On May 18, the Pudgy Penguins NFT Twitter handle tweeted a video announcing the release of Pudgy Toys, the physical line of family-friendly plush toys and figurines. The video also revealed Pudgy World, an online portal that offers non-Web3 native consumers their first blockchain wallet and soul-bound and tradable NFTs.
The video, which shows a child playing in her bedroom with the NFT-inspired toy as a tribute to the Toy Story franchise, marked a special moment in the project’s history and the first community-licensed mass-market product line from a Web3 brand.
“This will be the first time NFTs and blockchain technology are introduced to everyday consumers in a seamless, non-intimidating way,” the team wrote in the tweet announcing the release.
Chubby Penguins IRL
Those who purchase a Pudgy toy will receive a birth certificate that unlocks a trait box from season one of Pudgy World, an ecosystem the Pudgy team describes as a “socially immersive experience” where users can connect and interact with fellow owners around the world. world. Each box contains four to six “common” to “epic” traits that can be traded, sold, or used to equip their Forever Pudgy Penguin.
This allows consumers to customize their own unique NFT “without them knowing,” according to the tweet announcing the release. Once they are happy with their Forever Pudgy Penguin, they will store it on the blockchain as a dynamic NFT whose properties can be changed and further customized at any time.
Part of Pudgy’s longstanding branding strategy has been to put a welcoming face on non-Web3 natives. With nearly 530,000 followers, Pudgy Penguins has a remarkably strong presence on Instagram. The account offers feel-good content based on the Pudgy aesthetic, and followers won’t mention the words “NFT” or “blockchain”. Much like the approach that brands like Candy Digital and Reddit have taken over the past year, a major part of Pudgy Penguins’ marketing strategy has been to downplay the technology behind the brand.
That tactic appears to be paying off for the company. According to Luca Schnetzler, CEO of Pudgy Penguins, they are almost sold $500,000 worth of toys on Amazontotaling more than 20,000 individual toys, with an average order value of approximately $130.
“If the momentum on my Amazon seller dashboard continues like this, it will be one of the most successful product debuts I’ve ever been a part of,” Schnetzler said in a Twitter space explaining the release. “In the past 48 hours, we’ve made just under half a million dollars in toys. We only launched quite recently; I don’t think that’s so poor.”
While the team has yet to release any details, Pudgy Penguins toys will soon hit the shelves of “some of the world’s most prominent retail and specialty stores.”
Using IP to build sustainable NFT empires
The Pudgy Penguins leadership has been hinting at its IRL merchandise plans for some time now, tease the toy leading up to the 2022 holiday season. Speaking to nft now last November, Schnetzler described how the team has a focused vision for the PFP space that heavily engages the retail market.
Changing the use contract for the NFTs under the Pudgy banner allowed holders to participate in unique contracts that Pudgy leadership had negotiated for family-friendly IRL products. In addition to cuddly toys and figurines, the team also wants to make children’s books. In addition, Pudgy holders can individually monetize their NFT, but if their commercial earnings exceed $500,000 in annual revenue, those holders are expected to partner with the Pudgy team and enter into a licensing agreement.
Such IP leverage is only becoming more common in Web3, especially as both teams and NFT holders are increasingly thinking about the utility and purpose of owning a non-artificial NFT. The team behind the Goblintown NFT project, Truth Labs, also announced this week that it had negotiated two unique contracts with members of the 187 Collection that will allow holders to earn a share of the royalties and brand-based merchandise revenue.
The strategy could be a lifesaver for an industry that faces some major challenges in terms of sales volume, overall activity and enthusiasm for the NFT space. While more time is needed to see how the retail market will eventually react to such products and whether or not they will prove effective in onboarding the crypto skeptic, Pudgy Penguins have so far made an encouraging impression.