VeeFriends Toys Coming to Macy’s, Toys’R’Us as NFT Brand Expands

Entrepreneur and investor Gary Vaynerchuk’s hand-drawn VeeFriends doodles went viral from paper to NFTsgive away more than 300 million dollars value of trading volume and leads to a Christie’s auctionbrand partnerships and May’s VeeCon convention. Now Gary Vee’s characters have been turned into toys that are coming to America’s top department store chain.

VeeFriends will debut plush and vinyl toys later this month through Macy’s and its Toys”R”Us brand, which is being relaunched at all Macy’s locations in the US. The toys are based on a total of 10 VeeFriends characters from the wider NFT collection, and were designed in collaboration with toy and entertainment startup Toikido.

Vaynerchuk’s characters such as Practical Peacock, Willful Wizard, and Patient Panda are turned into stuffed toys, as well as vinyl figures randomly distributed in “blind boxes.” The first run of toys will be available for sale starting October 17, and will also be available through the Macy’s and Toys”R”Us websites, as well as the VeeFriends website.

Toys”R”Us was once a popular independent chain, but it closed in 2018 after filing for bankruptcy. VeeFriends president Andy Krainak said Decrypt that the “iconic brand” has a special place in Vaynerchuk’s heart as a toy collector (and flippers). In a press release, Vaynerchuk said the deal “means a lot more to me than you could ever imagine.”

VeeFriends’ transition from NFT project to mainstream products was telegraphed earlier this year when the project launched its Series 2 collection. While the first 10,255 Ethereum NFTs (released in 2021) were created directly from Vaynerchuk’s own marker-based doodles, the 55,000 new Series 2 NFTs on Polygon have a more polished, cartoonish allure.

It was on purpose, Vaynerchuk told Decrypt in May, to provide the backbone for a wide range of potential VeeFriends products – from merchandise to apparel, packaged food, games and more. Vaynerchuk then said that VeeFriends needed to “stand up for that intangible property” by moving to more robust, more tangible character designs for his creations.

VeeFriends is still built around Vaynerchuk’s focus on inspirational content, which has made him a social media celebrity, best-selling author and more. But as the project moves into new types of content and products, Krainak said he doesn’t see VeeFriends as just an NFT game anymore.

“If you asked me a year ago, I would have said that VeeFriends is an NFT company. Today, I think of VeeFriends as a transmedia or multimedia company where we create stories in all forms and fashions,” he explained. “Any form or medium in which we can bring to life, if you will, the characters and qualities that we hope to inspire in others.”

Krainak said to expect more storytelling ahead for VeeFriends as the company explores books, video games and other formats. He said the company is in its “infancy” when it comes to generating daily online content, but that the goal is to get both community members and the wider public to “fall in love with the characters” through story-driven initiatives.

The Macy’s/Toys”R”Us launch follows July’s announcement of a $50 million funding round led by VC firm Andreessen Horowitz. Krainak said the funds will help with the expansion in the middle of a roughly total crypto market the last few months.

“As we can all see, we are in a bit of a crypto winter and potentially a looming recession,” he said. “Above all else, it’s just a safety measure to make sure we feel we’re able and in the right position to continue building this company for the foreseeable future. Having partners and taking that funding allows us to do that.”

Extending a brand from an exclusive NFT project to mass market products is a difficult balancing act, however, as creators don’t want to diminish the value or appeal of the original NFT source material by targeting a wider audience.

In the case of VeeFriends, Vaynerchuk and team have chosen to reward certain NFT holders with free products – including these toys and other collaborations, such as clothing. Collectors who own the NFT of a character being turned into a toy can claim a free version between now and October 18th, plus those holders will receive benefits at upcoming toy launch events.

“We are always looking for opportunities to reward our current community and holders as they continue this journey with us,” said Krainak. “We are here to build VeeFriends over the next 40 years.”