Meet the startup that has big plans to integrate tech into the toy collectibles scene

If you’ve ever been to pop culture conventions like any of the comic-cons held around the world, you probably would have noticed that figurines and toy collectibles are a major part of the scene. They often attract the most attention, with amateur and professional photographers alike lining up to take shots of characters from their favorite video game, comic book, or movie franchise.

For collectors, the hobby invariably stems from passion – an enthusiasm for art, a craving for nostalgia, or even a desire to express their love for something.

Occasionally, this passion extends into actually creating the figurines themselves. At least that was the case for Jackson Aw, the founder of Singapore future culture company Mighty Jaxx.

“In school, I was media-trained, so I built websites, interactive media, and other such platforms,” says Aw. But as a collector of designer toys himself, he felt a different calling. “It came to a point where I had created so much digital content that I was getting sick of it. I wanted to create something physical instead. I wanted to use my hands, craft something that’s tangible.”

Jackson Aw, founder of Mighty Jaxx / Photo credit: Mighty Jaxx

This desire eventually led him to buy a one-way ticket to Shenzhen, China, where he visited designer toy factories and dove right into learning about the entire manufacturing process. “Absolutely just based on passion,” Aw says of the reason he took these early steps into entrepreneurship which eventually led to the establishment of Mighty Jaxx. Today, the company counts global brands such as Hasbro, Nickelodeon, Sesame Workshop, and Toei Animation among its partners.

“We always co-brand our work with the world’s biggest brands,” Aw explains. “Traditionally, you would license, say, SpongeBob SquarePants and put it on shoes or whatever, and usually, that means you can only work on that category, and you can’t alter the designs and so on. But for us, we’re known as a creative or intellectual property (IP) powerhouse because we actually bring our own style to it.”

Mighty Jaxx, for instance, offers a line of collectibles that feature popular characters in a “dissection” style, which it produces in conjunction with award-winning American artist Jason Freeny.

This co-branding approach,which allows the company to put its own spin on designing collectibles of an established brand, forms the foundation of its plans to develop “phygital” collectibles – physical collectibles that are able to trigger or unlock digital assets and future content, such as games, videos, and more.

“We’re creatives, and we are dreamers,” says Aw. “By aiming to create a full 360-degree experience with different products, digital content, and even events, we are able to tie in all aspects of fandom.”

When worlds collide

The idea to add a digital aspect to its physical collectibles came about when Mighty Jaxx was selected to be part of Ubisoft’s Entrepreneurs’ Lab program when the event first expanded into Asia in 2019. At the time, Mighty Jaxx was one of only two Singaporean firms to have been selected.

The goal of the program: to develop “future entertainment,” something that would provide an experience beyond usual entertainment products, whether through self-developed IPs or via co-branded partnerships.

To pursue the “phygital” future the company desires, it plans to leverage its distribution channels across more than 60 countries worldwide and tie those to a blockchain-based authentication platform that it developed during its time at Tribe Accelerator, also in 2019.

When customers buy the company’s collectibles, for instance, they can authenticate the product and register themselves on the blockchain, which will open up a new world of digital content. The move is a combination of the founder’s interactive media background and his passion to create tangible, physical objects.

According to Aw, the possibilities are limitless for this type of content, which Mighty Jaxx creates together with its partners. Its tie-up with Toei Animation, for example, allows consumers to scan a chip on collectibles of One Piece – a Japanese manga and anime series – which would eventually lead them to online content like videos, trailers, or downloadable content.

“We are in a very special position of being able to work with both brands and IP owners independently, while also having the liberty to develop our own IP. So it really depends on what kind of digital content [brands] would like to push out to different, targeted demographics,” Aw explains.

In the future, the founder believes collectibles could eventually be the platform of choice for the delivery of digital content, calling it “the new age of consumer tech.”

Photo credit: Mighty Jaxx

Besides expanding the limits of the collectible experience, this approach also benefits Mighty Jaxx’s partner brands. By letting customers unlock digital content via authentication, pop culture brands and Mighty Jaxx gain visibility on their consumers. This includes information on how different demographics around the world respond to variables such as characters, gameplay, or price points.

“This gives us greater insight into what kinds of products or digital content we can earmark to develop in the future and allows us to constantly deliver new and evolving retail experiences” says Aw.

The data it collects also helps Mighty Jaxx in developing its relationships with artists, including incubating and nurturing up-and-comers and giving them opportunities to gain more recognition for their abilities with new and existing fans.

But the company doesn’t just work with pop culture brands; it also partners with apparel brands, events companies, and media firms, among others. “We license out artists and IPs to these partners to help diversify the artists’ demographics beyond their core fanbase, essentially creating and shaping future culture ourselves by bridging these worlds with our work,” says Aw.

Shaping the future of pop culture

Mighty Jaxx’s efforts to infuse tech into the toy collectibles scene is rooted in a desire to transform and bring longevity to the pop culture of today.

“I believe that it’s an innate human behavior to want to own things,” says Aw. “You want it to be a physical, tangible thing, maybe even keeping it for the next generation.” For the founder, Mighty Jaxx can be a stepping stone to merge the physical and the digital worlds together to power future culture.

“How do we empower the cultures we have now? How do we influence individuals through a combination of physical and digital means? That’s our mission,” Aw says.

Mighty Jaxx is a Singaporean future culture company that is building an integrated platform to empower future culture brands with an end-to-end supply chain of tech-enabled collectibles and to deliver new retail experiences to consumers globally.

Take a look at the company’s co-branded products on its website.

This content was produced by Tech in Asia Studios, which connects brands with Asia’s tech community. Learn more about partnering with Tech in Asia Studios.