Nothing surprised me more during my first D23 than how many people were there just for the merchandise. There’s a whole lot to buy at the Mouse House’s big fan event, and a even getting a chance to buy much of it requires getting up at dawn to sign up for virtual queues all so you can wait in long lines. Those who do that at D23 are the type of people who really love Disney and showing it off. It’s a massive room of fans who genuinely care. That was very much on my mind when I headed over to BoxLunch’s playful circus-themed booth, “BoxLunch Under The Bigtop,” to talk with BoxLunch’s Vice President of Marketing, Jillian Wendt.
The popular pop culture store had three con-exclusive collections: Kingdom Hearts, Disney Princesses, and Cars. With so many loyal, passionate customers in attendance, I wanted to know how an event like D23 can influence the company when it’s deciding which properties and products to develop next. That was the focus of my conversation with Wendt, which touched on how fan interactions can make a real impact. And then, in a wonderful moment of serendipity, I saw that actually happen.
Before I can explain how my bad back led to the perfect ending to our interview at a dining table on the floor of D23, you have to see what preceded that moment.
Nerdist: Obviously you know from sales what people are buying, what they like, and what products might work. But what do you get out of interacting with such dedicated fans in person at an event like D23?
Jillian Wendt: That is the most important piece, right? We are fans ourselves. So for us, we know we have to be part of a community. We need to interact and to really see their passion. To understand how much they interpret and make (products) their own. Seeing all of the self-expression here at the con is invaluable. To understand how they’re really styling things, how are they wearing it, and what are some of those different stories that they’re taking from the IPs that we all know and love is incredibly insightful.
It really does guide us year over year. Kingdom Hearts is one that we started to really see uptick in the market as we were doing all of our research. And then being here, seeing it. Then, of course, with the announcement of the show last night during the panel, we have really seen firsthand what Kingdom Hearts means to this community and what we are seeing will be taken into our next collection for Kingdom Hearts.
The Kingdom Hearts show was announced at D23. Did you know that was coming?
Wendt: We have really good relationships with our studios. So we are really fortunate that we get to meet with them and we do get to understand what’s coming so that we can plan ahead and be part of the launches when they happen.
That was a very, very diplomatic answer. (she laughs)
Can you think of an example of something you saw or picked up on at D23 or a similar convention where you were like, “Hey, we’re going to the office and we’re talking about that?”
Wendt: Absolutely. What we started to see was all things sort of Y2K nostalgia. Really starting to see people diving deep. And it started with A Goofy Movie. We came back after D23 two years ago and were able to see this Y2K trend emerging. That late ’90s, early 2000s, we started to really see it at that last D23. And we were then able to go in to those archives. We actually started to pull old Disney catalogs from that time period and pulled a lot of inspiration from there. That’s where we started to see some of those really kind of deep cuts.
Not even just Kingdom Hearts. You’ll see it in our home lines and you’ll see it in the princess jacket that we did yesterday. That real nostalgia, pulling things actually from the bedroom sets they had, that quilting and those really vibrant princess characters and putting that back onto our products.
Note: After our interview BoxLunch gave me a Disney princess coat sample. Everyone who saw it immediately recognized, without being told, it was based on a ’90s vintage bed comforter.
How do you balance trying to find how much stuff should be really broad versus the niche market?
Wendt: That’s always a challenge. We will always test things. And I think, because we are fans ourselves, because when you look at our team, there are people who just really are passionate about what we do, that we are willing to test things and we’ll test things early. We’ll do things on pre-sale. We will take a risk on something and then because we produce so much ourselves and we have such good relationships with our partners, then we’re able to come back and reorder and restock things that our consumer really responds to.
It really is just reading the market and seeing those trends. And knowing that some of them are going to take a little longer to develop and being okay with that. Letting us service those fans that love the deep cut and letting them hold that trend for a little bit longer before it has to go into the larger market, into that macro market.
You’re not selling something that you go in thinking no one’s going to be interested in it. But you obviously must have some things that you think, “We’re taking a little bit of a risk.”
Wendt: Oh, for sure. Absolutely.
