Loungefly’s booth at International Comic-Con: San Diego (SDCC) looked much like it did every year. It featured products from everything from Lilo & Stitch to Jurassic Park and mini backpacks lined the booth. This year, they also included a full-size Transformers backpack.
Loungefly is looking to expand its brand beyond the classic mini backpacks you know and love. The company has already launched the Stitch Shoppe, a portion of its site where fans can find apparel, including tops, skirts, and dresses, along with ultra-detailed crossbody bags. Within the next year or two, Loungefly hopes to release bags and accessories that are more adaptable to your everyday life.
“We’re going to be introducing new categories and really just making Loungefly a part of your lifestyle, more so than just that mini backpack you wear,” says Derrick Baca, Senior Vice President of Creative, Innovation, and Vision at Loungefly. “We’re all fans inside even when we get older and we get more adult with real jobs or whatever. Coming in 2024 you’ll see a lot more full-size [backpacks] or other kinds of silhouettes that you can bring to work or not just always in a park.”
However, Loungefly wants to make it clear that the mini backpack will always be No. 1 in their hearts, even if those colorful little bags don’t always feature the same silhouette.
“The mini backpack is our hero item. It is not going away,” says Liz DeSilva, Senior Vice President of Creative, Innovation, and Vision at Loungefly. “We love the mini, but what we do want to do is consistently refresh and reinvent … What we’re trying to really do is never walk away from the mini backpack, but give it new life, give it a new reason to exist in your closet.”
DeSilva says that the mini backpack has been so successful throughout the years because of its ability to showcase any character or fandom and its displayability.
“I think the mini backpack shape just automatically lends itself to characters, to environments,” DeSilva says. “It’s also something that easily just sits on a table or on a bookshelf. It’s a perfect canvas for us to create so many different things that I think it has just become this universal way to show your fandom.”
Even if mini backpacks will always be your No. 1 pick from Loungefly, it’s exciting to think about what’s to come!
