Interest in trading card collecting — which, like many hobbies, was rejuvenated during the pandemic lockdowns — is still going strong, with consumer sales of cards on both the primary and secondary markets on the rise. As a result, sports and entertainment properties continue to actively forge agreements in the category. Following are some of […]
Archive | Licensing
Get Ready to Be Horrified this Halloween
By Karen Raugust on August 3, 2026 in Celebrity, Character/Entertainment, Experiential licensing, Licensing
With the ongoing strength of both licensed experiences and the horror genre, it makes sense that collaborative haunted houses have become a popular form of location-based entertainment in the past few years. Not surprisingly, the partnerships most often involve properties associated with horror or other dark themes, including several examples just announced for fans making […]
Playing Around with Piano Partnerships
Collaborations and licensing deals involving musical instruments mostly fall into the realms of guitars, amps, and accessories, as well as drum kits and related products. Pianos and digital keyboards are not as common as a focus of collaboration deals. But these types of agreements regularly come to light, typically yielding very limited quantities of instruments […]
A Passion for Romance Novels
The strength of the romance category in the publishing industry has led to several outbound licensing programs of late (as we have covered here and here). These include examples that have crossed into mainstream distribution, such as Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean series, as well as many more specialist programs targeting bookish readers mostly through e-commerce and […]
The Return of Licensed Home 3D Printers?
Sales of 3D printers have been spiking, especially entry-level consumer models, according to a report from Context. It found that Q1 2026 revenues for global 3D printers grew 32%, fueled by the entry-level segment (machines priced at $2,500 or less) with growth of 54%. In fact, entry-level machines have become the largest market segment, at […]
Bringing in the Heavy Hitters
Pairings of sports entities and character/entertainment properties — for merchandise, experiences, content, and/or promotions — have traditionally featured entertainment properties with all-ages followings or properties that skew toward the teen-and-older demographic. The former include the likes of Hello Kitty and the other Sanrio characters, the Disney/Lucasfilm/Marvel family, the Minions, and the Looney Tunes, while the […]
Safety-First Footwear
Safety shoes and boots have long been an active niche within the licensed footwear space. These are products with features such as reinforced steel or composite toeboxes, non-slip soles, waterproofing, moisture-wicking, electrical hazard protection, and/or added cushioning, designed for use on the job site and beyond. Partnerships typically involve work boot and sneaker companies pairing […]
Cultivating Gardenwear
Over the past couple of years, fashion designers and celebrities — especially those with expertise in the home space — have been creating collaborative apparel, accessory, and tool collections specifically for gardeners. While the number of examples remains relatively low, the frequency is slowly growing. A few representative projects illustrate the trend: Most recently, British […]
Adding a Little Character to Brand-Management Portfolios
Private equity-backed brand-management groups, such as Bluestar Alliance, Marquee Brands, Authentic Brands Group, WHP Global, and others, have been increasing their footprint in the licensing business for decades, acquiring intellectual properties and adding value through a 100% licensing model. They overwhelmingly focus on fashion brands, but over the years have diversified to include some retail […]
Heat Wave
Hot sauces have been one of the most licenseable property types in the food-to-food licensing space for some time, and there continues to be a steady flow of new collaborations and licensing deals, as well as new brands entering the business. This has led to an ever more diverse range of spicy flavor profiles and […]