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Pudgy Penguins sold over $500,000 worth of physical toys on its Amazon storefront in the days following their launch, according to CEO Luca Netz in a Twitter Spaces. Netz acquired the company in 2022.
The release of the toys — announced on May 18 — may show a mainstream use case for NFTs. According to a blog post from Pudgy Penguins, the team was trying to find ways to utilize the IP better.
“We quickly realized that licensing NFTs from the community was the way to go, and we announced the beginning of Pudgy Toys,” they said.
The toys range from stuffed penguins to figurines. Each toy comes with a QR code that gives them access to Pudgy World — which is tied to a blockchain wallet, Soulbound NFT and Tradeable NFT accessible through email address sign-up.
The toys are currently in the 99th spot on Amazon’s new releases for toys as of press time, though they ranked higher over the weekend.
Waking up to see Pudgy Penguins record breaking numbers on Amazon really makes all my losses in the Web3 space worth it.
— Moose (@JoeyMooose) May 19, 2023
If you didn’t know, the owner of these penguins will all be receiving royalties for these sales.
Utility. This is real utility. pic.twitter.com/fbRGGig5Im
Pudgy Penguins has teased that the toys will “hit the shelves of some of the most prominent retail and specialty stores around the world,” though they have not released more information yet.
The release of the toys comes just a week after Pudgy Penguins announced a $9 million seed round.
“[Pudgy Penguins] is a transcendent IP brand that is providing a community of both crypto-native and non-crypto native consumers with enjoyable products, experiences, and content,” said Netz about the fund raise.