Tag Archives: Food And Drink

YWOW Games makes US market debut with Kraft Heinz licensed games line-up

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The international games and puzzle company, YWOW Brands has made its big move on the American market with the launch of a new range of Kraft Heinz branded novelty puzzles.

The deal was brokered by Kraft Heinz’s exclusive licensing agency, Brand Central, and arrives as YWOW continues to make waves on the global games and puzzles scene through a portfolio of products that combines some of the most recognisable household brands with puzzles.

Last year saw YWOW secure licensing partnerships with some of the world’s best-loved food brands, including Pringles, Kellogg’s, and Mentos. The range is currently being shipped to over 40 markets around the world amid ‘soaring demand’ for the company’s licensed ranges.

According to YWOW, its Mini Puzzles Kellogg’s and Pringles are ‘rapidly selling out in the UK,’ while growing online sales have taken the range into further international markets.

The company has recently taken on a venture to spread the Novelty Puzzle hype to the USA and to do so, has partnered with one of the country’s own best-loved food brands.

YWOW Brands’ partnership with Kraft Heinz has led to the creation of new puzzle lines. The three brands of focus are ones closest to the hearts of Americans: HEINZ, KOOL AID and JELL-O.

“With the firepower of these brands and the innovative capacity of YWOW Brands, the team is prepared to transform the current Toy market in the United States,” read a statement from the firm.

“The brand-new licensed puzzles will appear in the form of Mini and Supersized puzzles in major retailers, designed using striking bold packaging to catch the eye of the consumer. YWOW Brands is expected to have great success launching their puzzles in North America with a guarantee that the global Puzzle market will never be the same.”

Baby Shark swims into your breakfast cereal thanks to latest Kellogg’s partnership

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Not content with getting stuck firmly in your head, Baby Shark could be swimming in your breakfast bowl thanks to a new partnership between ViacomCBS Consumer Products UK and Kellogg’s for the launch of the Baby Shark Multigrain Cereal.

The partnership marks the first deal between the two in the UK and Irish markets for the popular pre-school property, Baby Shark’s Big Show. The multigrain breakfast cereal – with no artificial flavours or colours, and presumably no real sharks – is now available across Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda, and Aldi.

Pinkfong’s Baby Shark, now an established brand, has experienced instant success across multiple touch points, including UK retail aisles. Through a partnership with SmartStudy, the global entertainment company behind the beloved children’s brand, Pinkfong, ViacomCBS Consumer Products has been managing licensing globally outside of Asia since October 2019.

“Baby Shark has proven itself to be both a YouTube phenomenon and an IP that translates into award winning toys and consumer products programs. We’re thrilled to be entering into this new deal with Kellogg’s which is the first of many in the food and beverages category,” said Venetia Davie, vice president, ViacomCBS Consumer Products UK & Ireland.

Olga Kondratyeva, brand manager at Kellogg’s, added: “We are delighted to be working with ViacomCBS on the exciting launch of Baby Shark Multigrain Cereal. We know Baby Shark is a catchy tune that has captured the hearts of many families and we hope our new cereal will do the same.”

Baby Shark launched on YouTube in November 2015 and took the world by storm, amassing 7.7 billion views and becoming the most-watched video in the platform’s history. With music, characters, story and dance all combined, the song  has been recognised as the only diamond awarded children’s single in the Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA) Gold & Platinum Program history and spawned a viral phenomenon #BabySharkChallenge, generating over one million cover videos around the globe.

In the UK, its TV animated series ‘Baby Shark’s Big Show!’ will be released on Nick Jr. later this year.

Chefclub secures €14 million in latest financial round and new Tefal partnership for kitchenware

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It’s a double-yolker for the Parisian food brand, Chefclub as the firm secures a new financing round of 14 million Euros and the creation of a new cookware line in partnership with the kitchen ware experts, Tefal.

It’s First Bridge Ventures chairman, Adrian Cheng, who leads the round the accelerate Chefclub’s international growth, along with SEB Alliance, Group SEB’s corporate venture arm, as well as existing investors Fleur Pellerin’s Korelya Capital and Groupe Arnault’s Aglae Ventures to bring in the 14 million Euro funding round.

