Winter light displays in Japan, of which there are many, are festive events meant as destinations to bring people together in the dark winter months and to put forth an aura of hope and magic. The practice began in a big way in the 1990s. The peak time period each year occurs during the Christmas […]
Archive | Licensing
Going Bananas—and Plantains
The global plantain chip market is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 5.51% from 2025 to 2032, after an increase of 5.27% in 2025, according to Research and Markets. The increase is driven by two main factors. First, the chips are a good fit with rising consumer demand for better-for-you snacks. […]
Licensing Business Heads to the Library
Property owners worldwide are increasingly putting libraries at the center of promotions, merchandise, or other initiatives. As the following examples show, each venture to date in this relatively untapped space has been unique in design, implementation, and objectives, but each involves a library, library system, or libraries in general as partner, location, and/or theme: Singapore’s […]
Westward Expansion
Western themes remain a key trend in fashion collaborations involving all sorts of properties, from entertainment IPs to celebrities to artists and beyond. As an example, food- and beverage-related brands, especially alcoholic beverages and restaurant chains, have been active in this space in 2025, with the collections being a way to highlight the corporate brands’ […]
Educating Through Esports
Esports have been growing as an extracurricular activity in high schools since the early 2020s and, more recently, have extended into middle schools and even the older elementary grades as well. The trend is global, with one organization, the Network of Academic and Scholastic Esports Federations (NASEF), having 9,000 member clubs and more than 130 […]
A Pile of Pet Treats
The vast majority of licensing and collaboration agreements in the pet products industry, of which there have been many over the past decade involving all manner of IPs, have been focused on non-foods products such as leashes, apparel, beds, and the like. Pet food deals have been much less common, in large part because of […]
Not The Same Old Song and Dance
Established cartoon characters have appeared in pop stars’ music videos occasionally over the years, including Beavis and Butt-Head in a recording of Cher’s “I Got You Babe” (1993), Popeye and Friends in Wilco’s “Dawned on Me” (2012), and Rick and Morty in Run the Jewels’ “Oh Mama” (2018). In the second half of 2025, there […]
Turning Up The Heat
Heated clothing is a segment of the apparel, accessories, and footwear category that is about to hit its peak selling season in the Northern hemisphere. These pieces, which include battery-powered heating elements to keep people warm when spending long periods outdoors, represent a small portion of licensing deals within the apparel industry. But it is […]
The Dirt on Dirty Soda Collaborations
The current popularity of dirty sodas has given rise to a handful of collaborations in the last year or so, many involving fast food chains. Dirty sodas are soft drinks with the addition of flavored syrups or fruit juice; a splash of half-and-half, cream, or creamer; and sometimes garnishes such as fruit or candy. They […]
Start Stitching
Licensed crochet patterns and kits, particularly of small, amigurumi-style stuffed creatures, are experiencing a high in 2025, with many new deals building on the steady growth of the craft, and licensing’s role in it, since the early 2000s. Easily available patterns on the Internet, the rise of crocheting influencers, and sales of finished products by […]