YOUTOOZ LATEST COLLABORATION WITH KING FEATURES BRINGS POPEYE TO ‘REAL LIFE’

Limited Edition Vinyl Figure Popeye the Sailorman — Spinach in Hand — Just Dropped

VANCOUVER, British Columbia and NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 – Youtooz, the company turning nostalgia and internet culture into amazing products that people love, today announced its latest collaboration with King Features, a unit of Hearst Newspapers and home to some of the world’s most popular entertainment characters. A five-inch vinyl Popeye the Sailorman collectible figure, complete with spinach in hand, is the latest product launched by the two companies. Youtooz and King Features worked together last holiday season to create a vinyl collectible figure of the gaming sensation Cuphead.

Inspired by the buzz around Popeye’s 90-year anniversary in 2019, Youtooz decided timing was perfect to add Popeye to the roster of other Youtooz nostalgic icons like Arthur and Bob Ross. The sculpt was designed to capture one of his most iconic and well-known actions — eating spinach to get ‘Popeye strong.’ The new Popeye figure was developed through joint teamwork to ensure that its style and design would capture the essence of the Popeye brand, highlighting those timeless elements of his character that most resonate with consumers.  

“We’re embracing this opportunity to transform the joy inspired by King Features’ iconic and nostalgic characters online into amazing products fans can display in their homes,” said Austin Long, co-founder, Youtooz. “King Features is a treasure trove of cartoons and comics that have lived on for generations within American culture. Working with their IP allows us to leverage this long history of fandom within the new internet culture economy, expanding our audience base across a multitude of generations.”

“Youtooz did a great job transforming Popeye into a collectible figure that captures his iconic status within pop culture,” said Jarred Goro, vice president, North American licensing, King Features. “We value our continued partnership with them and this opportunity for Popeye to expand his fandom to new audiences within both the digital and physical worlds is exciting.”

“It has been a privilege for us at Youtooz to work with such an iconic character as Popeye and put our own unique spin on the brand,” said Bryce Cochrane, creative director, Youtooz. “We are excited for our Youtooz fans to get their hands on this collectable and become part of the Popeye fandom.”

Youtooz x Popeye is available today for pre-order via Youtooz’s website.

Youtooz has tapped into its buzzing online community to build a growing universe of limited-edition figures, plushies and more that capture the best moments of internet culture. To learn more about Youtooz and explore the joy of the internet, visit www.youtooz.com.

To learn more about Popeye, visit www.popeye.com.

About Popeye

Sailor. Tough guy. Hero. Legend. That’s Popeye. An underdog with bulging forearms, a mean uppercut and a love of canned spinach. Unassuming, unsophisticated and undeterred by a challenge, from the minute he walked into the comic strip, The Thimble Theatre, and muttered his famous “Ja think I’m a cowboy?” line, Popeye the Sailor Man captured the hearts of millions of fans around the globe. As the star of his own comic strips and animated content on the big screen and small, Popeye became quickly ingrained in American culture, and today remains one of the most recognizable pop culture icons in the world.

About Youtooz

Youtooz turns the joy of internet culture into amazing products that people love. A consumer product company, Youtooz captures the best moments of the internet and brings them to life through high-quality, unique product drops. The company seeks inspiration from its community and content creators across the internet, and works together, along with its IP and License partners, to create collectibles, plushies and other products that bring joy to everyone. Since its launch in 2019, Youtooz has released more than 300 unique figures and believes that together, we can create joy in anything. To learn more, visit www.youtooz.com, and check us out on social on our Twitter and Instagram.

About King Features

King Features is a premier producer and distributor of the world’s most iconic intellectual properties and a leader in classic character licensing and franchise development. With one of the longest-running consumer products programs in the industry, King Features’ portfolio includes world renowned pop culture brands such as Popeye®, Cuphead, Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Hägar the Horrible, Moomin, Prince Valiant® and Mandrake the Magician. King Features will produce The Cuphead Show! with Netflix Animation, set to debut in 2021. As content syndication specialists, the company distributes beloved comics such as Blondie, Beetle Bailey®, Mutts and dozens of others as well as columns, editorial cartoons and puzzles across multiple platforms and content providers around the globe. King Features is part of Hearst Newspapers, which publishes 24 dailies and 52 weeklies, including the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle and Times Union (Albany, New York), and operates local digital marketing services and directories.