Blåhaj is a 1-meter-long (39+1⁄4 in) stuffed toy resembling ablue shark and stuffed with recycledpolyester. It can be machine-washed at 40°C (104°F).[2]
A smaller,0.55-meter (21+3⁄4 in) variant of the Blåhaj is also available.[3]Blåhaj and other IKEA plush toys have embroidered eyes instead of commonly used plastic eyes due to safety concerns such as plastic eyes being choking hazards. On the product page IKEA also states that they use embroidered eyes because of a concentrated effort to make their plushies last as long as possible.[1][4][5]
In September 2021,Twitter accounts representing IKEA inIreland andSingapore, in response to customers enquiring about the toy, claimed that Blåhaj would be discontinued in April 2022.[9] Sources later confirmed that it had been out of stock or delisted from IKEA's stores in China,Taiwan, and Singapore.[10] However, IKEA's USA Twitter account later stated that the toy would remain available for sale in the United States.[11][9][12] Later, IKEA's Media Relations team clarified that the plush would not be discontinued, but online shop and internal store listings in several countries were simply reflecting a supply chain issue.[13]
Blåhaj are manufactured in Indonesia[14] andLudhiana, India.[15]
In response to the toy's popularity, IKEA has produced a line of Blåhaj shopping bags, which are sold at its stores in some regions, including Taiwan and Malaysia.[16][17] IKEA has also used Blåhaj in marketing material; IKEA Japan used the toy as a mascot in a marketing campaign for tiny apartments sold by IKEA in the region. In the campaign, Blåhaj plays areal estate agent who envisions a tiny apartment.[18][19] IKEA of Malaysia and Taiwan sold red-bean and sesame-filled buns resembling Blåhaj.[20][21] IKEA Hong Kong featured Blåhaj as part of an advertising campaign for its Tsim Sha Tsui branch, punning the location as "Tsim Shark Tsui".[22]
In 2018, Blåhaj grew to prominence as an Internet meme,[23][24][25] with social media users posting humorous photos of it in their homes.[26] Around this time, Blåhaj began to be associated with theLGBT and particularlytransgender communities. IKEA was seen as acknowledging this phenomenon (despite not explicitly mentioning it) when the company ran a series of ads in support of the2021 Swiss same-sex marriage referendum featuring the toy.[1] Some transgender people buy a Blåhaj or receive one as a gift as arite of passage aftercoming out.[14][27]
In response to the announcement that the sale of Blåhaj would be discontinued in certain regions, the term "Blåhaj"trended as a topic on social media for several days as fans of the toy claimed it was becoming "extinct".[11][9][10] A similar social media response was elicited when some IKEA stores inHong Kong used the toy in a display demonstrating the functionality ofvacuum sealing.[31]
In November 2022, IKEA Canada hosted a giveaway offering transgender people a special edition Blåhaj in the colors of the transgender pride flag, with their name embroidered on their fin.[32] One of these was gifted to asexual health center inHalifax, Nova Scotia.[33]
^abFocken, Christina (2 September 2023)."Hailiges Maskottchen".Die Tageszeitung (in German).Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved7 October 2024.
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