Launched in Paris in 2016 by three brothers, Thomas, Jonathan, and Axel Lang, Chefclub has been able to leverage the power of social media to continually grow, strengthen its brand, and create a large audience while also transforming its video viewers into customers. 

Its recipe videos and fun universe are designed to encourage everyone to cook: women, men, teenagers, and children. 

Convinced that the future of business lies in experiential content and direct contact with communities, the startup has already sold 700,000 self-published books since 2017, and in 2019 launched a series of innovative products for children that has equipped more than 150,000 families. 

The free distribution of content has helped Chefclub form a committed community that the startup can directly involve in the development of its products. All Chefclub products are created based on the requests, tastes, and opinions shared by the community throughout the product development process.

Meanwhile, as viewers’ attention shifts from television to social networks, Chefclub continues to promote its universe and products through online videos of inspiring and fun recipes seen all around the world. In December 2020 alone, 50 million Americans and more than 15 million French people watched one or more Chefclub recipes. 

In addition to direct sales, the brand is developing its retail presence to allow members of its community to find Chefclub products in their favorite stores. In return, retailers carrying Chefclub products will benefit from the extensive coverage on social media platforms, allowing them to draw in customers who prefer not to order online.

Topping off the good news for Chefclub this week, and the cooking brand has also detailed a new partnership with Groupe SEB for the launch of a range of products under the brand name Chefclub by Tefal.

The new collection will include skillets, saucepans, kitchen tools, and small domestic appliances. Created in collaboration with the Chefclub community, the range combines Chefclub’s expertise in the development of creative recipes with Tefal’s sustainable design.

The new range will be launched in France and across international markets including Germany, Brazil, Italy, South Korea, Canada, Spain, the UK, and Mexico.

The new brand Chefclub by Tefal benefits from unprecedented visibility on social networks and will broaden Groupe SEB’s reach, particularly with Millennials, who are discovering or rediscovering the joys of cooking thanks to the start-up’s content.

By joining forces with Groupe SEB, world reference for small domestic appliances, Chefclub has access to recognized industrial expertise, the renown of the Tefal brand and a broader retail network which will enable its community to discover its products via the Group’s retail channels.

Golden Goose names licensing agent for ‘seriously good’ food brand, Twisted

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The strategic licensing consultancy, Golden Goose has been appointed by Jungle Creations to develop licensed products under its Twisted brand.

Recipes and video content for “unserious food that tastes seriously good” has made Twisted the UK’s No. 1 food brand on social, acquiring over 30 million followers  since 2016. 

Award-winning marketing campaigns for brands such as Baileys, Heinz, Hellmans, Birdseye, Walkers and McDonalds saw Twisted sponsored content generate 55 million views in 2020. As a brand that influences the purchasing decisions of Gen-Z consumers, Twisted is now looking to leverage its market intelligence onto its own branded products.

The brand will look to take the Twisted across multiple food and non-food categories.  

Olly Johnson, Twisted’s managing director of eCommerce, explained: “As the UK’s number one food and drink brand on social we know the engagement we can deliver with Twisted digital content and, working with Golden Goose, we look forward to making Twisted branded products widely available for our  growing audience to enjoy.” 

Adam Bass, director of Golden Goose, added: “Consumers are desperate for  innovation and, for Gen-Z, food is content for their feed. The Golden Goose  team are excited to be working with the Twisted brand to deliver innovative, interesting and unserious food and food gifting products into multiple retail  and direct to consumers.”  

Multiple retail food sales grew by £9 billion in 2020 with line extensions into  booming markets advancing at warp speed, so the Twisted licensing  programme looks set to build on the successful Twisted Kitchen delivery-only  restaurant and the best-selling Twisted cookbook.

Culture sculpture: Beer Buddies and the fine art of merchandising

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A two-man operation working out of a headquarters in Wheal Vor, in Cornwall, Beer Buddies has started to make its presence known on the pop culture licensing and merchandise scene through its range of best-selling Motorhead, Iron Maiden, and now Original Stormtrooper bottle openers.

