NYX Professional Makeup announced this month that it was working with chef Gordon Ramsay and his daughter, beauty and lifestyle influencer Holly Ramsay, to create a cake recipe inspired by NYX’s new introduction, Buttermelt Blush. The exclusive recipe—which includes ingredients found in the beauty product, such as shea and almond butters, and results in a […]
Archive | Celebrity
Chefs Cook Up Kitchen and Table Collabs
The first half of 2024 has brought three significant chef-driven home-products collaborations focused on hard goods for cooking, dining, and entertaining: Earlier this month, British chef Jamie Oliver partnered with Lifetime Brands for a line of serveware and dinnerware called Big Love, taking its name from the chef’s sign-off phrase. The products skew toward family-style […]
A 4/20 Focus on Health and Wellness
The interest among licensed property owners in cannabis-industry collaborations has waned slightly as the challenges of succeeding in this complex market have become evident. But, as the industry and its consumers celebrated the unofficial 4/20 holiday this weekend, celebrity brands and other licensed IP with a logical connection to the category continue to partner regularly […]
Rappers Tee Up Golf Collaborations
In recent years, rappers and their fashion and lifestyle labels have become increasingly involved in licensing and collaboration deals yielding collections of golf-influenced apparel, accessories, and footwear. In fact, in some cases, the artists’ lifestyle brands themselves are golf-related. Some examples from the last 12 months illustrate the accelerating trend: Tyler, the Creator’s Golf Le […]
Influencers as Comic Creators
Earlier this week, YouTube storyteller MrBallen announced the details of his first graphic novel with Ten Speed Press, news of which first came out in May, becoming the latest in a flurry of influencers to enter the comic book and graphic novel category recently. Many of the YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch-based celebrities in this space […]
A Focus on Hearth and Home
Licensing has its cyclical ups and downs in every category, and it has been on a definite upswing over the past few years in the home goods sector. Recently, three high-profile celebrities have added their names to the list, each with extensive home goods programs or plans, with a focus on the kitchen. None has […]
The Skinny on Celebrities and Men’s Skincare
Last week it was announced that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was launching a skincare brand, adding his name to the fast-growing list of skincare lines tied to male actors, musicians, and other celebrities known for their accomplishments outside the beauty and wellness industry. The landscape is varied. Most of the celeb-connected lines, which range from […]
The Peak Celebrity Era
Taylor Swift has had an outsized influence on pop culture and commerce in 2023 and 2024, putting her mark on music sales, NFL ratings, sales of official and unofficial merchandise, and more. While Swift is an anomaly in the breadth and depth of her current dominance, her situation nevertheless makes an interesting case study on […]
Big-Name Content Creators Eye Toy Industry
The phenomenon of influencers expanding their brands into the toy industry in a big way goes back to the mid-2010s. There has been a burst of activity lately, with a range of personalities, including some very big names, jumping into the space: In January 2024, Moose Toys announced a new relationship with MrBeast (a.k.a. Jimmy […]
Hitting the Bullseye
Darts is an activity that has attracted growing interest over the past few years, both in participation and viewership. Increased demand for products such as signature and branded darts, dartboards, jerseys, and flights (the plastic or nylon stabilizers on the darts) has followed, with rights mostly granted to specialist licensees. The game of darts was […]