Blåhaj (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈblôːhaj]; lit. ‘blue shark’; colloquially anglicized as /ˈblɑːhɑːʒ/, /ˈblɑːhɑː/, or /ˈbloʊhaɪ/) (sometimes called IKEA shark) 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 become a globally popular internet meme since the late 2010s. It has become a cultural icon in countries like Russia and China, played a symbolic role in Switzerland’s same-sex marriage referendum, and has gained significance within the transgender community. It has also been used as a mascot by IKEA in some regions.

Blåhaj are manufactured in Indonesia and Ludhiana, India.

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 appeared to acknowledge 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 (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈsnɵtːɪg][tone missing]). Some transgender people buy a Blåhaj or are gifted one as a rite of passage after coming out.

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.[38] 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.