When LABUBU rejected AI, only the narrow door of “relationships” remained open for the toy industry.

Recently, a picture of a refrigerator priced at 5,999 yuan has been widely shared on social media. This is not a discussion about appliances, but rather a celebration of desires. A joint refrigerator launched by the IP LABUBU, a trendy toy brand, was once quoted at an astonishing 100,000 yuan on the secondary market. In the face of such an absurd premium, the first reaction of most people was to scoff: it’s just a bubble, a hype, or an intellectual tax.

But if you only see the price and the frenzy of capital, you actually miss the most fatal signal in this wave. At a time when AI toys are being hyped and regarded as the next big thing by capital, why did a company with top-notch IP traffic not launch “AI + LABUBU”, but instead choose a cold appliance?

This choice itself is a deep-water bomb aimed at the industry.

I. Clear retreat: Not because they don’t understand, but because they see too clearly

Many people instinctively interpret it as: Does Poppa Mates not see the potential of AI toys? Does it think the technology is too abstract?

The truth is exactly the opposite. Companies like Poppa Mates, which have top-notch data observation capabilities, are more aware than anyone of the popularity of AI. They did not do it because they couldn’t understand, but because they understood too clearly.

They saw the real face of AI toys today: It is not a mature product, but an experimental item full of uncertainties. The experience is unstable (sometimes smart, sometimes stupid), the cost structure is heavy (the cost of local computing power and cloud invocation is high), and the user relationship is difficult to sustain (it becomes obsolete after three days of novelty). In terms of business logic, it has not yet formed a “definite business model”.

And Poppa Mates has completed the original accumulation of IP assets. Their current strategic focus is “maximizing monetization efficiency”. So, they chose a more stable and proven path: Use refrigerators and small appliances to physically occupy users’ living spaces; use limited editions and lottery systems to maintain scarcity; use the attribute of social currency to create emotional consensus.

This is a perfect battle about “inventory operation”. But currently, AI toys still cannot fit into this precisely operating system.

II. Illusion of the window period: The only chance left for AI toys

Making LABUBU a refrigerator does not mean that AI toys have no chance. On the contrary, this leaves an extremely crucial but also extremely short window period for the AI toy industry.

This window period is not for you to rush (because you can never catch up with the technological iterations of big companies), but for you to seize something more fundamental: The “first emotional bond” between users and characters.

We must clearly recognize that once a giant like Poppa Mates solves the technical stability problem of AI, when they enter this field with already formed IP, deep user trust, and clear character cognition, simply “a little more functional” or “a little lower price” will be completely uncompetitive. What can you use to compete against an “old friend” that users have loved for five years?

III. Misaligned competition: AI toys should not compete on functions, but on “relationships”

In the future AI toy market, it will not be a competition of products, but a competition of characters. Just like the names in the jianghu： Who is the “one who truly understands loneliness”？ Who is the “most clingy， most healing existence”？ Who is the “though sharp-tongued， but the warmest foil in critical moments”？ Once these mental highlands are occupied， they will form extremely high barriers. This is precisely what traditional IP companies are best at， and it is also the only breakthrough opportunity for AI-native companies.

IV. The Forgotten Battlefield： Grabbing “Channels of Relationship Formation”

When discussing product definitions， we often overlook the transformation of channels. But here， if the “channels” still remain at mall distribution and e-commerce promotion， it would be too outdated.

The essence of AI toys is not “selling goods”， but “allowing users to form a relationship with a character”. This means that the truly valuable channels are not “places for selling goods”， but “scenarios where relationships occur”.

Looking back at the explosive path of LABUBU refrigerators， you will find that it did not suddenly explode with a single product. It repeatedly completed one thing through offline stores， limited edition systems， and exhibition spaces over a long period： allowing users to “meet it” again and again. This high-frequency， low-pressure contact greatly reduced the users’ psychological defense： from “knowing this character” to “beginning to like it”， and then “willing to pay a premium for it”.

Looking at the current AI toys， what is the distribution path？ It is the comparison of parameters on e-commerce pages， or the brainwashing of advertising. Essentially， this is forcing users to make purchasing decisions in “total lack of relationship”. This is simply anti-human nature. You want users to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars for a “strange character that has never spoken or established an emotional connection”？ It’s too difficult.

Therefore， the true meaning of “grabbing channels” is： who gets the first chance to create the first real interaction between users and the character.

Such scenarios must have three characteristics： experienceable (touchable， talkable)， with emotional atmosphere (lighting， music， environment creation)， and can be stayed (not a hurried passing). That’s why offline experience stores will become unprecedentedly important in the AI toy era. It is not a supplementary channel， but the core starting point. Only there can users drop their guard， be attracted by the character， and say the first sentence， establish the initial emotional connection. Once this step occurs， the subsequent online conversion and repeat purchases will be natural.

V. Conclusion： When IP Starts to “Speak”

Returning to the LABUBU refrigerator incident. Its core lesson is not that a product has been priced to such a high level， but that： IP is breaking through the boundaries of categories and occupying users’ lives in all aspects.

Today it is a refrigerator， tomorrow it can be clothing， and the day after tomorrow， when the technology is mature， it will be that “silicon-based life” that can speak and accompany you crying and laughing.

At that time， these top IP products will no longer be cold products， but a character that can accompany you for a long time. This is the true ultimate goal.

So， if you are still thinking： “Should I hurry to make an AI toy and seize a niche?” Then you may have gone astray. A more thought-provoking question is： When these top IP with millions of fans finally start to speak， why would users still stay with you?

The time left for AI toy startups is really limited. Either in the shadow of giants， use the fastest speed to seize the narrow door of “relationship”； or wait to be reduced to a lower dimension and become an example of the times.