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Hasbro presents: The Light Fund Channel Relay – the film

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The two teams taking on The Light Fund English Channel Relay fundraiser are now to star in a short film – which will be unveiled during the 2022 Licensing Awards, The Great Room at The Grosvenor House Hotel, London, on Tuesday 13 September 2022. The film will be sponsored by Hasbro.

The action-packed short film will include highlights of both the arduous training process and then the gruelling swim itself before rounding off with a triumphant landing for the teams in France and a thank-you to all the sponsors, including, of course, Hasbro. The global play and entertainment company, which delivers immersive brand experiences for global audiences through consumer products, including toys and games, entertainment and gaming, is the sponsor of the film, funding the entire production process from staffing to filming to editing, and adding a generous donation to the Channel Relay effort.

The film will be made by Albus Studios, a company founded in 2014 that specialises in film, photography and art, delivering exciting and effective content for B2B and B2C clients. The award-winning Albus team has worked with top brands across automotive, lifestyle and tourism, technology and current affairs, so is ideally suited to the requirements of a film that focuses on licensing – albeit a very unusual area of the licensing business.

It’s going to be quite a film too, in which two teams – a total of 14 people – endure prolonged physical exertion and try to avoid potential hazards, including hypothermia, seasickness, boats, sewage and oil, in sea temperatures of 16C or lower (without a wetsuit) while trying to race each other to the shores of France.

The big swim is scheduled to start between the 30th of June and the 3rd of July around 2am on a day when conditions for the swim are optimal.

Hasbro’s generous donation has taken the money raised and pledged even closer to the Light Fund target of £250,000 – which will be a record for any single Light Fund challenge. But there’s a lot more money to be raised and there are still many opportunities to sponsor a brave and slightly offbeat fundraising effort as well, of course, as being name-checked in the film at the 2022 Licensing Awards.

You can find out more about corporate sponsorship options here. And of course, individuals are very welcome to donate via the event’s Just Giving page, where you can also follow the teams preparing for the big day. There’s also an Instagram feed and a Facebook page containing team photos and updates.

Sally Carnota, Director Category Licensing at Hasbro, says: “This film will be a record of an inspirational and very brave fundraising effort. It will also be a big thank-you to all the participants and supporters involved in The Light Fund English Channel Relay fundraiser. We are enormously honoured to be sponsoring the official record of this memorable effort.”

Team captain Stephen Gould says: “The toughest Light Fund Challenge yet is nearly with us and, thanks to Hasbro and Albus Studios, our efforts will be professionally recorded for what we hope will be a triumphant record of a successful swim. Our thanks to all our sponsors and donors to date. Don’t forget: there are still many opportunities to support The Light Fund English Channel Relay fundraiser.”

About the Light Fund

The Light (Licensing Industry Giving Help Together) Fund was born when a group of like-minded people from the UK licensing industry came up with the idea to form a committee to help those less fortunate than themselves. The Light Fund is a registered charity, which raises monies to fund worthwhile charity projects that help children, women and men. Since its inception, back in 2004, The Light Fund has raised over £1.7 million and funded hundreds of different charity projects.

https://www.lightfund.org

 

TGI Fridays adds new products to Tesco range

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TGI Fridays, the iconic American Bar & Grill, has continued its collaboration with SV Cuisine to launch the new restaurant-inspired BBQ Beef Brisket and Buffalo Chicken Wings, in a partnership brokered by TGI Fridays’ global licensing agent, Beanstalk.

Alongside the launch of these new dishes, the TGI Smoked Pork Ribs with BBQ Sauce has been extended to additional Tesco stores.

“Building on the success in Tesco of our TGI Smoked Pork Ribs with BBQ Sauce, we have successfully widened the offer of TGI products to Tesco shoppers,” says James Conway, Head of Sales at SV Cuisine. “Supported by in-store and online promotional activity, the TGI Fridays brand is set to reach additional shoppers and new levels of sales.”

“We’re excited to see this range in the UK’s biggest supermarket continue to grow, through our partnership with TGI Fridays and SV Cuisine,” says Louise French, Senior Vice President at Beanstalk. “With the addition of these new dishes and the roll-out of the range across even more Tesco stores, TGI Fridays continues to offer consumers even more ways to recreate the TGI Fridays experience at home, for the whole family to enjoy!”

