Bored Ape NFTs and Limited Edition M&M's: How Brand Collabs Work

The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) is a collection of 10,000 cartoon ape images, each generated from a mix of traits such as clothing, backgrounds, fur and expressions. Yuga Labs released it in 2021 as an Ethereum NFT collection, using the ERC-721 standard, so each ape is a unique token.

Owning a token gave the holder the NFT itself and, under the project's license, certain rights to use the artwork for personal and commercial purposes. The project also built a community around membership, events and merchandise, which is why brands became interested in licensing its look.

The collection's profile grew quickly. A 2021 Sotheby's sale of BAYC NFTs was widely reported at roughly $24 million, and celebrity owners and media partners drew mainstream attention. That visibility is the reason later brand collabs often mention the apes by name.

When people search for information on these collabs, they usually want to know three things: what the apes are, what the brand actually sold, and whether the NFT is part of the physical product. The sections below cover each of those points.

In August 2022, Mars announced a partnership with the NFT brand KINGSHIP that tied M&M's packaging to Bored Ape artwork. According to the reporting in public reporting, the set included three Bored Ape NFTs and one Mutant Ape NFT, with around 6,000 candy gift jars made available on the M&M's website from the launch date.

The key point is that the collab combined a consumer product with a digital token. Buyers were not simply purchasing candy; they were also linked to an NFT that carried the ape artwork and the brand's own digital identity.

A few details matter for anyone reading this as a historical case:

• The sale was time-limited and tied to a specific launch date.
• The NFTs were a separate digital layer on top of the physical goods.
• Mutant Ape Yacht Club, a spin-off from the Bored Ape project, was included alongside the core apes.

The results do not show the final sell-through figures or how the NFTs traded afterward, so avoid repeating any resale numbers you see without checking a current source.

Licensing a well-known NFT collection gives a brand several things at once. It borrows the community's attention, it signals that the brand understands crypto culture, and it creates a limited product that can generate press coverage.

For the NFT project, licensing brings revenue, exposure and a route into consumer markets that it would not reach through crypto alone. Yuga Labs and its partners have worked with many brands over the years, and public reporting lists several examples.

Brand collabs are rarely a single event. They typically include:

• A product launch, such as packaging, apparel or accessories.
• A digital component, usually an NFT or token with specific artwork.
• A limited quantity or a defined sales window.
• Marketing that ties the physical product to the community.

For a reader, the question to ask is always who gets which rights, and for how long. A licence to use an image on a product is different from owning the trademark, and both are different from owning the underlying NFT.

The most common structure is a physical item, such as a jar, box or garment, that arrives with a code, a redemption link or a token in a wallet. The NFT can represent the artwork, a membership or a collectible tied to the product.

This matters because the buyer may receive different things depending on the terms:

• Ownership of the NFT, which can be traded on a marketplace.
• A right to the physical product, which may not be transferable.
• A licence to use the artwork, which may be limited in scope.

Before buying, read the terms to find out whether the NFT is delivered to a wallet you control, whether you need to claim it within a set time, and what happens if the physical product is returned or lost. Some drops require an account on the brand's own platform, which adds a second point of failure.

Keep the physical product and the digital asset in mind as separate items when you assess value. Their prices, rights and resale options can move independently.

A limited edition is only meaningful if the supply is published and can be checked. Look for a stated number of units, a sales window, and a description of how many NFTs or products are being minted or sold.

When you review a drop, ask:

• Is the total supply stated in the official announcement?
• Is the NFT contract verifiable on a block explorer?
• Is there a published price for the physical item, and does it include the NFT?
• Does the brand say whether more units will be released later?

Scarcity alone does not guarantee value. A collab can sell out quickly and still see weak resale demand, while a smaller drop from a strong project may trade well for years. Watch for claims of guaranteed returns, which are a common warning sign in NFT marketing.

If you cannot confirm supply through an official source, do not rely on social posts or third-party summaries to fill the gap.

Bored Ape NFTs are traded on several marketplaces, and the best venue depends on what you want to do. OpenSea is a general-purpose marketplace for buying, selling and minting NFTs, and it is widely used for listings and offers on blue-chip collections.

Element Market is a multi-chain aggregator that gathers listings from several sources, which can help when you want to compare prices across venues. Sudoswap V1 is an Ethereum automated market maker that swaps ERC-721 NFTs for ETH or ERC-20 tokens using bonding curves, so it works differently from a listing-based marketplace.

OKX NFT Marketplace is available through OKX Wallet and aggregates listings across several chains, which can suit users already inside that ecosystem.

Whatever venue you use, check the collection's contract address against the official source before you buy, look at recent sales rather than a single listing, and understand the fees and royalty terms. Royalty enforcement differs between marketplaces, so a sale on one site may cost you differently than on another.

Bored Ape was not the only brand collab. Public reporting includes several examples that show how the model has been used across categories.

Casetify, a phone case brand, launched a Bored Ape Yacht Club capsule that included phone cases and apparel. One report cited the licensing deal as worth over $2 million in NFTs, which suggests the scale of these arrangements. Adidas Originals released NFTs in late 2021 as part of a wider push into digital goods, and Rolling Stone partnered with the BAYC community in 2022 for a special project.

These examples share a pattern: the NFT is used as a membership or identity layer, and the physical or media product carries the brand's reach. They also show that the same artwork can appear in very different products, from clothing to publishing.

When evaluating any collab, compare the brand's history, the scope of the licence, and whether the NFT has a clear function beyond being a picture.

Several things change quickly in this area, so check live sources for current information:

• Floor prices and recent sales, on the marketplace collection page or a blockchain explorer.
• Total supply and circulating supply, on the official project site and the contract page.
• Whether a brand drop is still open, on the brand's official channels.
• Licence terms, which may be published in a Terms of Service page or a separate rights document.

For a fair view of any collab, combine three sources: the brand's announcement, the on-chain record and the marketplace data. If they disagree, trust the on-chain record for supply and ownership, and the official terms for rights.

If you are reading about a past event like the 2022 M&M's collab, the useful takeaway is the structure rather than any single price. Know what is delivered, who holds the rights, and how supply is verified before you decide anything.

Before buying a brand NFT or any linked product, go through a short checklist:

1. Confirm the official source of the drop, using the brand's own site or verified accounts.
2. Check the contract address and the marketplace listing against that source.
3. Read the terms to see what the NFT includes and what rights you receive.
4. Confirm the total supply and whether the brand has promised future releases.
5. Decide your budget in advance and treat it as money you might not get back.
6. Use a hardware wallet and never share your seed phrase or private keys.
7. Be cautious of giveaways, urgent messages and requests to connect your wallet to unknown sites.

NFT drops are a common target for phishing. Scammers copy brand logos and send links that ask you to approve a transaction. Only connect a wallet to a site you reached yourself, and review each approval request carefully.

Also check your local laws. Some jurisdictions treat certain NFTs or tokens differently for tax and consumer protection purposes, and the rules may change. Seek advice from a qualified professional if the amounts are significant.