Adventures of Pax Pengu & Polly tells the origin story of Pax Pengu, Polly, and The Berg, and will span three individual comics, as well as The Berg Omnibus, a premium hardcover collector’s edition limited to just 1000 copies.

“What started as a comic book quickly became something much bigger for us,” said Peter Lobanov, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Pudgy Penguins.

“Every great entertainment franchise begins with characters people genuinely care about. This story finally gives fans the chance to discover who Paxton Pengu and Polly really are, how they found each other, and the world that shaped them. More importantly, it creates the foundation we can continue building on for decades to come.”

Author Vivian Lin added: “We weren’t writing a comic for one moment. We were creating the history that every future story could build from. Every location, every relationship, and every new character had to feel like it had always existed while leaving room for the universe to continue growing.”

Every page is illustrated by hand by artist Afiq Salam, who said: “As I was drawing Pengu’s search for his family, I found myself thinking about my own experiences with loss. There were moments where I had to stop because the story felt so real. That’s when I realized these weren’t just cute characters anymore. They had hopes, fears, history, and deep emotions that readers will connect with.”

The trilogy of comics and The Berg Omnibus will debut exclusively for sale at San Diego Comic-Con (booth #2846) from July 23rd to 26th, before hitting retailers and going live on Pudgypenguins.com.

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Ah, in what sense?
Well, we really had to understand our customer. We have a bit of a paradox on our hands. On X – where we are prolific – our audience is 90% male. On Instagram, our audience is 64% female. On TikTok, it’s 67% female. That creates a challenge around which customer base we choose to appeal to? And what is the bridge between them? So there were certain things we had to do to prove to the industry that we’re the real deal and that we can support our licensing partners.

What has helped you prove that over the past year?
Well, one was the identification of this term I’m coining ‘The Collector Couple’. The Kidult saved the toy industry in 2025, but what’s after the Kidult – I would say The Collector Couple.

Talk me through that. What defines The Collector Couple?
Well it’s uniquely defined by the fandom of Pudgy Penguins, because I’ve never seen this phenomenon before. Both men and women, or the masculine and the feminine, see themselves in this IP. This is down to our memes – that have over 70 billion views – and our relationship-focused content on Instagram and TikTok. Couples share our content back and forward back – Pudgy Penguins has become a kind of love language. We’re a way for couples to express themselves and feel seen. And it’s not even that men like Pengu and women like Polly. It’s one plus one equals three. There’s a shared fandom.

I went to San Diego Comic-Con and I met one woman who showed me her ‘Welcome home’ soldier sign and it had Pudgy Penguins on it because it was a key part of their long-distance relationship when he was deployed. Another woman that showed me Pax and Polly on their wedding cake because they’re also the nicknames they have for each other.

How has that fandom shaped where you go licensing-wise?
I created a campaign called ‘Owning Winter’. Unlike everyone else at Toy Fair, we don’t turn off our marketing on December 26th. We keep it going. Our penguins look great in the snow and we’re that little spark of joy in this cold world. In a way, we’re extending Christmas, right? But guess what? We can extend ‘Owning Winter’ to ‘Owning Valentine’s Day’. February 14th can be a second Christmas for us because we’re all about couples, relationships and love. And unlike some Valentine’s promotions, this approach doesn’t end on February 15th… It doesn’t expire. It’s not seasonal. So we’re de-risking that Valentine’s proposition.

A good example… We launched our Valentine’s Day plushie via a pop-up shop in the Lower East Side. I’ve never seen a queue like it! It looked like something Supreme could pull off. It validated that Valentine’s Day is the second Christmas for us.

We’re here at New York Toy Fair chatting on the schleich stand, and here are the new Pudgy Penguins schliech figures! How did this partnership come about?
I’m so proud of this. I’ve been in the toy business now for over two decades and I spent a lot of that time at Diverse Marketing and my mentor is Greg Hardin. Greg got a chance to represent schleich back when they launched at Walmart. I got a chance to go to Nuremberg, to the schleich global party, where I started to understand their commitment to manufacturing excellence. My appreciation for schleich is deep – they are a machine.