The TGI Fridays BBQ Beef Brisket and Buffalo Chicken Wings are available in Tesco stores and online now.

Popeye teams up with mey for sustainable menswear capsule collection

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mey, a leading European brand of high-quality bodywear for women and men, has announced its newest capsule collection, featuring King Features’ iconic character, Popeye. The menswear collection, which recently launched online, in mey stores and at selected retail partners, includes a range of daywear and nightwear that incorporates Popeye’s trademark nautical style.

Inspired by the spinach-eating sailorman, the collection includes 12 different styles of t-shirts, nightwear, swimsuits and underwear featuring Popeye-themed designs and colours. The collection is made of sustainable organic cotton with a comfortable elastane component while the styles, except the swimsuit, are also Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)-certified and have the Grüner Knopf state-regulated textile label.

“A fashion icon, Popeye is also known around the world for his nautical style, ocean conservation advocacy and alignment with eco-friendly partners,” says Carla Silva, VP/GM, global head of licensing, King Features. “We are thrilled to collaborate with mey on this new collection that captures his whimsical personality and provides fans with high-quality apparel that is sustainably sourced.”

The mey x Popeye capsule collection is currently available in approximately 450 stores across Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Benelux and online at www.mey.com. The collection ranges from €29.95- 79.95.

 

Pocket.watch adds 13 new creators to its roster of global digital stars

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Pocket.watch, the leading kids and family studio creating global franchises for Generation Alpha, has announced the addition of 13 new creators to its roster of global superstars. The move significantly expands the company’s audience, content library, and original content slate with the world’s biggest kids and family digital stars.

The new creators bring further diversity, broader age ranges and new formats to pocket.watch, which already boasts content and original intellectual property from powerhouse creators like Ryan’s World, Toys and Colors, Onyx Family, Kids Diana Show and LankyBox, the current No. 1 gaming channel on all of YouTube.

In 2021, pocket.watch content was watched for over 4 billion hours across the company’s 44 global distribution partners including AVOD, SVOD and linear platforms in over 129 countries. By integrating these new creators into their unique content distribution offering, pocket.watch is positioned for significant growth in 2022 and beyond. These additions bring the company’s library to over 70,000 videos, cumulating to more than 15,000 hours of content available to streaming platforms for distribution. The company continues to innovate the way it packages content to include new formats beyond its breakthrough MishMash format which transforms short-form videos into twenty-two minute episodes capable of being distributed on all types of premium platforms globally.

Pocket.watch is also developing original content inspired by many of its new partners, opening up the opportunity for these creators to participate in entirely new franchises that grow way beyond YouTube – following in the footsteps of other pocket.watch originals like the Emmy-nominated Ryan’s Mystery Playdate and the animated series Onyx Monster Mysteries and Love, Diana Adventures.

“The pocket.watch library of kids and family content is unlike any other in the industry,” says Chris M. Williams, Founder and CEO, pocket.watch. “Our unique approach to packaging content, as well as our skills in developing original content with the biggest digital stars and creators in the world allows us to supply all types of streaming platforms with proven content and IP that attracts and engages massive audiences everywhere it goes, while providing our creator partners with new opportunities to monetize content beyond YouTube.”

New pocket.watch creators represent a broad range of quality kids and family content genres including gaming, art instruction, preschool animation, edutainment and sketch comedy. They are listed below alongside the number of total views for their channel(s) on YouTube in the month of April 2022.

