The Snowball Effect: Pudgy Penguins

Despite lacking the ability to fly, Pudgy Penguins has truly taken off. 

Pudgy Penguins debuted in 2021 as a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) during the early Web3 boom. The happy, hand-drawn cartoons quickly caught the eyes of crypto collectors. The series sold out in minutes — some for millions of dollars — and the plump little penguins soon began popping up all over the internet. Steve Starobinsky, Pudgy Penguins’ Director of Partnerships and Business Development, attributes this snowball effect to the characters’ universality. 

“They can be anyone,” Starobinsky says. “They represent personalities, not who you are. Because they speak Penguish, every language can identify [with Pudgy Penguins]. It doesn’t matter.”

While most memes melt away, Pudgy Penguins managed to weather the NFT winter. In 2022, Luca Netz purchased the brand and its IP for roughly $2.5 million [approximately 750 ETH, according to Fortune magazine], on a mission to pivot $PENGU — the brand’s cryptocurrency — into a consumer products empire. With now-CEO Netz’s experience as Gel Blaster’s Chief Marketing Officer and the Pudgy Penguins’ playful design, the toy department was a natural first step. 

An early deal with PMI Kids’ World brought Pudgy Penguins into toy departments through collectible figures and plush, establishing the brand on shelves at retailers like Walmart, Target, and Hot Topic. But that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Armed with a plan to “Own Winter,” Pudgy Penguins unveiled a massive slate of licensing collaborations and upcoming products at Art Week Miami 2025. The lineup, much of which hits retail this year, features everything from Snuggies and Pez dispensers to designer collectibles, including a limited-edition BE@RBRICK from Medicom Toy. Each company interprets the brand in its own way, inviting fans of every feather to buy into $PENGU — without the crypto commitment.

Fun In Motion Toys, for example, paired Pudgy Penguins with its signature Shashibo. The line includes two special-edition puzzle cubes inspired by the brand’s most visible characters, Pax and Polly, complete with themed artwork and a code to unlock digital items in the Pudgy Party mobile game. 

“We didn’t want to just ‘put the art on a cube,’” says Kevin Daniels, CEO and co-founder of Fun In Motion. “The goal was to create an experience that feels alive — something you interact with and discover over time. Shashibo gave us that opportunity. As you transform it, you uncover different characters, patterns, and moments. It’s like unlocking parts of [Pudgy Penguins] as you play.”

Meanwhile, Horizon Group USA is developing a line of SlimyGloop toys inspired by the characters. Rolling out on shelves later this year, the collection will include everything from compounds and collectibles to Gelli Gels and Tabatastic craft kits.

“Our approach centered on capturing the spirit of Pudgy Penguins’ playful, authentic, community-driven momentum, and translating that into the tactile, creativity-focused experiences we specialize in,” says Evan Buzzerio, Partner and Chief Commercial Officer at Horizon Group USA. 

In the collectibles space, Schleich will bring Pax and Polly to its portfolio later this year with a set of figurines. First unveiled at Spielwarenmesse in Nuremberg, Germany, before making a splash at Toy Fair New York, the figures blend Pudgy Penguins’ modern charm with the craftsmanship of the legacy toymaker.

“Pudgy Penguins are inherently collectible; each character has its own identity, style, and story, which naturally lends itself to a figure-based format,” says David Albert, President of Schleich North America. “Bringing them into the physical toy aisle allows fans to engage with the brand in a tangible way, which is a powerful extension of their existing ecosystem.”

These collaborations give Pudgy Penguins a spot on store shelves, but they also offer licensees the opportunity to double-dip demographics. Between their clean, cheerful humor and their crypto roots, the characters connect with kids and collectors across generations — but most surprisingly, they’ve captured the hearts of couples. 

“We call it the collector couple phenomenon,” Starobinsky says. “Somehow, there is no brand that the couple likes together … that has never existed. But [Pudgy Penguins] is a shared fandom… It is a fantastic IP that people intertwine with their relationships. I have wedding cakes now with Pudgy Penguins on top.”

As the internet’s favorite couple, Pax and Polly’s relationship plays an important role in Pudgy Penguins’ brand marketing strategy. The company hosted a Valentine’s Day pop-up in New York City, with fans lining up in the snow for the chance to grab the sold-out Pudgy Penguins Plush Bouquet, since reissued for Mother’s Day. Meanwhile, PlayMonster is hard at work on the first Pudgy Penguins party game, a couple-centric re-imagining of Icebreakers slated to launch this fall. 

As Pudgy Penguins looks ahead, its snowball to stardom shows no signs of slowing down. With no holiday holding it back, Pudgy Penguins’ future calendar aims to colonize all things cutesy and cool, from the freezer section and feature films all the way to the Super Bowl field. 

“I think it’s a cold world out there, and [Pudgy Penguins] is a really nice beacon of hope and silliness and joy,” Starobinsky comments. “I can clearly see the future where this is a household brand. I can clearly see it in my mind’s eye. And I believe that we can make that a reality because the content and the people behind it are so special.”

A version of this feature was originally published in The Toy Book’s 2026 Licensing & Entertainment Issue, featuring The Licensing Book. Click here to read the full issue! Want to receive The Toy Book in print? Click here for subscription options!

A version of this feature first appeared in The Toy Book‘s 2026 Licensing & Entertainment Issue, featuring The Licensing Book. Read the full issue here!

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