Blåhaj

• Name — Blåhaj • Othernames — IKEA Shark • Type — Stuffed toy • Inventor — IKEA of Sweden • Company — IKEA • From — 2014 • To — present • Features — Embroidered eyes • Materials — Polyester • Website — https: www.ikea.com/us/en/p/blahaj-soft-toy-shark-90373590/

IKEA first sold its shark plush design from at least 2008 under the names "Grössby" and "Klappar Haj" (petting shark). Unlike the current blue Blåhaj, these original versions were grey. The Grössby variant featured a slightly stiffer filling, comparable to IKEA's "Ensta" killer whale plush. By 2012, IKEA transitioned to using blue fabric for the plush but continued to use the "Klappar Haj" name. The product was rebranded with the current "Blåhaj" name in early 2014. An earlier predecessor, named "Korall Haj" (coral shark), dates back to 2006. Blåhaj are manufactured in Indonesia and Ludhiana, India. In response to the toy's popularity, IKEA produced a line of Blåhaj shopping bags, which are sold at its stores in some regions, including Taiwan and Malaysia. IKEA 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. IKEA of Malaysia and Taiwan sold red-bean and sesame-filled buns resembling Blåhaj. IKEA Hong Kong featured Blåhaj as part of an advertising campaign for its Tsim Sha Tsui branch, punning the location as "Tsim Shark Tsui".

Photographs of Blåhaj circulated on Tumblr and Instagram as early as late 2014. By 2018, Blåhaj gained wider prominence as an internet meme, with social media users worldwide, such as in Russia, posting lighthearted images featuring it. Many of these featured the toy in human-like scenes, such as reading a book or dining with other Blåhaj. Since 2020, Blåhaj has also been associated with the LGBTQ and particularly transgender communities, in part because observers noticed that the primary colors of the toy (blue body, pink mouth, and white belly) matched the colors of the transgender flag. IKEA acknowledged this phenomenon when the company ran a series of ads supporting the 2021 Swiss same-sex marriage referendum. One such ad featured Blåhaj in bed with IKEA's polar bear toy, Snuttig. Some transgender people buy a Blåhaj or are gifted one as a rite of passage after coming out. The toy continued to inspire memes and social media posts on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, and is a popular product in numerous territories. A subreddit with over 103,000 members dedicated to Blåhaj was made, where people post memes and images of their Blåhajs "doing silly things". Blåhajs also made a brief appearance in the Marvel Studios-produced television series Hawkeye. In September 2021, concerns arose after Twitter accounts representing IKEA in Ireland and Singapore suggested, in response to customer inquiries, that Blåhaj would be discontinued in April 2022. These worries intensified as the toy was reported to be out of stock or delisted from IKEA stores in China, Taiwan, and Singapore. The news prompted a significant social media reaction, with "Blåhaj" trending for several days as fans expressed fears of the toy becoming "extinct". A subreddit named r/savetheBlåhaj was made, and a petition on Change.org was started to keep Blåhaj in production, which over 7,000 people signed. Subsequently, IKEA's USA Twitter account affirmed the toy's continued availability in the United States, and IKEA's Media Relations team later clarified that Blåhaj was not being discontinued globally. They explained that the delistings and stock issues in some countries were due to temporary supply chain disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following this, fans reacted with mock outrage when IKEA stores in Hong Kong showcased Blåhaj in a demonstration of vacuum packing bags, jokingly acting as if flattening them was an act of cruelty. In 2021, IKEA rented out 170 sqft apartments in Tokyo, Japan for ¥99 each. To promote the apartments, IKEA worked with Wieden+Kennedy to produce a three episode series starring Blåhaj, called Tiny Homes. In the series, Blåhaj is depicted as a real estate agent as he attempts to find someone to live in his tiny apartment. Along with the series, IKEA opened the "Blåhaj real estate offices" in their Shinjuku location from November 11 through November 30, 2021, so people could learn about the apartments. In November 2022, IKEA Canada hosted a giveaway offering transgender people a special edition Blåhaj in the colors of the transgender flag, with their name embroidered on their fin. One of these was gifted to a sexual health center in Halifax, Nova Scotia. For pride month in June of 2026, IKEA Spain's official YouTube channel posted a video announcing the BLÅHAJ empathy manual. This included a PDF document labelled 'BLÅHAJ Manual de empatía,' which is uploaded on the IKEA website. The manual does not contain assembly instructions; instead it has "small keys for taking prejudice apart," as it teaches the reader how to be more understanding to people of the LGBTQ+ community. Made in collaboration with Federación Estatal LGTBI+, the Spanish State LGTBI+ Federation, it is the first IKEA plush to have an instruction manual.