  • Vania Mania Kids: 222 million
    • Vania Mania Kids stars 5 siblings: Vania, Mania, Stefy, Dasha and Alex! Kids and families around the world join in on their adventures in pretend play through laughter, singing and learning.
  • Hudson’s Playground: 99 million
    • From tractors to bulldozers to balers, Hudson’s Playground has a whole stable of super cool farming equipment that ignites kids’ curiosity about technology, farming, and the great outdoors.
  • Mackenzie Turner: 68.8 million
    • 22-year old Mackenzie Turner loves spreading happiness around the world through gaming and vlog content. Best known for her fun and lively personality, fans love tuning in to watch Mackenzie play their favorite Roblox games!
  • Art for Kids Hub: 40 million
    • Art for Kids Hub is on a mission to teach their fans to learn how to draw! Rob and his family teach a new art lesson every Monday through Friday on their channel.
  • ShanePlays: 19 million
    • Since 2017, fans around the world can’t get enough of ShanePlays’ wild reality-based Roblox movies and machinima.
  • Kamdenboy & Kyraboo: 13.8 million
    • Kamdenboy & Kyraboo are a dynamic sibling duo that uses imagination to conquer the world through learning and play! With some help from mom and dad, Kamdenboy and Kyraboo find fun in challenges, skits, pretend play, and more.
  • Scratch Garden: 13.1 million
    • Scratch Garden creates fun, educational animated content for kids, educators, students, and anyone else that likes laughing and learning at the same time!
  • The Stella Show: 12 million
    • Stella is an effervescent 7-year-old, who creates hilariously entertaining skits and challenges with older brother, Jameson, and her parents, Erika and James.
  • Denis: 7.3 million
    • Denis is an uber-popular gaming creator best known for entertaining audiences through Roblox content that highlights Denis’ friendly and easygoing personality.
  • Koala & Giraffe: 6 million
    • Kids love tuning in to Koala & Giraffe’s “Mini Musicals” that keep audiences laughing while teaching important lessons with humorous nursery rhymes.
  • Kaven Adventures: 5.7 million
    • Kids love joining 6-year old Kaven on epic adventures in-game and in real life! Kaven and his Dad play the hottest kid-friendly games, from trending apps to the ever-popular Roblox.
  • GEM Sisters: 5.6 million
    • GEM stands for Gaming with Evangeline and Mercedes! Fans tune in to watch them play kid favorite games including Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft.
  • Doods: 3.3 million
    • Doods’ clever 3D animations take regular household items and bring them to life by showcasing their unique perspectives in humorous everyday situations.

For more information about the pocket.watch roster of franchises and creators and its premium slate of content, visit pocket.watch.

Winners of Licensing Expo’s License This! competition announced

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Licensing Expo, the world’s largest trade show connecting the $292 billion global licensing industry, hosted the live finale of the License This! competition yesterday where select illustrators, designers, and animators had the opportunity to pitch their concepts in front of a panel of expert judges. Catoms: Atoms with Attitude, designed by Kieche Meleson O’Connell, was selected as the winner of the Character & Animation category, and Stef “Sharky” Shultz won the Brand & Design category with Hunnie Bumble and Friends.

The two winners of the competition, sponsored by Flowhaven, presented alongside four other fellow finalists to an audience of Licensing Expo registered guests and world-renowned experts in the licensing industry. Each winner takes home a highly regarded grand prize package including:

  • Free-of-charge 100 square foot booth at Licensing Expo 2023 worth $2,500
  • One-year Licensing International membership worth $1,000 for a small business
  • One-year Products of Change membership, worth up to $450 for a small business
  • One-to-one consultation with License This! judges

Details of the winning projects are as follows:

Character & Animation

  • Catoms: Atoms with Attitude – Kieche Meleson O’Connell
    “I took the periodic table and made each element into a cat that represents its unique scientific qualities in the form of coat patterns, superpowers, and personalities,” says Kieche. “The Catoms universe offers fun stories where the characters take you through the mysterious and often invisible world of chemistry but from the Catom’s point of view. Catoms are essentially edutainment. The characters and stories are engaging but based on scientific fact, so they are indirectly teaching real science.”

Brand & Design

  • Hunnie Bumble and Friends – Stef “Sharky” Schultz
    “Hunnie Bumble is a whimsical queen bee who lives in a colourful world comfortably far from our own reality – along with her husband “Hubbie Bumble” and all of their friends,” says Stef. “Buzzing with adorable antics, absurdly zany humour, and with new friends being introduced all the time, Hunnie Bumble and Friends will always keep it cute, adventurous and zany on the countless adventures to be had – from cooking and hide-and-go-seek, all the way to skydiving, rock climbing, spelunking… and whatever else they feel like in the next five minutes!”

