Federico San Martin – Sr. Global Head of Minecraft Consumer Products at Microsoft – on creativity, authenticity and what Suspicious Stew actually tastes like

From ice cream to Crocs, Minecraft has extended into all sorts of categories. What is it about Minecraft that enables it to stretch into so many different industries?
It’s the strong engagement the brand has with our community. Authenticity is the key to our success, and we always remain true to the key elements of the game when we embark on licensing collaborations.

Another aspect that’s important in developing the Minecraft licensing program is creativity and customisation. When you’re a Minecraft licensee, you have the ability to create a lot of products within an ecosystem that’s limitless. Yes, we have brand guidelines – but the brand has a creative freedom that’s intricate to Minecraft’s DNA.

On Minecraft’s creative freedom, which recent launches highlight that?
We launched an extremely successful collaboration with Crocs in February. It’s been one of the best partnerships we’ve ever done, especially in terms of social-media coverage. If you check out the designs, the camouflage… It’s very unexpected and fun. At the end of the day, we want to create a unique product that truly engaged our community – and I believe we accomplished just that. And I’m sure the designers at Crocs had a lot of fun with our brand!

Another partnership that comes to mind was our collaboration with Burberry in the high-end fashion space. We developed a lot of designs – both in the real world and for the digital space. It showcased how Minecraft allows our partners to bridge the gap between the physical and digital.

Whether it’s a Burberry scarf, a Lacoste shirt or Minecraft Crocs, we want to be able to offer something for everyone. As we move towards our 15th anniversary in 2024 – and our feature film release in 2025 – we’re looking at creative partnerships to bring more opportunities for community engagement.

“Whether it’s a Burberry scarf, a Lacoste shirt or Minecraft Crocs, we want to be able to offer something for everyone.”

Minecraft has some in-game food items that have become well-known to fans – like Suspicious Stew! You’ve brought these to life through cookbook launches and ice-cream partnerships, but how do you ensure things taste as people would imagine they’d taste?!
Ha! Great question! If you look at our ice-cream partnership with Nick’s, we took the time to get it right and collaborated closely with our game team to create authentic flavours. Nick’s used the name of our in-game elements with the appropriate flavours… So Cake Blocka is birthday cake ice cream, swirled with strawberry and dotted with sprinkles… The Emerald flavour tastes like mint. It makes sense!

Before I let you go, into what other areas are you interested in taking Minecraft?
We’re always looking for fresh opportunities to delight our community. At the moment, our focus is on territory and category expansion. In the category space, food and beverage, health and beauty, consumer electronics, outdoor and seasonal are areas we want to further explore. I also believe there are a lot more opportunities for us in the collectibles space.

Last question! We’ve talked a lot about Minecraft being an engine for creativity. What fuels your creativity?
Inspiration is all around us! An interesting chat with a friend or colleague, or going for a walk and observing the environment around you can spark the imagination and lead to a new idea…