Blåhaj is a 1-meter-long (39+1⁄4 in) stuffed toy resembling a blue shark and stuffed with recycled polyester. 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 choking hazards. On the product page IKEA also says they use embroidered eyes because of a concentrated effort to make their plushies last as long as possible.[1][4][5]
Production and distribution
Blåhaj has been available from IKEA since at least 2010, previously being known as "klappar haj" (stylised KLAPPAR HAJ, Swedish pronunciation:[ˈklaparːhaj], lit.'petting shark') and in gray instead of blue.[6] By 2012, IKEA had switched to using blue fabric[7] but maintained the klappar haj name until later in the product's life.
In September 2021, Twitter accounts representing IKEA in Ireland and in Singapore, in response to customers enquiring about the toy, claimed that Blåhaj would be discontinued in April 2022.[8] Sources later confirmed that it had been out of stock or delisted from IKEA's stores in China, Taiwan, and Singapore.[9] However, IKEA's USA Twitter account later stated that the toy would remain available for sale in the United States.[10][8][11] 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.[12]
Blåhaj are manufactured in Indonesia[13] and Ludhiana, India.[14]
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.[15][16] 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 a real estate agent who envisions a tiny apartment.[17][18] IKEA of Malaysia and Taiwan sold red-bean and sesame-filled buns resembling Blåhaj.[19][20] IKEA Hong Kong featured Blåhaj as part of an advertising campaign for its Tsim Sha Tsui branch, punning the location as "Tsim Shark Tsui".[21]
In 2018, Blåhaj grew to prominence as an Internet meme,[22][23][24] with social media users posting humorous photos of it in their homes.[25] Around this time, Blåhaj began to be associated with the LGBT and particularly transgender communities. IKEA was seen as acknowledging this phenomenon (despite not explicitly mentioning it) when the company ran a series of ads in support of the 2021 Swiss same-sex marriage referendum featuring the toy.[1] Some transgender people buy a Blåhaj or receive one as a gift as a rite of passage after coming out.[13]
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".[10][8][9] A similar social media response was elicited when some IKEA stores in Hong Kong used the toy in a display demonstrating the functionality of vacuum sealing.[29]
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.[30] One of these was gifted to a sexual health center in Halifax, Nova Scotia.[31]
See also
Costco bear, a stuffed bear sold by a big box retailer that has attained a similar level of pop culture status
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