The viral Labubu trend has swept across the country and it continues to grow in the Nutmeg state. Labubus are a blind-box stuffed animal toy that retails for about $30 and is sold by the Chinese collectible company Pop Mart, CNBC reports. What does blind-box mean? Well, according to George Heudorfer, professor of e-commerce and marketing at the University of New Haven, it is arguably similar to gambling. “I suppose you’re exchanging something of value for a chance. And, you know, gambling is considered a game of chance,” he said. A “blind-box style” essentially means the buyer will purchase an item in a box and the contents are hidden until the box is opened. “It’s almost a lottery ticket, if you will,” Heudorfer said. “You’re investing in something where, you know, like a lottery ticket, where you’re taking a chance on the big one, the one you’re looking for, that next exclusive, rare Labubu. And there might be a level of disappointment if you don’t get it or if you get the one that you’ve gotten before.” The first Pop Mart in Connecticut opened in Norwalk in March, according to Danbury Mall officials, who also say while they are unsure of the exact date of the Danbury store’s grand opening, they are aiming for late summer and they expect high traffic for Labubu purchases. “The mystery boxes, the blind boxes, is almost addicting to the point where there’s periodicals and publications in China questioning whether that should be allowed because it does create almost an addiction for the Chinese youth to want to collect all of these and maybe even spend beyond their means,” Heudorfer said. “So many years ago, you try to get prize of a Cracker Jack box, or even like Pokemon, more recently, trying to get the lucky card, or whatever it might be. That gamification that Pop Mart has put in on the Labubu is very, very powerful, and that drives up the sales,” Heudorfer said. CNBC reports that Pop Mart’s limited supply has reportedly caused customers to fight over Labubus and high resale prices have created a market for knockoff Labubus, called “Lafufus.” On the topic of the counterfeit market, Heudorfer said, “When I look at the Labubu and some of the knockoffs, the cheap competitors, like Lafufu, it’s never about price. So Labubu is a premium product —  about $30. The Lafufu is less than that, cheaper quality. … Just like you would see with like Stanley Thirst Quencher and the cheap knockoffs.” With the scarcity and blind-box style, some see Labubus as a potential future investment. “Time will tell if this is a rocket ship or a bottle rocket,” Heudorfer said. “There is a roughly $30 investment now — some are going as high as $7,000 on the secondary market today. We’ll have to see. … When you look at the celebrity endorsements, the brand halo around some of the celebrities that are rocking these at big events, will that continue? Is that a flash in the pan like some other trends that we see?” As Pop Mart’s second store is set to open in Danbury, Heudorfer is optimistic about the brand’s future. “Pop Mart is investing heavily in the U.S. They’re opening up at about 30 U.S. locations today. … They’re committed, and they’re licensing big deals with companies like Marvel and Universal, so you’re going to see a lot of Harry Potter and things like that. The Labubu is part of that puzzle and I do see the trend continuing every short term.” NBCUniversal is the parent company of NBC and NBC Connecticut.