Tag Archives: news

Icefresh Foods launches Minions Ice Creams exclusively with Aldi stores across the UK

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Icefresh Foods has embarked on a new partnership with Universal Brand Development to launch a line of Minions Ice Creams, a range taking inspiration from the hit kids’ franchise and launched exclusively with Aldi stores across the UK.

The range – marking Aldi’s first – has hit stores from today (Monday, May 17th), offering a vanilla and blue raspberry ice cream inspired by the popular Minions characters. The lollies feature distinctive yellow bodies, blue overalls, and a signature Minions eye. A box of six retails at £1.49.

Icefresh brand manager, Lucy Wright, said: “We’re so excited to be launching yummy Minions Ice Creams this summer. It’s been really important to us to be able to bring the UK some much-needed fun and we cannot wait to see the response.”

Established in 1983 Icefresh Foods works in collaborative partnership with manufacturers and brands to supply quality, award-winning ice cream and desserts to the UK retail and foodservice markets.  

Aconyte Books partners with Fantasy Flight Games to launch new Arkham Horror and Legend of the Five Rings titles

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Asmodee Entertainment publishing imprint, Aconyte, has teamed with Fantasy Flight Games to release four new omnibus collections of the well-loved Arkham Horror and Legend of the Five Rings novellas from this autumn.

Originally published as limited edition hardbacks, this is the first time these intriguing stories have been available in a mass-market edition.

The first title, Arkham Horror: Dark Origins features the Investigator tales Hour of the Huntress, The Dirge of Reason, Ire of the Void, and The Deep Gate. All bring glimpses of the eldritch terrors lurking beneath that most mysterious and blighted New England town.

Written by a quartet of notable tie-in fiction authors, Dark Origins will be published in the US and Canada on October 19th and on December 18th in the UK.

“Fantasy Flight Games is excited that Aconyte is collecting our novellas for the first time in trade paperback format and is offering these stories to a wider audience,” said Katrina Ostrander, FFG’s creative director of story and setting. “The Dark Origins collection is the perfect introduction to the investigators from the acclaimed Arkham Horror board and card games, and all of these novellas were crafted with input from the FFG designers on the Arkham Horror story team.”

The Legend of the Five Rings setting brings fans The Great Clans of Rokugan, collecting three published novellas together for the first time, as well as a brand new and keenly awaited unpublished novella. The volume features the Clan stories Ice and Snow, The Sword and the Spirits, Whispers of Shadow and Steel, and Across the Burning Sands. Written in conjunction with the ongoing storyline of Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game, they bring tales of samurai, assassins and wild magic from across the fantastical lands of Rokugan.

Written by mixture of established Legend of the Five Rings fiction authors and members of  FFG’s story team, The Great Clans of Rokugan will publish in the US and Canada on November 23rd and on January 21st 2022 in the UK.

These first volumes will be available in trade paperback and ebook formats. Unlike FFG’s original limited-run novellas, these story collections will not contain game cards. Two further collections are planned for spring 2022. A variety of translated editions are being planned with Aconyte’s European publishing partners.

At the beginning of 2019, Aconyte was announced as Fantasy Flight Games’ fiction partner for original novels, creating new adventures based around its most famous and imaginative games Arkham Horror, Twilight Imperium, Legend of the Five Rings, Descent: Legends of the Dark, and KeyForge.

More announcements are expected as Aconyte’s range of world-expanding fiction expands further.

TOMY named master toy partner for Netflix’s popular pre-school series BUDDI

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TOMY International has been named the master toy partner for the popular Netflix pre-school series, BUDDI. The launch will arrive courtesy of a partnership between the toy maker and Unanico and Raydar Media.

BUDDI is an animated series aimed at kids aged four years old and under that looks to deliver emotional intelligence through the lens of imagination and non-verbal cues. It follows the adventures of five friends, each bright and colourful, as they experience the simplest moments of life for the first time.

