‘Box pa lang, ulam na’: Quiccs, Jollibee unbox new toy collab

MANILA, Philippines — In time for the Philippine Independence Day, Filipino icons Jollibee and Quiccs Maiquez collaborated for new collectible art toy figure JolliTEQ.

“It's been really a big dream of us to work with Jollibee, a very iconic Filipino brand and being able to transform Jollibee into my own style,” said internationally renowned toy designer and illustrator Quiccs at his speech prior to the toy’s unboxing yesterday.

According to him, he feels “very honored” that fans are very excited for the collaboration ever since the fast food chain teased about it in its social media accounts.

“Pinoy pride, I always bring that to TEQ63. Kaya 63, it’s our country code. So for one of the biggest Filipino icons to invite us to collaborate is a very big honor para sa’min,” Quiccs told the press, including Philstar.com, at an interview following the unboxing.

“Definitely a milestone! Makikita ko ‘to, when I die, magfla-flash ‘to,” quipped the artist.

“We at Jollibee are very, very excited to finally launch this collaboration with Quiccs,” Jollibee Philippines Vice President and Marketing Head Dorothy Dee-Ching said at the program.

“As you know, our brand has always been an advocate of Filipino pride. And today we have two internationally-acclaimed world-class, homegrown Filipino brands, Jollibee and Quiccs, coming together for this awesome creative collaboration.”

She said she is “very happy” to work with “an amazing artist” like Quiccs as it allows the brand “to shine a spotlight on Filipino talent and creativity that is making waves not just in our country but from all around the world.”

“We started posting teasers on social media around a week ago and we've really been blown away by the awe and excitement, not just among toy collectors like yourselves, but also among our customers and our social media followers as well. And I think this is testament to the universal appeal of Jollibee as we all know and love very well. And the creativity that went into creating this collectible, seamlessly integrating Quicc’s signature design and style for our brand persona.”

The JolliTEQ is a limited-edition Jollibee character version of the highly sought-after TEQ robot character. The collectible comes in three sizes, three-inch, six-inch, and 12-inch figures, and in a special “meal” packaging.

“The collaboration is very special for us, it’s only proper for us to do three sizes for Jollibee,” said Quiccs, who likes how the mecha toy differs from the other ones that the fast food chain released before.

“Gusto namin may angas s’ya, dala n’ya ‘yung TEQ look n’ya. We’re very happy that Jollibee allowed us to execute it like that and honored kami na pumayag sila na ganyan ang hitsura nila. Sa boxes naman, inspired by the spaghetti, Palabok boxes. Very iconic kasi ‘yung Jollibee design. In fact, we patterned the boxes din to that style para very charming ‘yung dating. Sabi nga nila, ‘Box palang, ulam na’,” shared the artist, who already rendered the same toy in the past in different colorways for his other different collaborations, but the JolliTEQ is “something na mga ka-age ko, mga ‘80s babies, would appreciate.”

Besides making sure that he captures the quintessential Jollibee look in JolliTEQ, Quiccs made it a point that his major influences, Japanese robots, hip-hop and graffiti, are also palpable in the new collectible.

“So Jollibee pa rin s’ya, pero very robot,” enthused Quiccs, sharing to Philstar.com later on that JolliTEQ also comes with detachable arms and another set of spare arms.

The JolliTEQ will be available for sale to the public at Quiccs’ booth at the 2024 Toy Convention (ToyCon) from June 14 to 16 in SMX Convention Center, Pasay City. 

The three-inch figure is priced at P3,500; the six-inch at P6,500, while the set of three with the 12-inch figure is at P25,000. One can also buy merchandise such as the official JolliTEQ shirt at P1,200, and a sticker pack at P350. 

“It’s hard to miss because it’s very red. It’s very Jollibee,” Quiccs announced his ToyCon booth, in which he will have a “pasabog.”

According to him, he only allocated 150 sets of JolliTEQ at the ToyCon, and 100 pieces each for the three-inch and six-inch figures. There are different number of toys available for purchasing per day of the ToyCon, but these are excluded from the pre-ordered ones.

He admitted, however, that there is a community of collectors who are already going to line up for the pieces tomorrow, the day before the ToyCon opening.  — Video by Deni Rose M. Afinidad-Bernardo; video editing by Martin Ramos