Using traditional sculpting methods put to use from its Cornish workshop, this is a company that has not only struck upon a unique angle within the traditional licensing space, but continues to champion an artisan approach within the sector, finding and bridging that gap between today’s demand for pop culture merchandise and the consumer’s desire for artistry.

Here, Licensing.biz grabs a quick five minutes with Beer Buddies co-founder Richard House to talk about the firm’s foray into licensing, its successes, and what’s on the horizon for the UK business.

Hi Richard, good to catch up with you. To start, can you give us a bit of history on the Beer Buddies company? How did this all come about for you guys, and what was the moment that got you into the licensing space?

Beer Buddies is just two people: myself and Seamus Moran. We both did design based degrees and formed Beer Buddies 10 years ago, we’ve worked together ever since moving to Cornwall from the Midlands in 1988.

Buddies started almost by accident when we were asked to design and produce a Green Man wall plaque. Seamus realised that a bottled opener could be incorporated into the mouth and I came up with the name Beer Buddies. We came up with a few more designs, made them in our workshop and began selling, as demand grew and the range increased and we moved the manufacturing to China.

We had never considered doing licensed products until Jens Drinkwater of Global Merch introduced himself to us at a trade show about three years ago. Motorhead bottled beer Road Crew was selling strongly and Jens suggested a bottle opener would be a great addition to Motorhead merchandise line.

The trail went quiet for about 12 months and then out the blue we got the green light from Global and six months later the first Beer Buddies licensed product was on sale. It immediately opened our eyes to the potential of the licensing world. Motorhead sold more than the rest of our range put together.

You pay homage to a real artisan aspect of creating Beer Buddies. How do you guys strike that balance of bringing the artisan to the licensing space? What do you think this brings to the licensing space itself and is it proof that artistry and merchandise can work together?

The artisan element of our working methods probably has much to do with our age. Seamus is a sculptor in his own right and totally at home working with traditional modelling materials such as clay and plaster. Neither of us are of the Cad era. Seamus has a meticulous modelling style and an eye for detail that is unique to him and that translates into the designs and brings a very human element to the work that a computer generated design can’t.

We look for brand icons that will translate into what we do without making too many compromises to the original concept. Also, because this is so new to us having good support from the licensee is very important. Global has been fantastic in this regard and Jens has introduced us to new customers and spread the cost of royalty fees when our cash flow has been tight.

What has reception been like to the Beer Buddies’ licensed roll out to date? 

The response to our licensed roll outs to date has been very positive. Motorhead and Iron Maiden are our biggest sellers. Original Stormtrooper arrived late due to the chaotic situation at UK ports but the initial signs are that it’s going to be very strong .

How has business been for you guys over the course of 2020? With lockdown keeping people in their homes for longer, has Beer Buddies spotted an opportunity here?

Like virtually all businesses this year, Covid-19 has caused us problems. Most of our trade accounts have been closed for 25 per cent of the year and some may have closed for good. We probably won’t know the full extent of the damage until next year. On the plus side our own website sales have more than doubled as lockdown has sent online shopping go off the chart .

What’s the next big move for Beer Buddies, what can we expect from you guys in 2021?

Next year we hope to get some more Heavy Metal under our belts with Metallica, they have the right look and like Motorhead and Iron Maiden already have a licensed beer and a huge loyal fan base.

Finsbury Food Group extends its partnership with Thorntons, and we can all be happy about that

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Finsbury Food Group has detailed a three-year extension to its long-term partnership with the chocolatier Thorntons, a collaboration that has driven the celebration cake market for the past 20 years.

Finsbury has developed a range of premium products through a licensing arrangement with the Thorntons business. Thorntons full cake range with Finsbury includes celebration cakes, including classic flavours such as sticky toffee and triple layer chocolate, cupcake platters, FTG Bars and the much-loved Bites, designed to make bitesize moments special, with flavours ranging from chocolate fudge brownie to caramel shortcake made with Thorntons’ traditional recipe toffee sauce.