“Congratulations to our winners,” said Anna Knight, SVP of the Global Licensing Group, organisers of Licensing Expo. “It’s new creators and out-of-the-box thinkers like Kieche and Stef that keep our dynamic industry fresh and imaginative. Each of the finalists brought amazing ideas to the table and will be the next IPs to watch over the coming years.”

The judging panel consisted of nine senior executives representing industry-leading brands: License Global magazine, Flowhaven, Licensing International, Global Licensing Advisors, Boat Rocker Studio, PowerStation Studios, Redbubble, Lisa Mark Associates, and Product Counsel. Following each on-stage presentation, judges asked questions and shared actionable feedback to help the designers, animators, and creators hone their designs and ideas as they bring products to market. Feedback spanned how to pin down their core audience to working with retailers.

“I am speechless,” said Kieche Meleson O’Connell of her win. “I was not expecting it, to be honest; I am a chemist by trade and have been trying to switch into this creative world. When I first came to Licensing Expo, even though I was super excited, I did feel like a fish out of water, so it’s nice to see that people recognise Catoms: Atoms with Attitude as a good project.”

“I’m so incredibly honoured to win – it was a pleasure and such a great opportunity,” said Stef “Sharky” Schultz. “I’m very thankful and want to use this brand to bring change to the world. There’s a niche that Hunnie Bunnie and Friends supports, bringing awareness to how we recycle and that there is such a division in care. I want everyone to have access to good things; I want people to have opportunities to have access to and afford sustainable things and drive up the demand for sustainable recycled materials. Hunnie Bunnie and Friends is this catalyst!”

Other finalists in the License This! competition who presented on-stage at Licensing Expo include:

Character & Animation

  • I want to be a baller-ina – Finalist Cherie Mays
  • Sunny The Apathetic Bunny – Finalist Claire Schechinger

Brand & Design

  • Game Toy – Finalist Alexandre Silva
  • Monsters & Martians – Finalist Ken Reil

 

Grow with Peter Rabbit initiative continues during National Children’s Gardening Week

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To mark 120 years since the publication of Beatrix Potter’s much-loved children’s classic, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Penguin Random House Children’s has launched Grow With Peter Rabbit in partnership with non-profit garden designers Grow2Know.  This initiative will green-up community spaces across the UK and continue Beatrix Potter’s legacy of conservation.

During National Children’s Gardening week (28 May – 5 June), the initiative will focus on encouraging children to Grow With Peter Rabbit through a series of digital tutorials, school resources and free workshops.

Dobbies are the official garden centre partner for The World of Peter Rabbit this year and will be hosting free Grow With Peter Rabbit workshops in 65 stores across the UK on Sunday 5 June. The workshops will provide a playful introduction to gardening, including making Peter Rabbit ears, exploring a vegetable patch and a demonstration of how to re-grow vegetables with an activity devised by Grow2Know.

The Grow2Know show garden was unveiled to critical acclaim at RHS Chelsea Flower Show this week, while Dobbies scooped three awards for sustainability, innovation and their stand design.

Tayshan Hayden-Smith (pictured above), founder of Grow2Know, has devised four How-To videos to teach children and families simple gardening activities to try at home. These four videos are inspired by The World of Peter Rabbit and will be available online via the Peter Rabbit website from today, 27 May.

During National Children’s Gardening Week, influencers JB Gill – TV presenter and farmer – and Jake and Hannah Graf MBE – one of the UK’s most influential LBGTQ couples – will take part in the #GrowWithPeterRabbit challenge on their social media channels to demonstrate how easy and fun it is to grow your own vegetables at home using simple, upcycled objects and a packet of seeds.

Penguin Ventures licensees have been lending their support to the campaign, including Jardinopia, Enesco and Rainbow Designs, who have offered products and prizes to the campaign. Penguin Random House Children’s have also provided copies of the new picture book format of The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Dobbies will be stocking a range of Peter Rabbit books and merchandise this year as part of the official partnership with The World of Peter Rabbit.

Izzy Richardson, Director Owned Brands at Penguin Random House, says: “Our intention with Grow with Peter Rabbit is to bring the joy and benefits of nature to young children and families in communities across the country. Our partnerships with Grow2Know, Dobbies and our licensees help us to reach and engage with a wider family demographic, whilst at the same time, help us to leverage our IP to continue to affect positive change and drive social impact.”

