Pudgy Penguins, the IP and brand-development company behind the series of globally-recognized characters, has announced that its line of collectible toys, Pudgy Toys, will expand its Walmart relationship with the addition of 1,100 new locations that will carry the line and the introduction of new Walmart toy exclusives. This is a major milestone for Pudgy Toy’s collaboration with Walmart and demonstrates the continued success of Pudgy Penguins’ retail strategy, turning the digital collectible characters into toys, to reach the consumer market at scale.
Pudgy Penguins launched Pudgy Toys, a line of plushies, figurines, and physical collectibles inspired by its NFT collection in May 2023 on e-commerce platforms and the brand quickly became a number one seller on Amazon in three separate categories and won Toy Insider’s Top Summer Toy in 2023. In September 2023, Pudgy Toys debuted in 2,000 Walmart locations.
“Our strategic collaboration with Walmart has allowed Pudgy Penguins to reach new heights in the consumer market. The expansion into additional Walmart locations, alongside exclusive toy offerings, underscores the enduring appeal of Pudgy Penguins characters,” said Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins. “By blending traditional digital platforms with innovative blockchain technology, we’re giving a new class of consumers tailored interactive experiences while elevating the online Web3 community.”
Pudgy Toys will now be available at 3,100 U.S. Walmart stores with new Walmart exclusives including five collectible Pudgy figurines and 25 Lil Pudgys mystery igloos with unique Pudgy characters inside. Each toy comes with a QR code that unlocks traits and collectibles inside of Pudgy World, an online, open-world game that is powered by the Layer 2 blockchain, zkSync Era, where players can customize penguin characters, complete story-driven quests, and more.
Since all of the existing and upcoming Pudgy Toys are connected to existing pieces of NFT IP, the NFT holders will continue to receive royalty payments from Pudgy Penguins’ recently announced licensing platform, OverpassIP, where holders can submit their NFTs to be considered for future Pudgy Toy launches and other projects.
OverpassIP is a revolutionary step for not only NFTs but also blockchain technology, by creating a novelty approach to IP licensing. The OverpassIP technology has simplified the licensing process for Pudgy holders by opting them into automatic royalty tracking, which in turn has created real-world utility and value for said holders. The latest Walmart drop is a prime example of royalties being passed along to the Pudgy holders who have opted into licensing their NFTs for this iteration of Pudgy Toys. OverpassIP is still in Beta, however, its creation and implementation is an evolution of the digital asset ecosystem to expand into real-world deployment, unlocking new avenues for community engagement and value creation specifically for the NFT community.
Walmart will carry 30 different Pudgy Toys including Lil Pudgys Igloo Collectibles and Action Figures. The Pudgy Toys range between $2.99-$11.97. Pudgy Penguins has refined and enhanced the packaging design for this new toyline, featuring the debut of a novel Blind Box Collection Series for their plush toys.
The open Beta of Pudgy World can be accessed at www.PudgyWorld.com. Pudgy Toys, made by PMI Kids’ World, can be found at select Walmart stores nationwide and at Walmart.com.