’s 5:30 a.m. August 2 at the Hills Chevron on Peace Portal Drive. A red carpet is rolled out as people ranging from children to grandparents – some from as far as Calgary – line outside the gas station’s gift store. They are all there for the same purpose: Labubus.
Behind a velvet rope are the Labubus, small monster plush toys on keychains with a toothy smile and furry bodies, neatly stacked on the sales counter. They are hidden in “blind boxes,” meaning customers won’t know which specific Labubu they purchased until they’ve ripped it open. Next to them, tiny costumes are displayed for sale.
Although receiving mixed reviews on social media, love them or hate them, these collector’s items are a viral craze flying off shelves from Hong Kong to London. These authentic monsters are nearly impossible to get on the official Pop Mart stores, website or resellers.
Labubus began as an illustrated character in Kasing Lung’s “The Monster Trilogy” in 2015. The brand Pop Mart created the characters as figurines in 2019. They spiked in popularity in 2023 when the brand released plush keychain versions sold in blind boxes. Today, they have taken social media by storm due in part to Lisa of the K-Pop band Blackpink bringing them to the spotlight. Since then, people have filmed themselves unboxing the keychain monsters.
It’s 5:45 a.m., and the line is getting longer, hugging the side of the building. A Krispy Kreme Doughnuts cart makes its way through the line. People swap stories of waking up at 3:30 a.m., how far they drove and which Labubu they wanted.
The Roberts family drove the farthest, traveling 12 hours from Calgary in hopes of getting their hands on a blind box. One woman traveled 37 weeks pregnant from Everett, while others came from Vancouver, White Rock or just down the road in Blaine.
It’s 6 a.m., and it’s time for the event to start. Skye Hill, co-owner of Hills Chevron, stands in front of the crowd, megaphone in hand. She announces the start of the Labubu sale. The crowd responds enthusiastically.
Hill had seen Labubus rapidly take over social media. She said she believed it would be a unique opportunity for not only Hills Chevron, but the wider Blaine community.
Group by group, people walk into the store and pick out their Labubus. Hills provided multiple monsters from different collections: 70 from Big into Energy, six from Exciting Macarons and three from Have a Seat. They were all purchased from the Pop Mart website to prove authenticity.
Each buyer is encouraged to do the same once their transaction is completed: They walk to a dark blue tent in the parking lot and film themselves unboxing with toys with a ring light, a lighting tool often used by social media influencers. Squeals, claps and laughter can be heard throughout the day as people show off their new accessory.
It’s noon now. Hills Chevron is sold out of the Labubus. But there’s still hope for those who didn’t brave the early morning to purchase the coveted monsters. Two weeks prior, Hills Chevron sold raffle tickets for $5 and automatically gave tickets for every $50 spent at the store, including gas.
It’s time for the raffle.
Amber Ingersoll, digital creator at Hills Chevron, stands next to the Blaine Sasquatch statue, who is appropriately dressed as a Labubu. Ingersoll places her hand in a clear box containing multiple colored tickets and pulls one out. She reads off the number and a crowd member steps forward. The Labubu is hers. Suddenly, Ingersoll reveals another blind box, despite having only advertised one Labubu for raffle.
Ingersoll calls out a number. No response. Another, and still no response. She calls one more and a young boy comes forward. It’s his now.
