Celebrities—especially those known primarily as social media influencers—are increasingly hitting the energy drinks, both in their personal lives and through licensing deals, or other forms of partnership, with energy drink companies. Most of the collaborative products tend to be limited-edition, co-branded flavors rather than long-term lines. And some of the pairings take the form of […]
Archive | Wellness
Intimate Relationships
It’s been more than a decade since Lovehoney paired with the book-and-film franchise Fifty Shades of Grey for a line of sexual wellness and sex-positivity products. This licensed product line is credited as the first in this sector—and one of the first product lines in the sector in general—to achieve mainstream success and awareness. Since […]
Now Hear This: OTC Creates Opportunity
By Karen Raugust on May 22, 2023 in Consumer electronics, Diversity/Inclusion, Fashion, Licensing, Wellness
Hearing aids became available over the counter in the U.S. in October 2022, making them more accessible and lowering prices. The change has enticed consumer electronics companies including Bose and Sony, who see potential in the market and are entering the category alongside the traditional specialist marketers. A few collaborations are starting to emerge in […]
Protein Powders To Satisfy A Sweet Tooth
Marketers of protein powders have been expanding their flavor assortments, especially on the sweet side of the spectrum, with SKUs such as chocolate lava cake, cookies and cream, blueberry cobbler, and banana nut bread proliferating in response to consumer demand. Small wonder that licensed brands connected to candy, cereal, cookies, donuts, soft drinks, and similar […]
Joint Ventures
As more states legalize marijuana and THC for recreational use, following the federal legalization of hemp (and effectively CBD) in 2018, licensed properties continue to enter the cannabis space at a healthy pace. Collaborative products range from accessories and lifestyle goods to consumables such as beverages, snacks, and joints, with some containing the psychotropic (high-producing) […]
Health Food
Kids’ properties often lend their names to healthy snacks, although the practice tends to rise and fall cyclically. This year seems to be an active period for such pairings—some long-term, some short-term and promotional—with a number of properties and a number of different product types involved. Nearly all of these products are veggie- and fruit-forward, […]
Checking In On Celebrity Cannabis Projects
Now that well over 100 celebrity cannabis brands (comprising both THC/marijuana and CBD/hemp) have come on the market, a number of lifestyle, entertainment, cannabis-business, and other publications regularly publish lists of the top-selling and/or highest-quality celebrity brands available. A look at nearly two dozen of these lists that have been published recently yields a large […]
The Doctor is In
Dermalogists saw their popularity spike on social media during the pandemic, when “SkinTok”— the umbrella term for people turning to TikTok for skincare advice—took hold. Consumers, especially women, were wearing less makeup and wanted their skin to look good, and at the same time were experiencing skin issues due to mask wearing. As a result, […]
A Month for Mocktails
Each year, more consumers give “Dry January” a try, pledging to avoid alcoholic beverages for the month. Their reasons are varied: to start the new year on the right foot from a wellness perspective, to see how they feel when they drink less, or to cut calories as they begin a new diet. Many sober-curious […]
Characters Help Kids Relax for the Vax
Demand for most of the COVID-specific licensed products that came on the market early in the pandemic—masks, hand sanitizer, distancing signage, and the like—has declined, even as the crisis continues to drag on. And there have been few new COVID-driven licensing deals forged of late. That said, new developments in the ever-changing COVID landscape offer […]