Wakuku Comes to the United States (Finally)
This Wakuku is coming soon (officially) to North American shelves.
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⏰ Thu, Aug 14, 2025 @ 6:50 AM PST
🐟 Published from Seattle, WA, USA
🔨 Built by Chase Burns Broderick
Finally, it’s Wakuku time.
MINISO, a rising Chinese variety and lifestyle retailer, has seen its Wakuku line move from debut to global rollout in under six months. The unibrowed, time-traveling caveperson, a new collectible plush character sold in a blind-box format similar to Pop Mart’s Labubu, is created by Letsvan, a Shenzhen-based creative studio that designs original IPs for MINISO’s toy and collectible lines.
The line’s debut “V1 Fuzzy Trendy Fun Party” series launched in March 2025 at MINISO LAND Beijing—a flagship concept store at THE BOX in Chaoyang designed as an immersive retail experience—where the dolls sold out in hours. By mid-May, the series had expanded to eight MINISO LAND flagships across China, followed by limited-edition pop-ups in Jakarta and Dubai, and this week, on August 13, MINISO announced the doll’s first-ever U.S. pop-ups alongside launches in Canada, Australia, and Southeast Asia.
What’s Changed Since We Last Checked in on Wakuku?
Last time we talked about Wakuku was when MINISO’s flagship Beijing store sold out of the plush in March and the line expanded to eight Chinese locations by mid‑May. Since then, here’s what’s happened:
Early June – Influencers and resellers started the trend: Toy collectors outside China began unboxing Wakuku blind boxes, like this unboxing video featuring Houston-based collector and influencer Molly Maung (“Little Cajun House”) opening a full set.
Mid‑June – Wakuku arrived in the UAE: MINISO UAE announced on June 15 that “WAKUKU mania has officially taken over” and that the plush was available in multiple Dubai and Abu Dhabi stores, including Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates.
Mid-July – Wakuku went exclusive in Jakarta: Letsvan’s official Instagram announced “WAKUKU – Flower Gentleman,” calling it an Indonesia‑exclusive release and noting that it was available only at the Jakarta pop‑up on the LG floor of Central Park Mall.
Late-July – Wakuku became the talk of the tabloids: The UK’s The Sun ran a story headlined “TOY JOY: TikTokers go wild for the ‘NEXT Labubus’ in new collectable toy wave—and it’s a fraction of the price.” The article noted that as Labubus are seen as “old news,” Wakukus are taking TikTok by storm.
Mid-August – The global rollout: MINISO’s official Instagram confirmed that Wakuku (version 1) vinyl plush pendants are coming to several markets, including Canada (Toronto Eaton Centre and Richmond, BC), Australia (Melbourne and Sydney), Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and the first‑ever U.S. pop‑ups (locations to be announced).
Which Dolls Are Coming to MINISO First?
I’ve followed Wakuku since its early years — which, we’re talking doll years, so this was only a few months ago.
Through Seattle Toy Store, I’ve sold around six cartons of the “V1” Fuzzy Trendy Party line, in addition to around ten cartons of the follow-up “V2” series—not just to sell, but to track how individual variants perform in the secondary market.
Here’s that data, if it’s interesting:
Wakuku’s Average Resale Price on Mercari
#1 – “Up to Mischief” (pink fur, blue bear hat) – $39.23 avg
#2 – “Become Rebel” (grey fur, long rabbit ears) – $38.66 avg
#3 – “Monster Imitation” (orange fur, monster hood) – $35.24 avg
#4 – “Back to Y2K” (yellow fur, cheetah hat) – $33.67 avg
#5 – “Play Bear” (brown fur, bear hat) – $30.41 avg
#6 – “Sing Rock” (purple fur, blue beanie) - $28.65 avg
+ “Super Future [SECRET]” (mint fur, pink sunglasses; secret 1/72) – $90 avg
