Duty Free Dynamics (DFD) has added MGA Entertainment’s L.O.L. Surprise! to its brand portfolio.
The Panama-based distributor said the toy brand complements its existing line-up. As reported, DFD was appointed Lego master franchiser for the Americas, moving into the toy category for the first time last year.
DFD will distribute L.O.L. Surprise! products in travel retail in the Americas.
L.O.L. Surprise! was launched in 2017. Its flagship product is a ball containing a 3in figurine which is wrapped in layers of stickers, messages or accessories inside the sphere.
L.O.L. Surprise! has, according to DDF, become a “worldwide phenomenon”, with much of its success attributed to a YouTube craze for unboxing. Unboxing is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “the activity of taking new products out of their packaging, especially on videos on the internet”.
DFD noted that, in three years, more than 300 million L.O.L. Surprise! balls have been sold worldwide. The brand’s YouTube channel boasts over 1.3 million subscribers and over 11 billion views.
A L.O.L. Surprise Winter Disco movie made its debut in the US on Amazon Prime last year.
L.O.L. Surprise! brand owner MGA Entertainment is a Los Angeles-based children’s toys and entertainment products specialist. Founded in 1979, its products include the Bratz fashion doll line, Baby Born, L.O.L. Surprise!, Num Noms and Poopsie Slime Surprise. MGA also owns Little Tikes.
On 21 February, L.O.L. Surprise! was named Toy of the Year for the third consecutive time at the 20th annual Toy of the Year Awards in New York.
