Preschool licensing special: “Socially conscious play has been a key trend”

From heritage brands such as Sesame Street and Care Bears through to new entrants to the licensed preschool space – like Odo and Marcus & Marcus – Bulldog Licensing has a healthy portfolio in the category. PPS finds out more.

Bulldog Licensing is heading to Brand Licensing Europe this week (stand A182) with a host of preschool properties in its roster – ranging from classics such as Sesame Street and Care Bears, plus publishing hit That’s not my… through to newcomers including Kindi Kids, Marcus & Marcus and Odo.

All have experienced some major highlights, too, as PPS finds out from the agency’s Vicky Miller, licensing director, and Sole Slater, senior creative manager.

“Seeing the That’s not my… ranges across grocery and the high street this summer has been my highlight,” says Sole. “Over the past few years, we have worked with our licensees to establish the property outside of the book aisle and it is great to see it become a staple of our retailers’ preschool ranges.”

Vicky continues: “It’s been fantastic to see the growth of our brands in the toy space, too. The new Care Bears master toy range from Basic Fun debuted last summer and we’ve seen great expansion this year both in terms of stockists and the range, with new bears being added. Togetherness Bear has been a particular hit with our fans.

“The new Sesame Street plush range from Posh Paws is also just hitting the market with a great reaction from consumers. Kindi Kids is, of course, a toy brand which continues to be the number one large doll brand in the market, and our That’s not my… developmental toy range from Rainbow Designs also continues to expand after winning the Progressive Preschool Award last year.”

Bulldog also has high hopes for new brands to its roster, Odo and Marcus & Marcus. Odo is a new series from Sixteen South which launched this summer on Milkshake and follows the adventures of the littlest owl in the forest who believes he can do anything. Marcus & Marcus, meanwhile, is an established Canadian design brand with the range of products featuring cute, instantly recognisable characters to appeal to preschoolers.

To read the full feature, simply click on this link.

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