Currently with two seasons available on Netflix, more seasons are planned as the show opens to other linear, SVOD and AVOD platforms around the world. Furthermore, BUDDI was nominated for a 2020 Annie Award in the TV/Media Preschool category for the “Snow” episode.

“We’re thrilled to be working on this new opportunity with Unanico and Raydar Media,” said TOMY’s director of global brands, Morgan Weyl.

“BUDDI meets the trends that are impacting the toy market right now, from education, music, zen-sational themes, and socially conscious play. With the highly recognizable characters that have captured audiences around the world, these unique and thoughtfully designed characters will stand out on shelf.”

The core values of BUDDI fit right in line with TOMY’s portfolio of brands. TOMY has a longstanding history of creating toys that are focused on toddler development through play, which include both the Lamaze and Toomies lines.

Building a world of toys with unique character identities that also promote sensory discovery, emotional intelligence, along with being fun, playable and developmentally appropriate, is a hallmark for the company.

For BUDDI, TOMY will introduce a line of innovative toys for toddlers focused on bringing the unique DNA of the brand, along with the emotional and developmental aspects of BUDDI’s characters to markets around the world.

Paul Laikin, Unanico’s managing director and producer of Buddi said: “We are delighted to be working with the team at Tomy, a company that really understands the values of Buddi, and has the deep creative and commercial experience necessary to bring toys to Buddi’s young fans around the world.”

Baby and parent product label Marcus & Marcus eyes licensing move into toys, fashion, kitchen and more

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The baby and parent product label, Marcus & Marcus is taking its first steps into the licensing space, having appointed LMG to help build brand awareness through a programme of new licensing partnerships.

Developed by two parents, Marcus & Marcus is recognised for its bold, bright and engaging animal friends designed to kep children engaged.  The brand strives to help families take on the challenges of parenting and simplify the everyday chaos.

Drawing from the brand’s ethos and commitment to safety, quality, and sustainability, LMG seeks licensee partners in lifestyle categories such as Children’s Fashion, Toys and STEM Toys, Bags and Luggage, Bedding, Toddler & Infant Products, and Home and Kitchen.

“We’re honored to add the Marcus & Marcus brand to our client roster and look forward to developing products and promotions that support young families and walk them through the ups and downs of parenting,” said Andrew Kwan, EVP LMG, Maxx Group.

“The adorable Marcus & Marcus animal friends inspire fun, fresh and unique designs. We will be guided by the needs and desires of modern parents in our approach, we’re looking for licensees that embrace the core brand principles of safety, innovation and sustainability,” said Eric Tong, senior licensing manager LMG, Maxx Group.

The three-year partnership between Marcus & Marcus and LMG will commence Spring 2021. LMG are currently seeking licensee partners in Children’s Fashion, Toys and STEM Toys, Bags & Luggage, Bedding, Toddler & Infant Products and Home & Kitchen.

Bimber Distillery partners with Transport for London to launch The Spirit of the Underground collection

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London’s award-winning Bimber Distillery has launched its “The Spirit of the Underground” collection of single malt whiskies, each featuring a different station on the London Underground network. The partnership between the distillery and Transport for London was brokered by the brand’s global licensing agency, TSBA Group.

The launch range showcases four well-known Tube stations: Waterloo, Baker Street, King’s Cross St Pancra, and Oxford Circus, with each bottle featuring stylish iconography presenting a unique piece of London’s history. Each comes adorned with an eye-catching label and packaging design that observes the significance of each station’s location.

The four initial releases of the collection have been selected from the distillery’s finest ex-bourbon casks and are offered at full cask strength and without chill filtration. Each reveals a highly individual, but perfectly balanced merger of aroma and flavour that reflects the passion and craft of Bimber.

The cask selected for the Baker Street expression was chosen by the members of the 2020 Bimber Klub Tasting Panel – the distillery’s rapidly growing membership community.

