Over the last decade there has been a growing realization of how important sleep is, along with exercising and eating right, to overall health and wellness, not to mention performance in work, sports, and daily life. A diverse range of licensors and licensees are creating products meant to help address the need for more and […]
Archive | Design and content themes
Falling in Love with Romance Merchandise
IPs tied to romance books are expanding their footprint in the licensing business. Licensees and retailers, particularly bookstores, have been asking for merchandise to reach these books’ loyal and large fan bases. New partners for romance properties include a growing list of traditional licensing-business manufacturers and retailers, in addition to marketers of “bookish” merchandise. The […]
No Horsing Around With Equestrian Fashion
Much has been made about the long-running cowboycore or western fashion trend. But a parallel and related trend — equestrian-inspired fashion, which takes its cues from British riding sports like dressage and show jumping — has also been on the rise, hitting a high in fall 2025 and continuing into 2026, which happens to be […]
Spreading the Love for Butter-Themed Collabs
By Karen Raugust on March 12, 2026 in Design and content themes, Food/Beverage, Licensing, Lifestyle
Butter began catching on as a pop-culture phenomenon in the early 2020s, attracting significant mainstream notice in 2025 and remaining top of mind in early 2026. The trend manifests itself in many ways. Flavored butters (from truffle and miso to cinnamon-sugar), and butter boards for mixing and serving them, are everywhere online (hashtag #ButterTok). There […]
What’s in a Name?
Licensing executives are always looking to pair their properties or products with logical partners, in ways that are creative and new but also emphasize a commonality that provides a raison d’être for the collaboration. The shared characteristics might be common history, materials, interests, geography, or any number of other elements. One rationale that has popped […]
Highlighting the Rogues and Scoundrels
Property owners in the realms of entertainment, sports, and celebrity licensing, on the hunt for ways to put new spins on their properties, are increasingly launching collections focused on villainous characters, both fictional and real: Disney was the pioneer in this technique, launching its Disney Villains brand many years ago and regularly offering products under […]
New Spins On Ancient Artisanal Crafts
By Karen Raugust on March 24, 2025 in Cultural, Design and content themes, DIY/Maker, International, Licensing
The popularity of Japanese culture—anime and manga, kawaii characters, videogames, baseball players, and streetwear brands, to name a few examples—has been expanding globally for years. Lately, a growing number of collaborations involving these IPs, and western IPs as well, have started to integrate nods to traditional Japanese handcrafts and arts in their designs. Most of […]
Japandi Design: Wabi-Sabi Meets Hygge
By Karen Raugust on February 24, 2025 in Design and content themes, House and home, Licensing, Lifestyle
The concept of Japandi has been trending for at least a decade, mostly in the context of interior design focused on high-end homes and luxury hotels. The minimalist movement combines the Japanese practice of wabi-sabi, which is about slow living, simplicity, and contentment, with the complementary Scandinavian philosophy known by different names in each country but […]
Hot and Steamy Spin-Offs
By Karen Raugust on January 9, 2025 in Design and content themes, House and home, Licensing, Lifestyle, Wellness
Sauna and public bath culture, historically important in places like Finland and Japan, is on the rise globally of late, including in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and China. Most researchers forecast annual growth rates for the global sauna and bath industry of between 3% and 6%, with the U.S. market pegged at the high end […]
Birdies, Bogies, and Brands
By Karen Raugust on December 19, 2024 in Design and content themes, Experiential licensing, Licensing, Sports
Golf has become an increasingly popular theme for experiential initiatives involving licensed properties, both digital and physical. Many of the initiatives are tied to character and entertainment IPs, but they extend into other realms as well: Mattel Adventure Park, the new attraction opening in 2025 as part of Epic Resort Destinations’ VAI Resort in Glendale, […]