Lucky Kat and Metafy has signed a contract for the licensing of the Kumo brand on physical consumer products. Kumo was successfully released as an NFT collection in September 2024, selling out in under 40 minutes and has since been trending in terms of trading, generating steady follower growth in social media channels. The licensing contract incorporates Metafy merchandising, manufacturing and distributing Kumo-branded toys, SMART toys, apparel and accessories, taking Kumo into its next stage of growth. Metafy is based in Montreal, Canada, and has expertise in applying the benefits of blockchain technology to both well-extablished as well as emerging IP:s in order to create innovative consumer products. Metafy is a recently formed subsidiary of JCorp, a licensing group with over 60 years in the market, and the seasoned Metafy team has worked on successful modern product brands such as Pudgy Penguins.

“What Lucky Kat has been able to achieve through their unified blockchain gaming ecosystem, makes them uniquely positioned to redefine the intersection of digital assets, gaming experiences, and real-world utility, with Kumo as the perfect embodiment of this strategy. We’re thrilled to extend Metafy’s vision for activated products across a range of product lines that will live within both the Kumo and Lucky Kat ecosystems, starting with fully abstracted, NFC-enabled collectibles. This collaboration will empower players to bring their digital assets to life in the physical world, creating a fully connected experience that unlocks new levels of engagement and value, paving the way for the next generation of consumer crypto users,” says Cole Gurman, CEO and Founder, Metafy.

About the products
In close collaboration with Lucky Kat, Metafy will create hybrid products that combine a physical item with web3-based components such as a new NFT or benefits in the $KOBAN ecosystem. The first exclusive collection of Kumo-branded plushies will be released in the first quarter 2025, before which a marketing campaign will kick off ahead of Christmas 2024. The parties plan to include a presale or the possibility to pre-order products as part of the marketing campaign. The collection will merge physical products with blockchain-based, digital tie-ins, onboarding retail consumers into the digital Kumo world and Lucky Kat’s web3 games via QR codes and NFC chips.

Go-to market strategy
The partnership will capitalize on Metafy’s expertise in brand monetisation in both traditional and web3 commercial landscapes, leveraging the power of the well-established JCorp distribution network across electronic retail as well as classic retail channels. Sales will be further amplified by the activation of the existing gaming and digital asset communities of Kumo, Panzerdogs and Cosmocadia on the Sui blockchain, and social media channels across Lucky Kat and Fragbite Group. The Kumo consumer products will drive interest in the Kumo NFTs and vice versa.

Revenue
Sales of Kumo branded products will bring revenue via royalties and are expected to also drive revenue through increased trading in the NFT collection, as all trades of Kumo NFTs generate a 5% transaction fee for the Company.

“The market response to the Kumo NFT collection has clearly demonstrated that this brand has potential, and we are excited to be moving Kumo forward on a path very few web3 brands have ventured on before. We are fortunate to partner with Metafy who are not only highly experienced in licensing and marketing consumer products, but the perfect partner for us since they also operate in the web3 environment. Together we will leverage the Lucky Kat communities and Metafy’s expertise and distribution channels to establish Kumo as a household brand with traditional audiences,” says Zara Zamani, CEO, Lucky Kat and Board Member, Fragbite Group.

About Metafy:
Metafy is the prototypical unicorn – where expertise, experience and ambition have come together to seize the opportunity that the transition in the marketplace from Web 2 to Web 3 offers up. Metafy uniquely blends capabilities rooted in the analog worlds of licensed consumer product development and production, and mass market and online retailing, with the digital world of the blockchain and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. Metafy is an IP-house in name and function, devising and executing customer engagement and brand monetization plans that leverage the places where these worlds overlap. The Metafy team has brought to market products for frontier facing brands such as SOMO, Creepz and Pudgy Penguins. For more abour Metafy: LINK

Based in Canada, Metafy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of JCorp, developer and manufacturer since over 60 years of branded, licensed and private label apparel for retailers and consumers around the globe. JCorp partners with some of the largest retailers in North America such as Walmart, Target and Costco as well as global chains such as Amazon and Toys R Us. For more about JCorp: LINK

About Kumo:
Kumo the Kat is the brand mascot of Lucky Kat and its web3 game ecosystem. In September 2024 a collection of 2,222 unique NFTs was successfully released, offering NFTs with utility and interoperability which means the possibility of utilising Kumo across the ecosystem and enjoying continuous benefits, rewards and functions after the upcoming public launch of the $KOBAN token. Since release, Kumo has enjoyed popularity and has recently been upgraded as a dynamic NFT collection, allowing owners to swap out the characteristics of their digital cat. The NFT:s can be bought and sold on the Tradeport marketplace. For more information about Kumo visit the website or social media channels: X, Telegram and Instagram.

About Lucky Kat:
Lucky Kat is an award-winning game development studio with a portfolio of over 100 mobile games that has reached more than 250 million downloads. Lucky Kat has onboarded millions of mobile players into web3 through their interoperable gaming ecosystem and upcoming utility token $KOBAN. Currently, Lucky Kat is one of the flagship gaming projects on the rapidly growing Sui blockchain with prominent web3 games Panzerdogs and Cosmocadia. Founded in 2015 and based in the Netherlands, Lucky Kat is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fragbite Group since 2021.