Written by Dustin

Introduction:

The year 2023 is likely to be remembered as a forgettable phase for the entire NFT market in general. Despite transformative efforts, most Blue Chip projects have experienced substantial declines. According to statistics from CoinGecko, in terms of sale prices, we are witnessing a 100% negative growth rate across all collections. Within this spectrum, Pudgy Penguin stands out as an investment that has weathered the negative impact relatively less.

Investment Landscape:

On May 9, 2023, Pudgy Penguins successfully secured $9M in funding from investors, including 1kx (Lead), Big Brain Holdings, Kronos Research, Old Fashion Research, and CRIT Ventures. Indeed, few NFT projects manage to raise funds from venture capitalists.

The following article provides the author’s perspective on the project and why an NFT investor should keep an eye on Pudgy in the near future.

1. Project Overview

Website: https://pudgypenguins.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pudgypenguins Discord: https://discord.gg/pudgypenguins

NFT Marketplace: https://opensea.io/collection/pudgypenguins

Toy and Fashion Shop: https://shop.pudgypenguins.com/

Pudgy Penguins is a collection of 8,888 ERC-721 standard PFP animated NFTs minted through WL (0.03 ETH) on July 23, 2021.

Especially appealing concept for children → advantageous for business ventures targeting children’s products like toys, books, etc.

NFT Information

• Collection name: Pudgy Penguins
• Blockchain: Ethereum
• NFT Contract: 0xBd3531dA5CF5857e7CfAA92426877b022e612cf8
• Max Supply: 8,888 Pudgy Penguins NFTs

NFT Attributes:

• Background
• Body
• Face
• Head
• Skin

2. Project Development Timeline

• 7/2021: Pudgy Penguins was launched with a collection of 8,888 NFT penguins on the Ethereum blockchain. This collection sold out in just 19 minutes.
• 10/2021: Pudgy Penguins donated a portion of project profits to animal welfare and environmental conservation organizations.
• 1/2022: The community voted to remove the founders after discovering misallocation of project funds and involvement in NFT scams.
• 4/2022: Entrepreneur Luca Schnetzler acquired the Pudgy Penguins brand for 750 ETH (approximately $2.5 million USD) to continue development. A turning point for Pudgy.
• 12/2022: Pudgy Penguins’ trading volume reached 1,200 ETH, double that of the bluechip collection Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) by Yuga Labs.
• 1/2023: Pudgy Penguins donated auction earnings from Sotheby’s to charity.
• 3/2023: CEO Luca Schnetzler applied for trademark rights for Pudgy Penguins.
• 5/2023: Pudgy Penguins introduced children’s toys, quickly reaching #1 trending on Amazon.

The project maintains momentum even through bear markets.

3. Holder Utilities

Beyond social media brand value, Pudgy Penguin holders can:

• Participate in real-world events:
  • Enter a lottery to attend Pudgy booth at Art Basel and yacht parties.
  • Attend NFT NYC and related events.
• Receive complimentary secondary NFTs.
• Other utilities:
  • Join the Minecraft server (metaverse) to play in Pudgy Penguins village.
  • Access meme sticker and image creation tools.
  • Utilize their Pudgy Penguin NFTs for profitable physical product printing.

4. Business Model

Initial operations funding stemmed from the first Pudgy Penguins mint, raising 266.64 ETH (equivalent to $532,000 USD at an ETH price of $2,000).

Revenue streams include:

• Royalty fees (5%) from NFT trading activities.
  • To date, with a volume of 181,000 ETH, the project has generated about 9,000 ETH (approximately $16,515,000 USD at an ETH price of $1,835).
• Traditional products (toys, clothing, souvenirs, etc.).
  • Within 2 days of launching the Amazon Store, the project made over $500,000 USD from physical toy sales.
  • In May 2023, the Pudgy Samurai Action Figure reached #1 toy on Amazon within 24 hours, while Pudgy Penguins Huggable Plush ranked #5.

Distinctive Features:

• Pudgy Penguins transcends being a mere NFT collection; it has become a brand producing content, merchandise, and toys.
• The project’s revenue model derives from web2, not NFT sales. It is among the few projects that fulfill three essential criteria:
  • Reward current holders.
  • Onboard new members (Web2).
  • Generate revenue from beyond the current community (a challenge for many bluechip projects, which mainly rely on internal community activity).

Pudgy Penguins’ approach is considered the most sustainable among current NFT projects as its primary income comes from Web2 business operations.

6. Sub-Communities

Pudgy Penguins allows the project to create approved sub-communities (called clans).

Various sub-daos have emerged, spanning different characteristics and nationalities. Examples of sub-dao include:

• Collection: Pudgy Penguins, Lil Pudgys, Pudgy Rods.
• Location: Pudgy Penguins Philippines, Pudgy Penguins Asia, Pudgy Penguins Vietnam, etc.
• Topic: Pudgy Alpha, Pengu Princesses, Pudgy Gaming, etc.
• Trait: Wizard Hat Pudgy Penguins, Pirate Hat Pudgy Penguins, Tuft Gang, etc.
• Creator: Pudgy Commissions.

Diverse communities demonstrate the project’s community trust and support.

7. Looking Ahead

7.1 Market Capitalization

Comparison of Pudgy Penguin’s Market Cap Volatility with Other Bluechip NFTs:

	2021-2022 Bull Market Cap	Current Market Cap
Pudgy Penguin	23,108 ETH	36,974 ETH
Azuki	250,000 ETH	50,000 ETH
MAYC	693,810 ETH	109,005 ETH
BAYC	1,279,744 ETH	296,740 ETH

While most Blue Chips have suffered during the bear trend, Pudgy Penguin has maintained its value and provided gains to holders in 2022 (measured in ETH).

Assuming Pudgy Penguin’s Market Cap during the next bull season is equal to the Market Caps of other Bluechip projects at ATH:

	Estimated Pudgy Penguin Price	Profit relative to Current Price
Azuki	28 ETH	x6.46
MAYC	78 ETH	x18
Degods	9.57 ETH	x2.2

7.2 Brand Coverage

According to the “NFT Value Accrual Funnel” model proposed by Pudgy Penguins’ CEO, Luca Netz:

• Brand Awareness:
  • Pudgy GIFs and memes: Over 4.2K GIFs with 5.6 billion views indicate widespread coverage on social media.
  • Instagram: With 734K followers, the project establishes a personal presence through intriguing daily stories. Focus is on web2 users without explicit mention of “NFT.”
  • Amazon Store: Cute toy products on Amazon attract customers of all ages.
• Consumers:
  • The project uses toys to gradually engage the general public, with plans to be sold in various retail stores worldwide.
• Fans:
  • Each toy box comes with a QR-coded certificate.Scanning the code leads to Pudgy World, where you can receive a digital version of your toy.Boxes also contain accessories to personalize your Pudgy, which can be sold on exchanges without gas fees.
  → This bridges Web2 users to NFTs and blockchain unbeknownst to them.
• Collectors and NFT buyers:
  • Enhanced brand awareness results in a loyal customer base. With affection, they will seek to collect brand-related products.

Pudgy Penguin’s Success Formula: Brand Awareness + Loyal Holders + Growing Demand + Limited Supply.

Conclusion:

• Pudgy Penguins is one of the Blue Chips worth adding to investors’ watchlists.
• The project’s self-positioning as a business has enabled it to depart from the typical NFT collection model, striving for greater sustainability.
• Beyond promising potential, time is needed to validate Pudgy’s operational model, as it pioneers industry-wide revolution.
• This article provides information about Pudgy Penguin and is not intended as investment advice.