The Singapore-based Mighty Jaxx creates high-quality, limited-edition collectible figures across a range of partner franchises, including Stranger Things and Hello Kitty. Alex Neal, UK Managing Director, Mighty Jaxx, spoke about the company’s activities and plans.
How was Mighty Jaxx founded and what have been the company’s most important achievements so far?
Alex Neal
It all came from our founder, Jackson Aw’s, passion for collectibles. He had been an avid figure collector since his teenage years, and he came across a local Singapore-based toy company called Trexi that really inspired him with its really unique concept and approach to design.
This experience led him to China and he spent a month learning everything he could about the process of toy manufacturing. He was able to kickstart Mighty Jaxx in 2012, putting everything he had learned into practice.
In terms of our successes, it’s impossible to pick out a favorite, but the brand partnerships we’ve been able to secure have been a huge highlight. Working with licenses such as Disney, Stranger Things, Formula 1, One Piece, Sanrio, Toei Animation, Hasbro and many more has been a dream come true and a huge advantage, and the future holds so much potential for even bigger collaborations.
Mighty Jaxx has merged toys with the Metaverse. Could you explain how this works?
Sanrio Spooky Edition (Launch estimated for 18th October)
The Mighty Jaxx platform enables customers to have both a traditional physical product, but also a full digital experience. Every collectible figure from Mighty Jaxx comes with an NFC chip that allows you to authenticate your purchase via our app, compatible with any NFC-Ready smartphone. This helps ensure that you’re buying authentic Mighty Jaxx phygital collectibles, even when you do so second-hand.
Some of our collectibles also take it to the next level with the Xtended Xperience, which unlocks an immersive world of digital, one-of-a-kind experiences. These vary across collectibles, with some unlocking exclusive hyper casual mobile games (Sesame Street’s Nubbies) or game keys (Gearbox Software’s Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands), and we always aim to offer something uniquely different with every collectible.
Can you name some of the big brands and companies you are currently collaborating with? What other brands do you anticipate partnerships with in the future?
Sanrio Spooky Edition (Launch estimated for 18th October)
A small selection of brands and partners we work with include the likes of Netflix’s Stranger Things, Hasbro’s Transformers, Gearbox’s Tiny Tina’s Wonderland, Sanrio, Adidas and Formula 1, just to name a few! Our relationship with Netflix in particular, has allowed us to develop a phygital collectible, and extend that fan experience into an IRL Stranger Things Encounter in Singapore that encapsulates the phygital, digital and in-person, proving that Mighty Jaxx were indeed able to provide a full 360 collecting journey.
We like to have the freedom to work with a wide range of license holders, so you never really know what is coming next from Mighty Jaxx. When deciding on a new partner, we evaluate what’s driving engagement at the moment and how we can as a creator support the brand in maximizing the attention, as well as ensuring our artists have as much creative freedom as possible.
It’s a fine balance, but I strongly believe our ethos is represented in every figure we do, whether it’s a one-off creation by an independent artist or our latest collaborations with One Piece or Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Do you think it’s possible today to create a unique product and succeed in a highly competitive market?
Sanrio Spooky Edition (Launch estimated for 18th October)
We’ve always aimed to create something truly unique and with a quality that stands out above our competitors. Even when we collaborate with established brands and franchises, our aim is to also involve the right artists that are going to bring something new to collectors.
There’s a whole world out there of incredible artists who should be given an opportunity to bring their creations to life, from illustrators and tattoo artists to sculptors who could really benefit from being given a strong platform to take their creations globally.
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Curated by Rossella Arena
The complete interview is available in the new issue of Licensing Magazine, pag. 106 – 108.