What’s something that felt like a risk that absolutely was not it turned out?
It’s interesting, it’s actually something that sits outside of Disney right now, manga. We were starting to see this uptick in anime and we started a partnership with Marubeni. We started to bring in some more obscure manga titles and product associated with those, and it was risky. This was an investment in a market that we thought we were reading the trend from anime, but it turned out to be incredibly successful and fruitful and is allowing us now to go into additional categories that we haven’t been able to be in before.
We are a D23. When it comes to Disney fans, what is the biggest advantage for having such a dedicated fan base that you’re servicing and what’s the biggest challeng?
Wendt: The advantage and the challenge are actually really similar. It’s that they have no problem calling us out when we’re wrong. And it’s what makes us better and keeps us producing things that we’re really proud of because we know that our fans will be proud of it and that that community deserves. And it is the blessing and the curse that we really know that they know these stories. They love them. They shape their lives. And they continue to be part of their lives. And so we owe it to them to create products that allows that self-expression to happen. But we know they’ll call us out. So it’s the blessing and the curse. They’ll praise us when it’s right and they will definitely let us know when it’s wrong.
Do you have an example of each?
Wendt: Oh my gosh. You know what I do. And this is a really embarrassing one. Once we misspell “dalmatians” on a 101 Dalmatians product. It’s a really hard word to spell. (laughs) And it’s amazing how many hands it passes through. That that’s one. When they praise us, they praise us with how they continue to shop. We have such a beautiful, strong community that supports us on the con floor, on our social media, and in our stores. We owe it to them to honor them back. The example is how we just continue to grow because of them and because of the community that’s around us. That’s the biggest testament to when we do it well. We’re really lucky and honored to have such a beautiful community.
You have the line that you announced at D23 and you’re selling here. Do you have a particular favorite from this collection?
Wendt: I am a princess girly through and through, but I think of all of them because we have the tote, we have one for each of the properties, and I love that customizable tote. It leans into that mini tote trend, but it’s customizable. It has patches that you can put on yourself and then you can add all your charms and pins. That’s my personal favorite.
What are you most excited about that’s coming next?
Wendt: I’m really excited for this holiday season. We have a really phenomenal line, but we are planning some really fun in-store events that we’ve never done before that will really immerse our community in the worlds that they love, with some new upcoming titles that are coming in December with a lot of our student partners.
But you’re not going to tell me what those are.
Wendt: No, because you have to follow BoxLunch to know what’s coming. Absolutely not. I know what I’m doing.
(big laugh)
That was the end of our conversation, which I very much enjoyed. Wendt was forthcoming and sincere in a way not all executives are during these types of interviews. She was also kind enough to accommodate me and my bad back. After touring BoxLunch’s booth and seeing the company’s con exclusives we wandered around looking for some chairs. We finally made our way over to a dining area right on the floor, where the second half of our interview took place among the scent of hot dogs.
By the end we’d been joined at our table by a polite young couple I hadn’t even noticed were quietly eating. As Wendt and I were getting ready to say goodbye, one of them, a man named Sham (pronounced like calm) from San Diego said he was very excited she worked for BoxLunch. He was wearing one of their products—a Cars Mater mechanic shirt—and he wanted her to know why he loves it so much. Sham explained that his job really limits his clothing options, but that that particular BoxLunch collection allows him to dress appropriately for his job while also celebrating his love of Disney. He said there was really nothing else like it. Sham also said he constantly got compliments and questions about where he got his.
This was clearly something a delighted Wendt had not heard before. She then told him she would absolutely be bringing that back to the team.
I was just as delighted by the exchange. because it’s not often you get an instant, real-life example of something that perfectly caps off the interview you just did. It was also just very cool to see a consumer get a chance to directly talk to someone who has the ability to develop products he wants to buy.
Will Sham’s personal experience lead to another line of BoxLunch mechanic shirts? More clothing geared to specific professions? Might we eventually see the company sell Disney scrubs? Disney lab coats and overalls? If we do, it might be because D23 allows the Mouse House’s most loyal customers to talk to directly to the people who help them celebrate it.