Fandoms are one of the most powerful forces in content creation. YouTube‘s latest Culture & Trends Report focuses entirely on fan communities, with data showing that 85% of internet users ages 14-44 consider themselves fans of something. And 80% of those fans use YouTube at least weekly to consume content about their interests.
YouTube says the creator industry is particularly conducive to the birth and growth of superfan communities because creators are often making content about things they themselves are fans of, from Minecraft to miniature rockets to manicures.
“[Creators] are experts in how to foster fandom online because, as fans, they know what fans want, and as creators, they know how to use the technology and platforms available to them,” YouTube says.
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One of the platforms available to them is Youtooz, a merch company that turns over $40 million a year by teaming up with creators to produce figurines and other unique collectibles aimed at passionate fans. Co-founded in 2019 by Austin Long and Mark Prokoudine, it snagged MrBeast as one of its first creator partners, and has gone on to make figures with creators like Markiplier, MatPat, and Ironmouse. In 2023, it sold more than 1.3 million units to fans who want to bring home a bit of their favorite creators.
“What we look for most in YouTuber audiences is unique, cool characters that we feel will be really special to fans if brought to life,” Long, Youtooz’s CEO, tells Tubefilter. “So most of the partners we work with, they have larger than life personalities, and those identifying factors. Maybe they always wear the same outfit, or they have different characters within their persona.”
He points to Markiplier, who’s designed multiple figures with Youtooz, including one of his infamous, questionably moral persona Darkiplier, one to celebrate his and Ethan Nestor‘s project Unus Annus, and one that crowns him the king of Five Nights at Freddy’s (for which Youtooz also produces figures, alongside merch for other major IPs like Avatar: The Last Airbender, Elden Ring, Call of Duty, Minecraft, and SpongeBob SquarePants).
Long says it’s necessary for creators to have “genuine excitement” about Youtooz’s business. “What we’re really doing is bringing them, as a person, to life. It’s the most personal product they could ever make,” he says. “We want to make sure they’re excited about it too. Most creators we work with are themselves fans of collecting–maybe it’s figurines, maybe it’s plushies, maybe it’s pins. They collect something, so they’re genuinely excited about the process.”
Both Ironmouse, whose first Youtooz merch dropped in December 2023, and MatPat, who unveiled his figure in February 2024, made it clear to us that they were jazzed about the chance to design something unique for their fan communities.
MatPat, of course, is a fan expert himself, having gotten his start on YouTube by dissecting his favorite video games on Game Theorist (19.3 million subscribers). He recently retired after 11 years of hosting videos, and Youtooz timed his figure’s release around that retirement, which MatPat tells Tubefilter was “the secret sauce” in their partnership.
“Being able to couple that [figure release] with my own personal countdown for leaving the Theorist channels was a perfect match,” he says. “Being able to give our community an item to commemorate this very special time in my personal history and perhaps the single most important moment in the history of the Theorist channels was very important to me, and this Youtooz figuring was exactly that.”
We don’t have exact sales numbers for MatPat’s figure, but we do know it sold out when preorders opened in February, and shipped to buyers this month. It won’t be returning to the Youtooz marketplace, which is another major element of Youtooz’s business: It does limited-edition releases, so fans who want to have a complete collection have to move fast if they want to snag a creator’s latest figure or plush.
MatPat says Youtooz’s products are also special for fans because the company “really elevated things from just being a generic collectible and turned it into something special.”
“Did you notice the shoes?” he asks, pointing to his figure. “Those are my favorite rainbow shoes! I didn’t know if they’d be able to execute on that level of specificity, but they followed our notes to a tee.”
It’s a touch that superfans, who will notice the slightest detail, will appreciate.
Ironmouse, one of the world’s biggest VTubers and one of Twitch’s top female streamers (2 million followers), tells us she similarly wanted specific details, and was able to change her figure to represent her. Youtooz has a brand style where all figures have their eyes closed, but Ironmouse wanted hers open to reflect the striking eye color of her VTuber model. So Youtooz broke from its brand regulations and made a figure she was “very happy” with, she says.
“My favorite part is being able to just bring something physical to my fans,” she says. “I think it’s amazing being able to create this thing that people can own. I’m happy that I could share this experience with them, and that they’re able to finally have a tiny me.”
So, where does Youtooz go from here? Well, it’s grown to a team of nearly 50 people, and with that team can produce up to 10 brand-new designs per week, so what it wants to do now is find a way to make those designs more accessible to buyers. Long says it’s busy putting its very first vending machine into the Fashion Square Mall in Los Angeles, with sales slated to open up in the next week or two.
