Pudgy Penguins: A Blueprint for Community-Led Brands

Hey, it’s Marc. ✌️

In the spring of 2022, Pudgy Penguins nearly collapsed. 

Today, it stands as one of the most successful NFT collections, with the value of its NFTs increasing nearly fivefold to almost $40,000 in the last six months.

Its Instagram account boasts 1.4M follower, adding 100k+ every month.

Its toys were sold 1M+ times and are now in Walmart, Smyths Toys Superstores, Target, and on Amazon.

They raised a $9M seed round led by 1kx in May 2023 and were named Decrypt’s 2023 NFT project of the year.

And they just revealed big plans for gaming.

Why is this interesting?

Pudgy Penguins' story is a comeback tale of an NFT project that wants to build the world's biggest character IP brand and go mainstream. 

Their strategic use of community, social media, IP licensing, and digital worlds is a blueprint for the community-led commercialization of a consumer brands. 

Let’s unpack. 

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