 Speaking of the launch, Bimber spokesperson Matt McKay said: “We’re delighted to unveil this exciting new partnership and the first expressions of The Spirit of the Underground Collection. As we approach the fifth anniversary of our spirit, this collaboration with Transport for London celebrates both one of the great engineering projects of the past 200 years and the ongoing development of our spirit. Bimber is very much a product of London and we’re thrilled to showcase our single malt whisky in this most incredible way.”

With 270 stations on the network to select from, The Spirit of the Underground Collection is intended to grow alongside Bimber. New expressions will be added in batches (four single casks at a time) populating each of the Underground’s 11 lines and reflecting the vibrancy and multiplicity of the stations and locations throughout the capital city.

Julie Dixon, head of customer information design and partnerships at Transport for London, said: “This imaginative collaboration really shows off the visual splendour of our historic and instantly recognisable Underground network. It’s been great to work with a London-based distillery to create this collection and we hope fans of whisky will enjoy this collection as it grows.”

Release one of The Spirit of the Underground Collection will be available later this month with an RRP of £125 per bottle. Release two, which will feature four more iconic London Underground stations, is scheduled to be unveiled over the coming months.

All the expressions in The Spirit of the Underground Collection were crafted to Bimber’s exacting standards. The spirit was produced from the distillery’s single farm barley and malted on a dedicated floor at Warminster Maltings before being fermented for seven days in bespoke, on-site constructed American oak washbacks.

Distillation took place in Bimber’s customised stills which possess an increased copper surface area, which results in a rich fruit-forward, layered spirit. 

Katy Perry releases new single featuring Pikachu as part of ongoing Pokémon 25th celebrations

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Pokémon’s 25th anniversary celebration continue with as the recording artist, Katy Perry releases her new single and video, Electric, starring non other than the franchise’s best-loved character, Pikachu.

Perry created the track especially for Pokémon 25: The Album, which will be released this autumn by Universal Music Group’s Capital Records. Katy’s collaborators on the song include The Monsters & Strangerz and Jon Bellion – who teamed up with her on “Daisies,” a song from her new album, SMILE – and Bruce Wiegner.

 

The official video for “Electric” received a YouTube Premiere with a fan watch party earlier this week. The clip follows Katy and Pikachu as they take time out to enjoy nature and reflect on how they have evolved over the years. After a day of exploring, the pair stop at a lighthouse to meditate. Falling into a reverie, they’re taken back in time to the earliest days of Katy’s career.

Thanks to encouragement from her friend Pichu, Katy goes from busking at a farmer’s market to her first club performance.

“When I visited the Pokémon Café while touring Japan, I got so nostalgic. It took me back to my junior high years. So when I got the call to be a part of the 25th anniversary celebration alongside Post Malone and J Balvin, I was elated,” said Katy Perry.

“The song’s themes – resilience, igniting your inner light – have guided my life and also parallel Pokémon’s story and characters. Pikachu is the evolved form of Pichu, so in the video, you see the younger version of me with Pichu and myself in the present day with Pikachu. We both evolve, yet retain a sense of playfulness.”

Colin Palmer, vice president or marketing, The Pokémon Company International, said: “Katy Perry has created a vibrant anthem to help us celebrate 25 years of Pokémon with ‘Electric,’ an amazing song about recognizing one’s own journeys and evolving. We also hope fans around the world enjoy seeing Pikachu team up with Katy in the music video for ‘Electric,’ which is a wonderful visual accompaniment to the inspirational song.”

A playful Electric-themed merchandise collection was also unveiled this week.

It’s all part of P25 Music, a yearlong music campaign from The Pokémon Company International in partnership with Universal Music Group. Fans can keep up with the latest news for P25 Music and more celebrations across the franchise on Pokémon’s 25th anniversary website at Pokemon.com/25.

Sesame Street’s Big Bird, Cookie Monster and Elmo partner with watchmaker Bamford London

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Bulldog Licensing has inked a new deal with the luxury watch manufacturer, Bamford London, to create three limited edition pieces based on the popular Sesame Street characters, Big Bird, Elmo, and Cookie Monster.

