The winners of this year’s Licensing Awards have been crowned in a glittering ceremony, with over 1,200 industry executives filling The Great Room at the Grosvenor House Hotel for an evening of celebration.

The event opened with Jakki Brown, md at Max Publishing (which owns and organises The Licensing Awards), welcoming the assembled guests, saying: “We have more people here tonight than we’ve had for a decade and the highest number of entries and nominations that we have had since we launched The Licensing Awards 20 years ago.

“There were over 5,000 products entered and nominations received across all the categories this year, which is just phenomenal. So, to do proper justice to this proliferation, we have expanded the number of finalists. This is the largest awards event in the world for licensing and that’s down to you lot.”

The awards were more than ably hosted by professional dancer, presenter, author and TV personality, Anton du Beke, with the evening coming to an emotional close with Richard North being honoured with this year’s Honorary Achievement.

The awards were once again backed by Brand Licensing Europe as headline sponsor and also supported by industry trade body, Licensing International.

The winners of The Licensing Awards 2026 are:

UK Rising Star
Laura Jane Rock, Primark

Best Retailer of Preschool Licensed Products (age group 0-5)
Asda

Best Retailer of Kids’ Licensed Products (age group 5-16)
Primark

Best Retailer of Adult Licensed Products
HMV

The Radar Award
Pop Mart

Best Overseas Retailer
MINISO

Best Licensed Retail Marketing Initiative
Star Trek 60th Anniversary Campaign with Science Museum

Best Licensed Promotions Campaign
Mog’s Christmas Trail at Victoria Centre from Bakehouse Factory

Best Licensed Live Event
Paddington: The Musical from Sonia Friedman Productions/STUDIOCANAL/Eliza Lumley Productions

Best Licensed Toys or Games Range
Hot Wheels Formula 1 Range from Mattel

Best Licensed Health and Beauty Range
Bluey Suncare Range from Childs Farm

Best Licensed Preschool Apparel or Accessories Range (age group 0-5)
Toy Story 5 Collection for Character.com from Fashion UK

Best Licensed Children’s Apparel or Accessories Range
KPop Demon Hunters Collection for Tesco from Brand Alliance

Best Licensed Adult Apparel or Accessories Range
Moomin Womenswear Collection from Cath Kidston

Best Licensed Dress-Up or Partyware Range
KPop Demon Hunters Dress-Up Collection from Rubies

Best Licensed Written, Listening or Learning Range
Peppa Pig Publishing Programme from Ladybird Books

Best Licensed Paper Products or Stationery Range
KPop Demon Hunters HUNTR/X Stationery Range from Pyramid International

Best Licensed Giftware, Home Décor, Tableware or Housewares Range
Paddington Homeware and Accessories Range from Half Moon Bay

Best Licensed Food or Drink Range
Harry Potter Butterbeer Maryland Cookies from Fox’s Burton’s Biscuit Company

The Innovation Award
Minions Palm Puppetronics from WOW! Stuff

Best Sustainable Licensed Product
The Gruffalo and Zog Epic BOTL Collection from One Green Bottle

Best Preschool Licensed Property (0-5)
Bluey

Best Children’s or Tween Licensed Property (5-12)
Hello Kitty

Best Teen or Adult Licensed Property
Stranger Things

Best Gaming Licensed Property
Minecraft

Best Film Licensed Property
KPop Demon Hunters

Best Music or Celebrity Licensed Property
Oasis

Best Sports Licensed Property
Formula 1

The Classic Licensed Property Award
Wallace & Gromit

What Kids Love Award
SpongeBob SquarePants

Honorary Achievement Award
Richard North