Has Funko’s branding gone too far by branching out from making their popular Pop! vinyl figures to producing their own Mega Man and Cuphead themed cereal? Called FunkO’s, the cereal is set to be released this summer. Funko has flooded the market with countless amount of figures based on pop culture properties. They’re working with Microsoft to create the Gears Pop game. Now they’re adding food to their stable of products.
Joining Mega Man and Cuphead will be Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees and Gollum cereals. In addition to the box, which they encourage fans to collect, each cereal will contain a mini figure. Funko’s aim is to put the “fun back in breakfast”. Those interested won’t be able to pick up these cereals at their local supermarket. They’re going to be sold in the same stores exclusive Funkos usually find themselves at. Mega Man FunkO’s will be available at GameStop, while Cuphead & Mugman FunkO’s are at Hot Topic. Freddy - the company mascot - FunkO’s will be available through Funko itself, with Nightmare On Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger FunkO’s and Friday the 13th’s Jason FunkO’s both offered at FYE. The Lord of the Rings' Gollum FunkO’s will be available at BoxLunch.
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Funko announced that these six initial themed cereals will hit the shelves soon, with a promise to add additional cereals throughout the year. A price isn’t listed yet, however Destructoid speculates that it won’t cost too much. Of all the properties covered in Funko’s collection of figures, these were interesting choices to begin with. They cover gaming, classic horror and fantasy. However, it’s surprising that they chose not to go with current popular properties like Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Stranger Things.
All of the cereals will feature multigrain O shapes. The Mega Man cereal will be blue, the Gollum one green and the rest red. All cereals will change the color of the milk to match. The second wave of cereals will include Pennywise, Batman and Batgirl, Beetlejuice, Huckleberry Hound and Cthulhu. There are Funkos for movies, TV and comic books. There are Funkos for sports. There are Funkos for musicians and celebrities. If it exists, there’s probably a Funko version of it. Known for its fun mascots and toy prizes, cereal is hardly a surprising avenue for Funko to branch out into.
The global cereal market has been valued publicly at over $37 billion. Combining the popularity of its Pop! vinyl figures with this favored breakfast food seems like a smart move for Funko. It's expanding their brand into a new, lucrative market. Keeping on brand, it also seems more important that FunkO’s is a collectible product rather than an edible one. Selling it in stores known for having extensive Funko collections rather than markets proves that. While it may seem like a strange idea, it’s yet another inventive way for Funko to corner the collectible market.
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Source: Destructoid