Pudgy Penguins Enters Beverage Category With Kung Fu Tea Deal

Pudgy Penguins is entering the beverage category through a partnership with bubble tea chain Kung Fu Tea, the project announced on Sept. 14, 2026.

The collaboration will place two Pudgy Penguin-themed bubble teas in every Kung Fu Tea location nationwide, with the rollout scheduled for the weeks following the Sept. 14 announcement. Both drinks will be available in-stores.

The deal marks the NFT-native brand's first move into beverages and extends a physical retail strategy that has steadily expanded through 2026. The project began as a collection of 8,888 hand-drawn penguin characters on Ethereum and was acquired by CEO Luca Netz in April 2022, who repositioned it from a speculative NFT collection into a consumer brand operating under Igloo Inc.

That strategy has produced Pengu toys at Walmart and Target, which have sold more than 1.5 million units, along with a run of licensing and distribution deals. Recent months alone brought 14-inch Pengu plushies worldwide in August, bulk product availability for specialty retailers on Faire on Sept. 3, and collectible figurines displayed at American Dream Mall on Sept. 9. The project also issues the PENGU token.

What to watch

Pudgy Penguins has not disclosed a specific launch date or the names of the two bubble tea flavors. Whether the collaboration expands beyond the initial two drinks will signal how far Pudgy Penguins intends to push into the category.