The children’s toy giant, known for its world-famous LOL Surprise! dolls, is preparing to turn its best-selling toys into digital collectibles.
MGA Entertainment, maker of some of the best-selling doll brands of recent years, is expanding its activities to venture into the non-fungible token (NFT) space.
As reported in several media outlets, MGA is teaming up with NFT company Ioconic to create its own digital collectibles marketplace. The aim of the initiative is to bring the popular LOL Surprise! to the blockchain, allowing fans to mint, collect and trade the dolls’ NFTs on a virtual marketplace.
Ioconic, a London-based partnership company for brand owners that provides exposure to the digital asset industry and NFTs, is assisting the company with the launch of the new feature. The functionality for iOS and Android will arrive in December 2021, the company said in a statement.
NFT line of collectible products for the famous dolls
LOL Surprise! dolls have become a global phenomenon in recent years. In 2020, it became the best-selling toy brand for the third year in a row, racking up $25 billion in retail sales, according to the press release. MGA is also behind other successful toy brands, including Bratz dolls.
The doll brand has become so popular with young people that it has even been made into a film on Netflix.
According to an announcement from the company, through a partnership with Ioconic, it will develop a platform for users to maintain a LOL Surprise! collection in the digital world. The integrated marketplace will allow users to buy, sell, trade and store digital trading cards.
In addition, the platform will offer an online game centre for LOL Surprise! trading cards to be launched shortly, MGA said. This will allow fans of the brand’s popular dolls to connect their physical purchases to the blockchain via QR codes and display their collection digitally.
The move makes the dolls the first globally renowned toy brand to have its own NFT collection. Isaac Larian, CEO and founder of MGA Entertainment, said his company was ‘excited’ about creating ‘unique ways to experience the world of fandom’.
New adventures for fans
Jamie Lewis, CEO of Ioconics, also shared the idea that the project will bring fans ‘unique experiences’ combining physical and digital products, without requiring any prior knowledge of the technology.
Lewis also assured Cointelegraph that the startup has built ‘the entire LOL Surprise! digital ecosystem from the ground up’. He also said that the company is working on ‘anti-spill measures and very tight security’ to create a safe environment for the dolls’ young fan base.
Founded in early 2021, Ioconic has recently signed several licensing deals with entertainment giants such as Disneyland and Warner Bros. Entertainment.
