Blahaj Appreciation Society / BLAHAJSOC

Blåhaj (stylised BLÅHAJ, Swedish pronunciation: [ˈblôːhaj] ⓘ, lit. ‘blue shark’; colloquially anglicised as /ˈblɑːhɑːʒ/, /ˈblɑːhɑː/ or /ˈbloʊhaɪ/) is a plush toy manufactured and sold by the Swedish company IKEA. Modeled after the blue shark and made of recycled polyester, the toy has gained prominence on social media as a popular internet meme, especially in the femboy, transgender, and LGBT communities.¹ It has also been used as a mascot by IKEA in some regions.

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 fabric⁷ but maintained the klappar haj name until later in the product’s life.

In September 2021, Twitter accounts representing IKEA in Ireland and 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.¹⁰⁸¹¹ 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 Indonesia¹³ 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.¹⁵¹⁶ 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.¹⁷¹⁸ IKEA of Malaysia and Taiwan sold red-bean and sesame-filled buns resembling Blåhaj.¹⁹²⁰ 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,²²²³²⁴ 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

The toy has continued to inspire memes and social media posts on Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, and TikTok²²²⁶ and is a popular product in numerous territories.²⁷²⁸ Blåhaj also made a brief appearance in the Marvel Studios-produced television series Hawkeye.²⁶

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”.¹⁰⁸⁹ 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