Sarah Murray, Partnership and Events Manager at Dobbies Garden Centres, adds: “Dobbies is thrilled to be supporting the Grow With Peter Rabbit campaign. Our Little Seedlings Club brings the benefits of gardening to young people within our local communities and we’ve had a great response to the Peter Rabbit partnership. We can’t wait to bring the World of Peter Rabbit and the joy of gardening to families during National Children’s Gardening Week.”

Grow With Peter Rabbit launches today, Friday 27 May, with new How-To videos uploaded to the Peter Rabbit website throughout National Children’s Gardening Week; visit https://www.peterrabbit.com/grow-with-peter-rabbit/.

Dobbies’ Grow with Peter Workshops take place on Sunday 5 June and can be booked for free across stores nationwide here.

Revolution Beauty launches global Love Island cosmetics collection

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ITV Studios’ smash hit dating format Love Island and Revolution Beauty, the British-based cosmetics and skincare brand, have launched an exclusive makeup collection. The collection will be on sale as of today (May 27th 2022) globally at RevolutionBeauty.com, and will also be available at retailers, with an exclusive deal at Walgreens stores in the USA and Boots in the UK.  

The Makeup Revolution x Love Island collection consists of a range of makeup products, all inspired by the various summers of love in the Love Island Villa, which will enable Love Island fans all over the world to recreate the looks of the Islanders.

Adam Minto, CEO and Founder of Revolution Beauty, says: “With Love Island quickly becoming a global sensation, we are thrilled to bring summers in the Villa to life through this limited-edition makeup collection.”

Lucie Stoffers, Head of Brand Licensing ITV Studios, Global Entertainment, adds: “We are super excited to partner up with Revolution Beauty and are thrilled that Love Island fans all over the world will be able to recreate the looks of the Islanders. Revolution Beauty and Love Island are both beloved brands that fit perfectly together!”

Love Island has become a reality television phenomenon with the show dominating social media and drawing in audiences from across the globe. Full of drama, romance, flirting and fun, the series sees its occupants living in a stunning villa in a beautiful location. They are on the lookout for romance but as always, the road to love never runs smoothly, as they must not only choose their partner wisely but also win the hearts of the public. It’s up to the viewers to decide who they want to stay in the show as they watch the relationships develop and ultimately which pair they want to crown the hottest couple on the island.

Love Island is owned by ITV Studios and Motion Content Group Ltd and is distributed internationally by ITV Studios. The hit show has been commissioned in 21 territories ranging from the UK, USA to Italy and Germany and many more.

Immersive Everywhere announces expansion and new hires

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The directors of Immersive Everywhere have announced expansion with three new hires: Rich Major joins in July as Group Sales & Marketing Director, Neil Connolly has taken up the post of Creative Director, and Tom Roe has come on board as Head of Global Licensing.

Immersive Everywhere works with world-famous titles to create live theatrical experiences, and also operates the UK’s first dedicated immersive theatre venue, IMMERSIVE|LDN in Mayfair, London, where the UK’s longest running immersive show, The Great Gatsby, is currently playing.

The partnership between Olivier Award-winning theatre producers Louis Hartshorn and Brian Hook (Hartshorn – Hook Enterprises) and Showtime Theatre Productions’ Mark Hurry, Elliot Hargreaves and Mark Hargreaves, opened its inaugural production, Doctor Who: Time Fracture, in Spring 2021, and will be opening Peaky Blinders: The Rise in July 2022. Future projects include the return of Olivier Award-nominated The Choir of Man, the US launch of The Great Gatsby and immersive events featuring major global IP, details of which will be announced later this year.

Rich Major is a technically and commercially minded live entertainment specialist with over 20 years’ experience gained within producers’ offices, venues, marketing agencies and ticket companies. After launching ticketing technology company Ingresso, most recently he has led the build of the theatre and visitor attractions business at See Tickets, while also focusing on growing and developing an industry leading groups, education, travel trade and affiliate programme.

Neil Connolly is a creative leader of design and production teams focused on development, production and installation of live theatre, entertainment, multi-media and attractions for the themed entertainment industry worldwide. In a distinguished career spanning 18 years, Neil has brought passion to every facet of themed entertainment in the creative direction, development and production of attractions such as The Crystal Maze LIVE Experience, Tomb Raider The Live Experience & Chaos Karts, an AR GoKart real-life battle.