Making up part of the Bamford London range, the company will sell just 20 pieces of the Big Bird design and 50 pieces each of the Elmo and Cookie Monster designs. The Bamford London dual time GMT features Big Bird, The Bamford London Mayfair Date shows Cookie Monster and the Bamford London Mayfair Sport features Elmo.

On the face of the Bamford London dual time GMT, Big Bird moves his feathered arms around the dial as the hour and minute hands. Many of the hour markers have been replaced by feathers, while the features of the original version of the watch all remain.

Cookie Monster’s arms as the hour and minute hand on the Bamford x Sesame Street Cookie Monster Mayfair Date, move around the dial pointing to cookies (some already nibbled) as the hour markers. Following the success of the first Mayfair, the new version features the Swiss Ronda 715 Date Quartz Movement. 

Finally, Elmo’s design will see the character surrounded by musical notes in place of hour markers on the Bamford x Sesame Street Elmo Mayfair Sport. The Sesame Street logo features on the dial and a white ring has been added to match the white minute markers. The watch features a Miyota Quartz Calibre 2035 movement and 10ATM water resistance. 

George Bamford, founder of Bamford London, said: “Who doesn’t love Sesame Street? The brand has reached far and wide, and we are so happy to partner with Sesame Street and have these iconic characters on the dial of our watches. There is nostalgia and a splash of colour which can brighten up your day when you look down at your wrist.”

Rob Corney, MD of Bulldog Licensing, added: “We’re delighted to be working with Bamford London on this amazing collection of watches. Their reputation for great design and a high-quality product is a perfect fit with one of the world’s favourite entertainment brands.”

ARTiSTORY taps Marcrom Licensing as sales agent for Iberian market

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ARTiSTORY has appointed Marcrom Licensing as its sales agent for the Iberian market, a move that sees the art and culture licensing specialist position itself for further growth across Europe and beyond.

Under the deal, Marcrom will focus on securing retail and brand partners to feature designs from ARTiSTORY’s biannually refreshed creative themes across its growing portfolio of art and cultural IP.

Recognising that appealing designs are key to the success of any product, ARTiSTORY’s dedicated creative team works to identify themes and research appropriate artefacts from its mainstream museum partners, before developing design assets such as prints and patterns.

Founded in 2015, and based in Barcelona, Marcrom is headed up by Ivan Marco.  The company represents a selection of corporate, entertainment and lifestyle brands such as fashion brand Munich or the television series Peaky Blinders.

“Home to several global retailers the Iberian is a key market for ARTiSTORY and our clients. We believe local expertise is very important when building a global business which is why we’ve chosen to work with Marcrom,” said Natasha Dyson, co-founder and licensing director, ARTiSTORY.

“Ivan instantly understood our business model and his wealth of experience, connections and ideas really impressed us.  We welcome this new partnership together to bring art and cultural IP to the Iberian market.”

Ivan Marco, ceo of Marcrom, added: “It is a pleasure to be part of the ARTiSTORY team. From the first time I discussed this project with Natasha I fell in love with the idea of working with art and cultural IP. Art has always been part of our lives and thanks to the partnership between ARTiSTORY and Marcrom we will now be able to bring art even closer to people through various product categories such as home, apparel and accessories and gift, among other.”

Pocket.watch and Ryan’s World steps into new partnership with footwear brand Skechers

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Ryan’s World is making its foray into the footwear market thanks to a new partnership between Pocket.watch and Sunlight Entertainment that will see the kids’ franchise step into a new Skechers deal.

Co-branded Sketchers x Ryan’s World, the new collection is a collaborative effort between Ryan and the Skechers Kids design team and will launch in the United States this July. It will mark the first time that a major shoe brand has partnered with a kid influencer brand.

“At pocket.watch, our mission is to bring kids more of what they love,” said Kerry Tucker, chief marketing officer, pocket.watch. “This first of its kind collaboration between Ryan’s World and Skechers introduces footwear to the Ryan’s World franchise and gives kids the incredible opportunity to wear two of their favorite brands at once. Our collaboration with Skechers further demonstrates the massive appeal of the Ryan’s World brand, and its evolution from YouTube channel to pop culture phenomenon.”

