Dairy Queen Canada is jumping on the blind box craze with a collectible that looks good enough to eat — well, almost. From Monday, September 28, participating DQ locations across the country will sell Mystery Blizzard Buddies: limited-edition blind boxes containing plushie keychains shaped like the chain's iconic Blizzard Treat.
There are five characters in the lineup — Flip, Blizabeth, Blenda, Brrrnie, and one ultra-rare golden plushie called Goldie. As with any blind box, you won't know which one you've scored until you tear it open. Each box costs $6, and they'll be available while supplies last, so collectors hoping to complete the set may want to move fast.
The real prize is Goldie. The rare golden plushies are hidden at random in boxes across Canada, and anyone who finds one can enter to win free Dairy Queen treats for a year, subject to the official contest rules. That's a lot of Blizzards on the line for a $6 gamble.
The plushies aren't arriving alone. DQ Canada is launching its Halloween-themed Spellbound Series at the same time, which includes the Bubble Brew DQ Sparkler — a blood orange lemonade-style sparkling drink topped with cold foam — and the Enchanted Oreo Blizzard Treat, blending Oreo with ube and DQ's classic soft serve. The purple-hued ube and Oreo combo sounds like it was engineered for spooky-season Instagram posts.
Why should travellers care? If you're road-tripping across Canada this fall or just passing through, this is a cheap, fun bit of local pop culture to pick up along the way. Blind box collecting has become a genuine travel ritual in many countries — think trading culture around gashapon in Japan or pop-up toy shops in Korea — and this is Canada's fast-food answer to it. A $6 keychain makes a quirky souvenir, and the seasonal menu gives you an excuse to try something you can't get at home (ube-flavoured anything is still a novelty in much of the world).
Worth keeping in mind: these are limited edition and stock varies by location, so calling ahead or checking a few branches in bigger cities is a smart move if you're hunting Goldie specifically. The contest element is only open per the official rules, so check the fine print before pinning your hopes on a year of free soft serve. And if blind boxes aren't your thing, the Spellbound drinks run alongside them at the same locations — the Enchanted Oreo Blizzard is the low-risk, high-reward order.
Either way, next week is the window. After that, the Buddies are gone until DQ decides whether the trend earns a sequel.
Story via Curiocity.