Neil is currently working with Immersive Everywhere on creative development of show and attraction content for projects across the U.K, Europe, North America and Asia.

Tom Roe is a brand licensing professional with over 20 years of experience in the sector. He has worked for leading media and licensing companies including ITV, IMG, CPLG and most recently DHX Media/Wildbrain, where he headed up the commercial licensing business on a global scale for five years.

Tom has a wealth of experience across all major brand areas, in particular Entertainment and Sports IP, and has operated as a brand owner, brand licensing agent, and now licensee. As well as bringing in new leading IP, Tom is also overseeing the licensing of Immersive Everywhere’s shows into new territories.

Rich Major says: “I’ve worked with the emerging immersive and location-based experience economy in my role at See Tickets and have been hugely inspired by the creativity, support, imagination and commercial drive on display in this fast-growing sector.

“Immersive Everywhere are leaders in the field, constantly innovating technically while delivering high-quality, engaging events with real heart and humour. They deliver an amazing experience for audiences regardless of how engaged they are in the immersive style. This isn’t purist work, it’s unashamedly and proudly populist. In my role at Immersive Everywhere, I’ll be devising and directing a global marketing and CRM programme and leading on sales and ticketing strategy, audience development and data insight across an international live portfolio of world class IP – I can’t wait to get started!”

“Our expansion is bringing some of the brightest minds in our industry together,” says Brian Hook, Chief Creative Officer of Immersive Everywhere. “Rich Major joins us from a prolific career at See Tickets, bringing expert commercial strategy, direction and heading up their formidable ticketing operation. Neil brings his unique brand of exceptional creative talent from Little Lion Entertainment (Crystal Maze, Tomb Raider, Khaos Karts), and Tom joins us from an exemplary career in licencing – this team will drive our ambition to be at the top table with some of the most exciting brands in the world and placing our current shows in new and exciting homes across the UK, and delivering our work to local partners in many territories. As the immersive sector expands, Immersive Everywhere will be at the forefront for many years to come.”

IMMERSIVE | LDN is a 32,000sq ft historic building in the heart of Mayfair, which was home to the Queen Victoria’s Rifles Association until 2017. It includes three floors of immersive theatre and event spaces designated for performance, live gaming, events, escape rooms and private parties. For information about programming and venue hire visit www.immersiveldn.com

ZAG partners with Emoji for global licensing programme

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Award-winning global independent animation studio ZAG has signed an exclusive agreement with Emoji Company to develop and launch a one-of-a-kind collaboration that will combine the strength of two power brands, Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir and emoji.  The announcement was made by Julian Zag, EVP Global Operations and Head of Consumer Products, ZAG, and Marco Hüsges, CEO and Founder, The Emoji Company.

This new agreement will see the magical superhero world of Miraculous and the energetic and optimistic characteristics of emoji combined to create an emoji x Miraculous brand collaboration that will offer new partners a dedicated, state-of-the-art brand style guide featuring unique emoji x Miraculous brand icons for licensing across categories such as apparel, accessories, footwear, electronics, figurines and collectibles, drinkware, fan merchandise, home goods, stationery, and more.

Since bursting onto the global stage in 2015, Miraculous has become one of the world’s favourite superhero shows, topping TV series ratings charts with leading global broadcasters, dominating across social media with over 30 billion views on YouTube, and hitting over US$1 billion in retail sales at the end of 2021.

“The emoji brand is globally known for its expressive consumer goods, events and entertainment services, and is one of the most versatile and used forms of communication and icons in the world,” says Julian Zag. “We are at the most exciting point in our Miraculous adventure to date, with a $100+ million animated feature premiering later this year, and season five rolling out this autumn following astounding season four ratings, and we look forward to creating a unique and exclusive brand collaboration for emoji and Miraculous fans the world over,”

“Miraculous, featuring the beloved Ladybug and Cat Noir, has become a worldwide phenomenon with its unique stories and strong values of friendship, empowerment, and courage,” says Marco Hüsges. “With emoji ’s global brand recognition across all age groups, we will work together with ZAG to bring this new collaboration to key licensed categories with an initial focus on apparel and giftables.” 

Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir is ranked by IMDB amongst the Top 10 Best Animated Shows in the last 20 years. Available in over 120 countries, season five of the series will debut this autumn, alongside the highly anticipated $US100M+ animated feature to be supported by several yet unannounced co-branded partnerships with some of the most influential companies across the globe across numerous consumer products categories.

With a massive fan base of young adult “Miraculers”, (ages 15-25), Miraculous has become a digital planetary craze with over 30 billion views on YouTube (authorised and user-generated content); over 180 million downloads of the official app; and over 300 million+ plays on Roblox. Over 280 million products have been sold to date, and retail sales have surpassed US$1B worldwide to date.

Miraculous is the winner of 27 awards, and was a finalist for Best Licensed Brand among perennial classics in the Licensing International Excellence Awards, 2022.

Jazwares makes Licensing Expo debut with Squishmallows

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Leading toy and licensing powerhouse Jazwares is at Licensing Expo Las Vegas until 26 May, showcasing its wildly successful Squishmallows plush brand. 

The monumental growth of Squishmallows, the #2 Toy Property and #1 Plush according to The NPD Group’s April 2022 report, has fuelled a raft of cross-category collaborations across beauty, games, apparel, home decor, and more, adding to the brand’s robust portfolio of best-in-class licensing partners.

Building on a phenomenal 2021, this year Squishmallows took the play industry’s top honour, the Toy Association’s coveted overall Toy of the Year award, while also hitting a 125 million plush sold milestone.

On social media, Squishmallows content has officially squished through the roof, generating nearly 6.5 billion video views on TikTok, and @squishmallows (and related hashtags) has been tagged in more than one million Instagram posts. Additionally, the Squishmallows social media channels have ballooned to more than 827,000 followers, and nearly 100 global and local Facebook groups have been created by fans.

In the Metaverse, the recently launched Squishmallows on Roblox game has ascended to the #1 Toy Game, as measured by concurrent players, with a massive 1.5M monthly active user base.

“As Squishmallows continues its evolution as a preeminent global lifestyle brand, we’re opening the door for big-sky opportunities setting the stage for meaningful fan-first product extensions,” says Judd Karofsky, Executive Vice President, Jazwares. “Demand for Squishmallows is skyrocketing so we’re more than ready for millions of people around the world to enjoy their favourite Squishmallows characters via a wide array of growing product categories and experiences.”

Recognising the brand’s vast global audience and multi-generational appeal, Jazwares created its premiere Squishmallows global licensing programme last autumn, supported by some of the biggest names in consumer and lifestyle products including Bioworld, BigMouth, BBC International, Franco Mfg., Fashion Angels Enterprises, Primary Colors, HarperCollins Publishers, and more.

Attendees of Licensing Expo are encouraged to experience the Squishmallows lifestyle at booth #0214 in the Bayside Exhibit Hall at Mandalay Bay. New licensee highlights include:

  • In the United States, Taste Beauty, a leading beauty brand for teens, tweens, and beyond, will make a unique line of lip, nail, cosmetic, and bath and body products inspired by the colorful world of Squishmallows.
  • Additionally, The Op I USAopoly, a leading developer and manufacturer of board games and puzzles, has been tapped to create a custom Squishmallows Monopoly game with an exclusive 4incharacter.
  • Kurt Adler will develop a line of Squishmallows ornaments and stockings, perfect for the holiday season.
  • In Europe, an expansive consumer products licensing programme will also be supporting Squishmallows with a wide array of cross-category support. Soon to be announced licensees are expected to include bath and beauty, swimwear and apparel, and bedding, as well as multiple products from world-class lifestyle brands.

Since Squishmallows debuted in 2017, each plush has featured its own lovable personality, and they have become known for their ultra-soft feel and whimsical design that have captivated fans of all ages, both online and in person. More than 1,000 Squishmallows ranging in size from 2in to 24in have gained the attention of bona fide Squishmallows fans in more than 40 countries. Such strong brand retention has resulted in multiple line extensions, including HugMees, Squish-Doos, Stackables, and Squishville.