David Albert – President for North America at Schleich – reached out and wanted to explore this opportunity to combine institution with a disruptor. That juxtaposition is so captivating – and at the end of the day, we’re penguins… Who can make better animals than schleich? Who can sell more animals globally than schleich? And we win big too – Penguins is very strong in North America and Asia, but in Europe, we have a little bit of catching up to do. With schleich being our global partner, that timeline gets pushed forward and we’re able to catch up with distribution that would have taken us years to achieve on our own.

What does this initial range span?
In our world there’s 8,888 penguins – but to build affinity and consumer demand for that many characters out of the gate is pretty tough. So we hyper-focused our strategy on our Mickey and Minnie – Pax Pengu and Polly. The schleich series will focus on those two characters and when you buy both of them, they hug. They pose together. Pudgy Penguin fans buy Pudgy Penguins for each other and they’ll buy both. We have eight different Pudgy Penguins here and much more coming.

Last question! I can tell you’re a huge fan of this brand. How important is it to be a fan of the brands you work on? Does it make a difference to the work?
Since I left Diverse, I worked on Mind the Gap and sold that to Spin Master – and I was a huge fan. I loved hosting Mind the Gap games. I then worked on Gel Blaster and I loved demoing it. I loved it as a consumer product and I loved it as location-based entertainment concept. With Pudgy, I share these cartoons with my better half, I consume it, and it makes me smile every single day. You have to be a fan to be good at this – so yes, collect it, share it, tell everyone how great it is, be a fan!

Steve, always a pleasure. Thanks again.

The post Pudgy Penguins’ Steve Starobinksky on schleich, owning Valentine’s Day – and embracing ‘The Collector Couple’ appeared first on Brands Untapped.

“At schleich, we’re always looking for ways to bring imagination and fresh energy to the toy aisle,” said David Albert, President of schleich North America.

“This partnership with Pudgy Penguins blends our legacy of quality and storytelling with a brand that’s redefining digital engagement. For retailers, it means new shelf appeal, expanded consumer reach and a compelling reason for fans of all ages to keep coming back.”

Pudgy Penguins CEO Luca Netz added: “Soon, not only will partners be able to participate in our Pengu community by sharing relatable memes, they’ll also be able to collect and gift our forthcoming figurines.”

Pudgy Penguins Head of Partnerships Steve Starobinsky added: “This partnership marks an evolution for the toy industry. A new age brand like Pudgy Penguins collab-ing with a major legacy brand expands both our global distribution reach and the boundaries of play.”

The post Pudgy Penguins figurines to launch from schleich in 2026 appeared first on Brands Untapped.

It’s also important to understand what’s important for the licensor. We like to have as much collaboration with them as possible throughout the design process.

Let’s talk Pudgy Penguins for a moment. I can see these going down well with people, regardless of whether they know the original NFTs! Talk us through the design process behind these collectibles.
It was pretty easy and a natural fit for toys because these characters are so cute. They have a very stylish look and each one has their own life and attributes. Everyone can relate to at least one of the Pudgy Penguins!

We’ve also tried to explore new ways of showcasing the Pudgy illustrations in toys. Let’s say if one has a special outfit and we’re bringing that into plush, we’ll look at new fabrics or other innovative ways to best mimic the illustration. It’s the same with the collectibles. It’s a lot of exploration and a lot of fun. I love that part of the job.

Have you got a favourite penguin? Or is it like choosing a favourite child…
I like all the gold ones! The metallic effect really makes them feel quite premium.

Moving onto Piñata Smashlings – how did you approach bringing that game into toys?
Toikido has done a great job making the designs of the Smashlings very distinctive. There are lots of characters, but they all look like they come from that world. Understanding that design language and the shapes of the characters was a key part of our process, as was playing the game.

We interviewed Toikido’s Darran Garnham a few months back and he was really proud of how these collectibles stand out in that sector – in large part thanks to the pods having legs!
That touch was key in helping these stand out from other collectible brands that use balls or pods. And we wanted to keep everything authentic to the experience of the game. Look at our big Rainbow Whale plush – that took us a long time to get it exactly right, but we wanted it to be exactly what you see in the game. It’s important to get those things right.

Before we wrap up, what helps you have ideas? What fuels your creativity?
Research. That’s always my first step and that helps fuel inspiration. I also look to what other brands are doing in this space and that’s useful. Sometimes you can feel stuck creatively, but the PMI team has five great designers and discussing problems with them always helps us unearth solutions.

Tal, a huge thanks for this and for taking time out to chat.

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