Jeremy Saul, managing director of global licensing and strategic partnerships for Skechers, added: “Skechers has a long history of creating footwear that kids love to wear, and we believe our Skechers x Ryan’s World collection will resonate with Ryan’s fan base. Ryan is creative, fun, energetic – everything Skechers is for kids – it’s a perfect fit.”

“I’m excited to share these shoes with my fans,” said nine-year-old Ryan Kaji, who collaborated with Skechers on the collection. “It was fun to design the sneakers, and I can’t wait to show them off soon.”

Since its 2015 launch, Ryan’s World has grown to become one of the world’s largest and most successful kids’ franchises. The YouTube channels feature fun and easy science experiments, educational content, animated adventures, imaginative toy play, and videos that document daily life for the family of five, which includes Ryan’s younger twin sisters.

Ryan’s World also includes content distributed via streaming platforms, mobile and console games, Roblox and more. Ryan’s World consumer products span every category and are sold all over the world. Ryan’s World even has a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Kids’ audio platform Yoto raises $17m funding to fuel European and North American growth

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The kids’ audio platform, Yoto – the London-based team behind the award-winning Yoto Player – has raised $17 million in a Series A funding to help facilitate its rapid growth across Europe and North America.

The investment was led by Acton Capital with participation from JamJar Investments, Global Founders Capital, Emerge Education, as well as MPL Ventures.

Controlled using physical cards to play children’s audio content, Yoto Player has been developed to give children full control over their listening with access to entertaining audio – spanning stories and music – designed to encourage learning and imaginative play.

Since launching the new Yoto Player in early 2020, the firm has experienced explosive growth, securing partnerships and content deals with trusted household names such as LEGO and Disney as well as licenses with Penguin Random House, Sony Music, HarperCollins, Hachette, Macmillan and more.

Yoto’s extensive and expanding content library features some of the world’s greatest children’s content including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Gruffalo, The Snowman, and Planet Omar with LEGO Duplo, Frozen, Finding Nemo and many more household names to be released in the coming months.

“In times where kids are growing-up on screens, one of the most important skills they need is to be able to use technology consciously and with balance. Yoto’s proprietary audio platform puts children in full control of how and when they consume audio content,” said Fritz Oidtmann, managing partner at Acton Capital.

“What further convinced us to invest was Yoto’s unique approach to combining native content with carefully curated partnerships. We are very happy to support the team’s vision to make Yoto’s high-quality, kid-centered content available worldwide.”

Richard Reed, JamJar Investments and Innocent Drinks co-founder, said: “As a dad of three, I know from first-hand experience what a lifesaver Yoto is – it fires up your kids’ imagination and creativity, so they play independently and safely.

“As an investor, Yoto is everything you could be looking for – a new entertainment format for kids that has limitless potential, loved by its buyers and adored by its users, led by a whip smart, mission-focused team.”

In an effort to offer audio that will inspire the next generation of independent creative minds, Yoto is also investing in content that promotes mindfulness, meditation and sleep. Recently, Yoto launched a series of sleep content cards with Lifescore & Abbey Road Studios.

Leading the industry in audio that inspires children to take creative play into their own hands, Yoto also offers music, audio-based activities, podcasts, radio and sound effects.

In addition, the Yoto Player has a ‘Make Your Own’ function enabling users to link to their favourite radio stations or podcasts and record their very own stories.

“We designed Yoto around our own kids and we’ve seen how amazing it is to give kids control of their own listening. I’ve seen how this really does help with creativity and imagination compared to screen-time and the research backs that up,” said Ben Drury, CEO and co-founder of Yoto.

“I’m thrilled with how far we’ve come and the amount of families we’re getting amazing feedback from, and this new investment from some of the best funds in the UK and Europe that share our vision allows us to continue to fuel the curiosity of this generation of young learners through audio.”