The businesses will continue to work together until 2023, with future developments including the launch of treat bars, and further updates to the bites ranges, including seasonal, and cupcake platters.

 Jack Cook-Broussine, brand manager at Finsbury Food Group, said: “Our relationship with Thorntons is one of the longest in the industry, a true testament to the partnership we have built and the team’s ability to monitor changing consumer trends and develop products that capture the imagination of the consumer.

“We have seen huge success throughout the years of working together, particularly with our scrumptious bites products which are perfect for making bitesize moments special.

“With 20 successful years under our belt, it’s brilliant to be able to extend our partnership by another three years, particularly after what has been a challenging year for the cake industry overall. We are looking forward to seeing what 2021 brings for the brand.”

Fiona Morgan, head of Foodservice Ferrero UK & Ireland, at Ferrero UK Ltd, added: “It is through our strong partnership with Finsbury that we continue to drive the celebration cake market. There’s no denying it has been a challenging year for all, but we hope to bring some joy to consumers with our cakes this Christmas. Thorntons is also a strong player in the cake bites market, and we are excited to refresh our delicious bites ranges in the near future.”

Moonpig partners with KFC to launch limited edition Christmas cards and merchandise

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Moonpig has reignited a partnership with KFC to launch a limited edition range of Christmas cards in its move to ‘spread chicken and cheer’ for the holiday season. The series of six Christmas cards come complete with festive designs while a portion of sales will go to Comic Relief through the KFC Foundation.

Featuring carol Zingers singing, sleigh bells winging and Colonel Sanders slipping a hot wing under the tree, the launch has been manipulated to ‘sprinkle some much needed joy to this year’s festive season. ‘

“So, why not send a lenticular card with a gravy optical illusion to your gravy lovin’ gran, or a personalised ‘Fillet Navidad’ card to your KFC obsessed mate?” says Moonpig via a press release.

The KFC x Moonpig Christmas card range is available online exclusively at Moonpig. Ten per cent of net sales will go directly to KFC Foundation’s charity partner, Comic Relief and its work to support young people across the UK to fulfil their potential.

“But it’s not just cards we’ve launched this Christmas…” added the company. “We recently announced the launch of our first ever line of merch ahead of the festive season, with a clucking good range of streetwear and Christmas jumpers.”

The new range can be viewed here.

“So, whether it’s a Christmas eve filled with a Family Feast or watching Mother Hen take a snooze after one too many egg-nogs on Boxing Day, KFC & Christmas will always have one thing in common, they’re meant for sharing,” Moonpig concluded.

The Emoji Company details new Streetwear fashion collabs and Brazilian Cheese Bread restaurants

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The Emoji Company has secured a slew of recent partnerships across both the global fashion and food and beverage markets, including a new deal with the premium streetwear brand Wicked Fashions Inc, and the famous Brazilian Cheese Bread restaurants, Rei do Mate.

Wicked Fashions Inc has teamed with Emoji to create a signature streetwear collection under its Southpole, Lockedt29, and WT02 clothing lines. The fashion line aims to combine the Emoji brand’s expressive icons with Southpole’s athleisure styles and will feature hoodies, jeans, shirts, and sweatpants.

The first collection is set to launch Holiday 2020. The partnership was brokered by Retail Monster, LLC., the emoji company’s North American Licensing Agent. 

“We are excited to enter into a groundbreaking collaboration with an established leader of the streetwear industry in the US,” said Marco Hüsges, CEO and founder, the emoji company. 

Meanwhile, over on the Brazilian Cheese Bread restaurant scene, and Emoji has now detailed a new partnership with Rei do Mate in a move that will see the franchise develop a set of collectable cups featuring designs from the Emoji by Britto collaboration.

Thanks to a deal brokered by Lotus Global, customers buying the 18 cheese bread combo can take home one of the exclusive Emoji by Britto collectable cups. The promotion will run across 300 of Rei do Mate’s stores, as well as on its online platforms that offer delivery service.

