The number of collaborations taking a food or beverage brand’s distinctive taste into another, unexpected, food or beverage category continues to grow. Over the last year, one flavor—cheese, in all its many varieties and forms—has been at the center of several such partnerships. Examples range from cheese-infused alcoholic beverages to cheesy ice cream and donuts: […]
Ice Pop(-Up)s
A growing—but still unusual—type of experiential opportunity in the licensing business involves properties and brands lending their names to hotels, bars, and other outdoor structures made entirely of ice. While collaborations in this space have been relatively few and far between to date, more ice structures in general are being built for recreational purposes in […]
Asian Designers Shine in New Year Collabs
Each year, more marketers—of various sizes, working across categories and geographic regions—have been celebrating the Lunar New Year with collaborations involving designers, artists, influencers, and other creatives based or born in China or other Asian countries. This year is no exception. Among the many examples for the 2023 Year of the Rabbit, which began yesterday, […]
Hopping Into Lunar New Year
By Karen Raugust on January 19, 2023 in Character/Entertainment, Fashion, Holiday, International, Licensing
The Lunar New Year is always an opportunity for brands to forge collaborations with characters related to the appropriate sign of the Chinese zodiac, from 2022’s Year of the Tiger to 2021’s Year of the Ox and beyond. This year, starting on January 22, is the Year of the Rabbit, considered the luckiest of the […]
Licensing for the Greater Good
Since we last covered non-profit groups’ growing presence in the licensing business, in August 2022, the emphasis on integrating charitable components into licensing initiatives of all stripes has continued. Licensors and licensees are taking a number of approaches to working with charities as one means of demonstrating to consumers that they are making a positive […]
CE Brand Extension: A Note of Nostalgia
The recently concluded Consumer Electronics Show is a good time to take stock of what’s new in brand-extension licensing in the CE industry. Following are some recent deals involving electronics brands expanding into adjacent categories. Most reflect a resurgence of nostalgic, legacy, and retro brands, reimagined for modern consumers. This represents a key current trend […]
Collaborative Cups of Tea
Specialty teas and gift sets centered around tea do not represent a new category for licensing, but the number of deals (mostly for limited editions) and the variety of properties involved have both been growing recently. Here is some of what four leading licensed tea purveyors have been up to when it comes to collaborations: […]
Designers On the Scent of New Licensees
The world of fragrances tied to fashion and lifestyle labels has been somewhat turbulent in the past 24 months, with a lot of changes in licensing partnerships and in licensees’ strategies for their designer portfolios. Some of the notable developments include: Fashion sport brand Lacoste signed Inter Parfums to a 15-year global agreement that begins […]
Raising a Glass to the Season
The 2022 holiday season has given rise to a handful of collaborations pairing the flavors of eggnog and spirits. For example: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, a frequent collaborator with outside brands, teamed with Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey for a non-alcoholic Boozy Eggnog ice cream flavor. The limited edition is available in Jeni’s scoop shops nationwide, […]
A Higher Profile for Hanukkah at Retail
As Hanukkah began last evening (December 18, 2022), it seems like a logical time to look at the increased focus on Hanukkah products at retail this year, with expanded merchandise arrays at retailers from Target to Michaels. The trend includes a number of collaborations—although these remain relatively rare overall—often involving designers: Judaica Standard Time, a […]