Target asked for LEGO Ideas' second cat to be orange

LEGO Ideas' second cat creation recolours 21349 Tuxedo Cat to be an orange cat, and this specific colour is partially thanks to US retailer Target.

After the launch of 21349 Tuxedo Cat in 2024, LEGO Ideas has a new cat creation pouncing onto shelves on March 1. 21376 Orange Cat takes the original concept of 21349 Tuxedo Cat and applies an orange (medium nougat, really) hue to it, matching the several breeds of cats that appear in this colour.

With so many other kinds of cats to cover next, you might be wondering why the LEGO Ideas designers went for an orange cat specifically, as well as why they didn't ask the community to decide on a future cat colour. After a discussion with the design team behind 21376 Orange Cat recently, Brick Fanatics learned that Target was mostly behind the decision.

"We actually got a request from one of the retailers, Target," said LEGO Ideas Creative Lead Jordan David Scott. "So this is a Target exclusive, but it will, of course, be available in LEGO stores. Target really wanted an orange cat, and that's why we didn't do any form of fan vote, because we could have easily done that.

"That would have been the most obvious way to decide which colour would go next. But because Target didn't ask for another cat, they asked for an orange cat specifically, which was mainly the reason; it was just the most requested colour from the retailer.

Target ultimately determined that the follow-up to 21349 Tuxedo Cat would be orange, revealing the sway retailers have in future LEGO releases. The creative lead also confirmed that, likely in the US, 21376 Orange Cat will be exclusive to the retailer and the LEGO Group directly.

It didn't just come down to retailer requests, though. A follow-up to 21349 Tuxedo Cat was inevitable after its viral success, and it was more than just Target requesting an orange model, according to Jordan.

"I can't talk about sales numbers, but we can say 21349 Tuxedo Cat has been very successful, very popular," Jordan continued. "As I said, it was very viral when it came out.

"We do different products for different retailers, such as Amazon, Target, Walmart, and all these companies. They will talk to us about unique opportunities that they can have. This was one of them where they really wanted to do an orange cat. Chris, the design team, and I looked into it and decided we can do it."

"I've seen online that a lot of people also wanted an orange one, and it's great, because if you have 21349 Tuxedo Cat now, you can make a calico or a tortoise shell cat. You can kind of mix and match all the parts, because they are largely the same, which is really cute."

The LEGO Ideas team found that requests for a LEGO orange cat stretched beyond Target, aiming to please both the retailer and community with the new launch. You're also welcome to depict other breeds that are a mix of orange, black and white colours by picking up either of the LEGO Ideas cat creations for £89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99 each.

You can find out more about the new LEGO Ideas 21376 Orange Cat directly from the designers in our latest YouTube video. Click here to find out more about the set specifically, which is up for pre-order now during the current double points event.