“We are thrilled about the launch of this promotion that will truly entertain Brazilian people during the Xmas season,” said Hüsges. “This partnership is the perfect symbiosis of our partnership with famous artist Romero Britto and we are proud to be working with Rei do Mate again for the Brazilian territory.”

Freedom Confectionery teams with Pusheen the Cat to launch the first chocolate vegan gummy bar

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Freedom Confectionery, the UK-based allergen-free, vegan mallow specialist, is to launch the first chocolate coated vegan gummy bar to the market as part of a brand licensing partnership with Pusheen The Cat.

The partnership will be the first confectionery licensing agreement globally recognised brand, Pusheen, has made since its inception in 2010.

As the first European manufacturer of gelatine-free marshmallows, Freedom Confectionery, along with its partnership with Pusheen, is hoping to build on its allergy-free credentials offering vegan, vegetarian, plant-based and non-allergy customers worldwide a sweet treat that is completely gelatine-free.

The 54g strawberry flavoured vegan gummy bar, aptly named, Vegumi, will be coated in dairy-free chocolate and wrapped in a designed film featuring Pusheen The Cat.

The partnership now allows the Lancashire-based Freedom Confectionery the opportunity to reach a new audience and cement its position within the allergy-free, vegan, vegetarian, and plant-based market.

Elvin Willgrass, sales director at Freedom Confectionery, said: “After being in the business for five years, this is by far the most exciting launch Freedom Confectionery has been a part of. To have a brand licensing partnership with Pusheen is an amazing opportunity and I can’t wait to hear what our customers think of it.

“Not only does Vegumi taste amazing, but it’s also approved by The Vegan Society and is free from the top allergens. As a business, we believe in 100 per cent allergy-free, no product leaves our factory without being thoroughly tested and packaged accordingly and we’re delighted that Pusheen want to be part of our business journey.”

Cate D’Allessandro, director of licensing at Pusheen Corp, added: “Our team is excited to partner with Freedom Confectionery to bring our fans a delicious new sweet treat to enjoy.”

The new Vegumi bar will be available to purchase initially from the Freedom Confectionery online shop https://freedommallows.com/our-shop/ from £1.99 per bar.

Freedom Confectionery also have plans to roll the new product offering out to retailers through its national distributors, Bravura Foods.

Approved by The Vegan Society, the Freedom Confectionery Pusheen Vegumi bar is gelatine, gluten, egg, dairy, and soy free with no artificial colours or flavourings.

IMG to grow licensing programme for Planet Hollywood and Earl Enterprises’ restaurant portfolio

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IMG has been appointed to head up the brand extension programme for Earl Enterprises’ portfolio of entertainment, leisure, tourism, and hotels and restaurants brands.

Under the deal, IMG will be working with Planet Hollywood, Buca di Beppo, Bertucci’s, Bravo! Italian kitchen, Brio Italian Grille, and Earl of Sandwich to develop new global product and brand partnerships.

IMG will work with Earl Enterprises to creatively extend its diverse portfolio across food, beverage, lifestyle, gaming, and experiential categories through a range of product and brand licensing collaborations that reflect the characteristics of its hospitality and restaurant brands.

“We firmly believe that customers’ affinities for our brands extend well beyond the in-restaurant dining experience and we are always looking for new ways to connect with our customers and be at the forefront of new trends,” said Robert Earl, founder and CEO of Earl Enterprises.

“IMG is the perfect partner to help take this to the next level, with a series of thoughtful licensed products and experiences that will embody everything customers know and love about our brands.2

Bruno Maglione, president of licensing, IMG, added: “We’re thrilled to be working with Earl Enterprises and its diverse portfolio of established restaurant brands loved around the world, from the iconic Planet Hollywood to the fun and festive family-favorite, Italian-American chain Buca di Beppo.

“Using our specialized expertise, we are looking forward to building upon their success and creating products and experiences that will allow consumers to enjoy their favorite menu items in new formats, new occasions and at home.”

IMG will pursue opportunities that reflect the heritage and tastes of each of the brands. IMG will work closely with Earl Enterprises and licensees to leverage the strength of the brands across a variety of new retail channels, including grocery, club, specialty, ecommerce, and more.