LEGO considering next steps for Collectible Minifigures packaging

The LEGO Group has outlined the next steps for the packaging of its Collectible Minifigures, including when we can expect to see any changes to the current cardboard boxes.

The Collectible Minifigures range finally made good on its promise to move away from flexible foil bags to rigid cardboard boxes with 71039 Marvel Series 2 in September, which has led to widespread dissatisfaction among collectors used to feeling out each character in a series. Some shoppers have expressed their frustration by tearing open boxes in stores, causing a predicament for the LEGO Group.

In a recent panel with Brick Fanatics and other LEGO Fan Media in Billund, Denmark, the sustainability team responsible for the development of the new packaging discussed their initial reaction to the release of 71039 Marvel Series 2, their current position on cardboard boxes, where they’re planning to go from here and how soon we can expect to see any changes implemented. Here are the key takeaways from that session…

Putting a code on the box would defeat the purpose

It didn’t take long for the suggestion of popping some kind of identifier on each box to surface – whether that’s a secret code alluding to the minifigure inside, or (as one attendee proposed) taking advantage of AR technology to show the contents of the boxes. No matter the format, though, the sustainability team said the same: revealing the minifigure inside would defeat the purpose of Collectible Minifigures.

According to the team’s representatives, the intention has always been for Collectible Minifigures to be a blind purchase, even when they were in bags. Putting a code on the box means it’s no longer a blind purchase, nulling the entire point of the range from the LEGO Group’s perspective. The team did democratically say they haven’t ruled it out altogether, though…

They’re still weighing up what to do next

At the time of our session, 71039 Marvel Series 2 had been on shelves officially for nearly a month (and in some regions, even longer than that). But the sustainability team had not yet made any concrete decisions about where to go from here: instead, they’re still figuring out the precise direction to take Collectible Minifigures packaging.

One suggestion floated in the room was to make the boxes more difficult to open, potentially reducing the ease with which people can tear them apart while standing in a store. But that solution, like so many others, would apparently only introduce another problem: in this case, making the boxes more difficult for their intended target audience (five-year-olds) to open, too. The aim during development was to make sure kids could open the boxes, and the team doesn’t want to move away from that.

Don’t expect change any time soon

Change doesn’t happen overnight. Case in point: the current cardboard boxes took approximately five years to develop and implement, with almost entirely new equipment required for packing them. And with that timeframe in mind, we won’t be seeing any changes to the new style of packaging for the Collectible Minifigures in the immediate future. Any changes to the packaging could require adjusting equipment or even investing in new equipment, which will take time.

In fact, the sustainability team confirmed that it will take at least three to four series to implement any changes decided based on feedback to 71039 Marvel Series 2, so we’re likely stuck with cardboard boxes throughout the entirety of 2024, and perhaps even into 2025. (The Collectible Minifigures team generally launches three series per year.) 

For more on the future of LEGO Collectible Minifigures, hit play below or head over to our YouTube channel.

Featured image backdrop: Chelsea Bowyer

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