Kellogg’s taps Beanstalk for licensed food and beverage across US, Canada, Europe, Japan and South Korea

Beanstalk has been tapped as the exclusive food licensing agency for Kellogg Company with the remit of growing the Kellogg’s brand’s licensed food and beverage categories in the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, and South Korea.

These categories will work to complement the brand’s core portfolio in cereal, snacks, and frozen foods.

‘Kellogg is committed to creating better days and a place at the table for everyone through our trusted food brands. Licensing Kellogg’s brands into strategic food and beverage categories will better enable us to meet our vision and purpose as an organization,’ read a statement from the firm.

Today, Kellogg boasts a number of existing licensing agencies supporting its global business in multiple regions, including Pink Key Licensing here in the UK who remains the brand’s key licensing agent for consumer products outside of the food aisles. 

With the exception of Latin America, Beanstalk will be focusing on food and beverage global licensing to complement Kellogg’s pre-existing, non-food brand extension partners in other regions. 

Kangaru Toys plans expanded licensing offering to the UK and Europe through Two in 1 Direct

Two in 1 Direct has detailed a new licensed segment from the international scented stationery, toys, and activities specialist, Kangaru Toy, following the recent news that it would handling the outfit’s UK business.

Kangaru will be making its UK debut at what it has billed ‘an exciting stage of the company’s development,’ having confirmed a new licensing programme with a host of popular food and confectionery brands in the US, including Chupa Chups, Mentos, and Kelloggs’ cereals.

With this series of licensing partnerships, Kangaru will look to tap into the popular food licensing trend and reinvigorate the craft and stationery categories. Key characteristics of these brands, such as shapes, scents and colours, will bring this collection to life.

Joe DiPalma, Kangaru’s founder and CEO, has spent the last year adopting a licensed strategy to this new product development to capitalise on top selling brands.

Speaking of the company’s plans for its licensing programme, he said: “Over the coming year we plan to expand the licensed products into the UK and Europe, South America and Asia. Where the UK is concerned, we’ve been working with Paul to better understand the opportunities within the market.

“He’s been drawing on his vast experience in toys and the children’s entertainment business, as well as his impressive ability to customise products and licensing for customers, to really help tailor our licensed offering for the UK.”

Paul Fogarty, co-founder of Two in 1 Direct, added: “We’ve seen the foodie craze hit the toy aisle and now we get to bring it to the stationery and craft aisle.

“Something we’re particularly excited about is the opportunity to customise this line of products to suit our retailers’ unique needs. We’re going to be working closely with our retail partners over the coming months to deliver a collection that appeals to customers and meets their individual needs.”

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

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.

The Breakfast Club: Richard Pink on five successful years with Kellogg’s and Kimm & Miller

It’s a partnership that has spanned the last half a decade and one that continues to move from strength to strength with each year that passes and each new range that finds more and more shelf space within some of the UK’s most popular retail destinations. Kellogg’s and Kimm & Miller have become almost as synonymous as eggs and soldiers, or Snap, Crackle, and Pop.

And there in the middle, the broker of this breakfast behemoth’s gifting gallery, is Pink Key Licensing’s Richard Pink. Together, this formidable trio has managed to push the envelope for food brands in the gifting and the classic brand with vintage appeal sector, building up a portfolio that from small beginnings now sits on shelves at some of the country’s biggest grocers.

And still, there is more to come. 2021 has been earmarked as the year that Kimm and Miller takes the Kellogg’s brand into the housewares sector, a ‘key push for the brand’ that has successfully navigated the waters of 2020 so far to have maintained its strength of position in the market, even throughout its most tumultuous moments.

Here, Licensing.biz catches up with Pink Key Licensing’s Richard Pink, and Kimm and Miller’s Dave Kimm to talk about those future plans, the demand for the Kellogg’s brand, and the secrets to a successful licensing partnership.

 

Richard Pink of Pink Key Licensing

Richard, it’s been a while. Thanks for chatting with us and to kick us off can you talk us through the strength of the Kellogg’s brand? 

Kellogg’s is a hugely important brand in our portfolio. Firstly, it has terrific awareness across  every territory that we manage in Europe which allows not only local activity but also  activity that goes cross-border and even global. Secondly, it’s a very adaptable brand and  works on many levels because it has a contemporary aspect as well as a rich heritage. It appeals right across a very large consumer demographic. 

What does the brand bring to the gifting and vintage/classic brand sector? 

Obviously, there is the food element which works so well for the Kimm and Miller gifting  sets, but there is also the amazing artwork which allows it to work almost like an art license as well. 

Your partnership with Kimm and Miller has been one stretching over the last five years. What success have you had with the Kellogg’s range over that time? 

The range started quite small but has expanded each year based on the success that we  have had. Initially, it was only available in Debenhams and it grew there to become the  largest Christmas gifting range. Since then, Kimm and Miller have developed additional products which have been listed by other retailers such as Tesco and Morrisons that still use the same characters but are distinct from the large range that remains in Debenhams.

Every  year the range has grown and become more successful for us. 

How have you seen the collection develop over that time? 

At this point I think I’ll turn this question over to Dave Kimm who has developed and managed the range…

Dave Kimm, commercial director, Kimm & Miller: Working with the UK’s favourite cereal brand has been and continues to be a great experience. In conjunction with Pink Key we launched our first Vintage Kellogg’s gift range in 2015 with seven SKUs and, in a clear sign of the affection the consumer holds for the  brand, that SKU count has grown fourfold since then, helped on with a move into the  housewares category.

It’s absolutely essential to continually update and refresh the winning  core lines with the wonderful assets available to us whilst also introducing new product  uniqueness into the range on an annual basis.  

What makes Kimm and Miller the ideal partner for this sector and for this brand? 

