The craft beer industry continues its upward trajectory, with sales expected to increase 22% in 2015 alone, according to just-released research from Mintel. This follows significant growth from 2009 to 2014, when the craft sector’s share of total beer volume rose 83% (to 8.5%). Beer sales overall declined 2% over the same period. The explosion […]
Archive | Food/Beverage
Of Brits and Baking
One observation from recent visits to several supermarkets in London—Sainsburys, Tesco, and Waitrose among them—is the strong role licensing plays in bakery-related categories, namely cake and cupcake kits and celebration cakes. Cake kits are pouch-packaged cake, cookie, or cupcake mixes with a value-added accessory, such as a cookie cutter or a set of cupcake cases, […]
A Lovely Bunch of Coconut Water
Coconut water is starting to show its presence in the world of licensed products, although not as fast as perhaps might be expected, given the steep rise in its popularity on grocery store shelves over the past five years or so. In 2014, Everlast licensed Cellulations LLC for a branded coconut water- and sea salt-fortified […]
Some Like It Hot
Hot sauces have long been an active area of interest for licensing, with properties from chefs to celebrities to colleges dabbling in the category. Recently, hot sauces’ availability for outbound licensing is expanding a bit as well, especially in the food and beverage category, as the brands and their licensees take advantage of an ever-growing […]
Ordering In
Home meal delivery services and diet plans have seen a sudden rush of interest from licensors this year. Three of the recent launches involve celebrities and rely heavily on organic foods, juices, and/or cleansing: Beyoncé paired with 22 Days Nutrition in conjunction with the latter’s new delivery service offering cleansing products and protein bars. The […]
Something’s Fishy
Fresh and frozen fish may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about licensing. But there have been several deals in this category over the years. Most recently, FremantleMedia Enterprises licensed the rights to The Deadliest Catch, a reality series airing on the Discovery Channel, to ShopHQ (now rebranded as […]
Regional Restaurants’ Recipe For Success Includes Licensing
It seems as if there could not possibly be enough supermarket shelf space for all the restaurant-branded (and often licensed) foods and beverages already on the market or in the works. Yet the list of restaurant chains launching or expanding brand-extension licensing programs continues to lengthen. Naturally, given the crowded marketplace, the newer names appearing […]
A Cold One With Character
Licensed beers have represented a growth area within the food and beverage sector over the last year or two, with properties that have dabbled in the category ranging from apparel brands (e.g. Carhartt) to musicians (Grateful Dead). A particularly active niche of late has consisted of beers tied to entertainment properties. This is especially true […]