Phat Kandi has tapped the German licensing agency, Active Merchandising to represent its brand across the German, Swiss, and Austrian territory, while also securing a new direct to retail partnership with the European brand, EMP.

Led by Anita van Esch, EMP has been signed on for Europe with a DTR for apparel and accessories, cross-branding Phat Kandi with its own label Black Blood by Gothicana, and introducing a collection of t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, leggings, skirts, dresses, shoes, mugs, bottles, towels, and more.

“We are thrilled to enter into this partnership with EMP,” said Anita van Esch, owner of Active Merchandising. “Phat Kandi perfectly matches the consumer profile of EMP and we are keen to develop a cool collection of trendy products.”

Active Merchandising currently represents brands such as Molang, Chefclub, The Gruffalo, and more.

“Active Merchandising and Anita are a spot-on addition for our brand,” added Mel Williams, creative director of Kandi Co Creations. “With Anita’s background, expertise and the enthusiasm between us, we feel very confident to enter the market. We can’t wait to build out our network here! And what a way to kick off with EMP already signed on.”

Ludger Bußmann, Teamlead License Management at EMP, added: “Black Blood by Gothicana combines gloomy and occult designs and symbols with trendy fashion garments. A dark statement: provocative, flashy and anything but adapted. We are beyond excited to work with Mel Williams directly on a capsule collection uniting Phat Kandi with Black Blood by Gothicana.”

Phat Kandi is a bold statement brand with a Japanese, edgy twist and lends itself perfectly across consumer products in categories such as fashion, personal care, stationary, and digital.