Richard Pink, Pink Key: Kimm and Miller have enormous experience in understanding brands and which kind of  products will work. They understand the core elements of what appeals to consumers and are able to translate that into products the consumers want to buy, either for themselves or as gifts for others.

They also have first class processes to ensure that the quality of the  product is maintained which is always so important for food and to the brand.

What’s the secret to a successful and long-standing relationship like yours with Kimm &  Miller? And how has that helped in the success of the range and brand at retail? 

The key word here is partnership: We always work together to understand each other’s  needs and we instinctively know when we need to push things a little with the brand to create innovative product.

Kimm and Miller has fantastic retail relationships; they include us in their discussions when necessary so that we can have a direct understanding of what their customers want. And, because of the huge amount of art we have available, we are then able to give retailers things that they want to build on; past successes or respond to emerging trends. 

Can you talk us through any new developments, launches or plans for the Kimm and Miller  partnership? 

My view is that every year we develop the core range, keeping the bits that work and adding  to it so that it always has a certain amount of innovation as well as the core products that we know work so well.

It’s probably a bit early to say how we are going to develop things for next Christmas, however, now that we are working with Kimm and Miller on a broader housewares range, we are able to access new retailers with an all year round  offering.

Dave might also have a view on this…

Dave Kimm: I couldn’t agree more with Richard – the expansion of the housewares range is key to us for 2021 and we are at the beginning of that process as we speak. Even in these extremely testing times for us all, this year our retail channels for Kellogg’s have grown both online and  with the bricks and mortar retailers. I believe that in itself is proof of the affection and  fondness Tony, Cornelius, Coco et al are held in and we need to ensure both our housewares  range and Vintage gift sets continue to reflect that popularity.

How strong will the range be this Q4 and as we move into the new year? 

Richard Pink: I’m glad you asked me that! Every year the range just seems to get stronger. Even in a  difficult year like this we have been able to maintain the sales of our range. It makes me  believe that, as (hopefully) retail begins to open up next year our range will be stronger than  ever.

Thank you both, is there anything you’d like to add? 

I’d like to leave the final words to Alex the designer at Kimm and Miller for the Kellogg range whose input is absolutely invaluable: 

‘Working with a brand like Kellogg’s is a total privilege – the archive is really well-managed  and it’s always enjoyable to come up with new ideas that work with the classic characters. 

‘Kellogg’s and the Pink Key team give us a lot of trust and flexibility, which we have built on  over the years. I always get a real buzz when I see the finished range come together – it’s so vibrant and bright and I hope it makes people happy when they receive one of our gifts for  Christmas.’

YWOW Games continues mission to ‘revolutionise the market’ with Perfetti Van Melle partnership

YWOW Games, an up and coming games and puzzles company on a mission to ‘revolutionise the market’ by combining global household brands with collectable jigsaw puzzles, has expanded its best-selling range through a new partnership with the confectionery brand, Perfetti Van Melle.

The fast-growing company launched onto the scene with its brand Mini Puzzles earlier this year when it introduced its Kellogg’s and Pringles range via distribution channels reaching most major markets. According to the firm, the two licensed puzzles lines are already selling out in major retailers in the UK.

Now, building on the momentum of the launch, YWOW Games have finalised a global licensing deal with Perfetti Van Melle for its iconic Mentos brand. Not only will the license occupy a solid space within the Mini Puzzles brand, but will also be one of the first licenses that make up the new SuperSized puzzles line.

SuperSized puzzles are 500 to 1000-piece vintage puzzles packaged in extra-large packaging resembling the brand’s own packaging.

“It is evident from the brand’s success in these markets that the current circumstances make puzzles even more of an evergreen category,” said the firm.

“It is safe to say YWOW Games are only just getting started with their license deals, and they promise to bring to all markets their iconic puzzles based on the A-brands for all categories.”

Please feel free to contact YWOW Games at info@ypernova.com for more information.

Kellogg’s launches pop-up cereal café to celebrate new W.K. Kellogg by Kids

Kellogg’s has launched an official Kellogg’s cereal café for kids, run by kids, as part of a launch campaign around the breakfast brand’s first new cereal launch in over 20 years.

To celebrate the launch of its new W.K. Kellogg by Kids, the first children’s product to include fruit and vegetables with no added sugar, the brand has enlisted the creative talents of Taylor Herring for the PR campaign, including the opening of its pop-up cereal café.

The launch of the new cereal follows research that has highlighted the ‘evolving palate of Britain’s children’, revealing that over two-thirds of kids – 66 per cent – have a more varied diet than their parents had. Healthy choices lead the way as apple – 52 per cent – topped lists of snacks kids are most likely to request from their parents.

In light of the research, a pop-up cereal café with a twist has launched– designed for and run by kids themselves; complete with mix-your-own cereal dispensers, colouring-in tables and a full-sized doodle wall.

To launch the café, celebrity mum Myleene Klass was invited to be one of the first to try a bowl of W.K. Kellogg by Kids at the café.

“I think children are definitely having a re-education around their food – I remember just wanting burger and chips but the girls are more likely to go for the likes of apples, blueberries, avocado or even sushi,” said Klass.

“Mornings can be mad in our house so it’s amazing to know that breakfast is easy. A cereal with fruit, veg, no added sugar, plus the whole family think it tastes great – what more could you want?”

A Kellogg’s spokesperson added: “It’s amazing to see the changing tastes of the UK, especially coming from the younger generation. Our kid’s panel of experts knew exactly what they wanted when it came to creating this brand new breakfast cereal and it’s everything you’d expect kids to love – delicious and fun.”

W.K Kellogg by Kids is the first children’s cereal to include fruit and vegetables and comes in two tasty flavour variants that the whole family will love: Strawberry, Apple and Carrot and Blueberry, Apple and Beetroot.