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Black Paper Party (Brand Central)
Black Paper Party is a Black woman-owned seasonal celebrations art company that launched in 2020 with holiday wrap featuring award-winning illustrations that reflect Black culture. Black Paper Party’s three alum retail executives filled a whitespace in gifting solutions featuring Black representation with relatable characters that reflect all family types.
In 2022, with the help of its exclusive licensing agency Brand Central, Black Paper Party signed 10 licensees and expanded its brand presence from eCommerce to retail in a robust holiday partnership with Walmart. The brand partnered with leading seasonal licensees to bring an eight-foot, licensed paper and décor section to life in more than 1000 Walmart stores and online, garnering millions in retail sales. The brand was also featured in other retailers such as TJX, Macy’s, Target, and Amazon. Black Paper Party has been featured on the Today Show and The Kelly Clarkson Show, and won The Workshop at Macy’s Vendor Pitch.
Crayola
Crayola is a mission-driven brand that strives to help parents and teachers raise creatively alive children. In addition to Crayola’s dominant presence in craft aisles across retail channels, Crayola licensing has successfully extended the brand into a wide range of branded programs. In 2022, Centric Brand’s kids bath program commanded retail presence in modular and promotional sets in the mass, drug, value, and wholesale club channels. Collaborations with Vans, Casely, and Little Words Project extended the brand into specialty and direct-to-consumer channels, garnering millions of impressions on social and in publications like Hype Beast and Pop Insider. Wendy’s kids meal in 6,000 global locations distributed 10 million premiums and 30 million crayons and created a viral educator following on social channels totaling two million views. And, Crayola’s Create and Play app engaged one million users a month.
Eric Carle/The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Penguin Random House
(The Joester Loria Group)
Global collaborations, DTRs and multi-category retail campaigns drove 2022 growth of World of Eric publishing (+5%) and consumer products (+10%) to $280 million. Global marketing delivered more than 1 billion impressions. Partnerships including DTRs and collaborations with Bombas, Tubby Todd, See Kai Run (U.S.), Balabala (China), Graniph (Japan), Ella’s Kitchen, and MORI (U.K.) delivered apparel, home, and food. Play Park Eric Carle in Tokyo; hotel rooms and café in Futakotamagawa; installations/events at Kew & Wakehurst Gardens; a 12-week mall installation in China; WEC Live Shows in Australia, the U.S., U.K. and China; new subscription apps; the launch of a dedicated YouTube channel; and promotions including Kellogg’s Corn Pops, Tiny Organics (U.S.), and Oisix ra daichi meal subscription boxes (Japan) engaged millions of consumers. Retailers include Kohl’s, Barnes & Noble, Target, Amazon, and Buy Buy Baby in the U.S.; ASDA, Tesco, Sainsburys, and JoJo Mama Bebe in the U.K.; Target and Big W in Australia; ALDI and REWE in Germany; pop-up shops in Japan; as well as T-Mall and JD.com
Moomin – Moomin Characters (Rights & Brands)
The Moomins were created in 1945 by artist Tove Jansson (1914-2002). To this day, all new Moomin artwork used for licensing is based on Jansson’s original illustrations. In 2022, Moomin had over $820 million in sales and 800 licensees worldwide, including ARKET, Deagostini, KFC, Barnes & Noble, and Rovio Entertainment. Moomin has over three million followers across social platforms and connects with over 65 million fans each year. The artwork is featured in exhibitions worldwide and new publishing based on Jansson’s original stories are published each year. Together with partners like UNICEF, Oxfam, and the Red Cross, Moomin Characters continue to work with the initiative ‘Reading, Writing, and the Moomins’ to encourage reading among children. Moomin has now raised close to $6 million for Oxfam. There are Moomin theme parks in Japan and Finland, and over 35 different shops and cafés worldwide.
The World of Peter Rabbit – Penguin Ventures
In 2022 we celebrated the 120th anniversary of Peter Rabbit delivering over 70% YOY net revenue across key markets, with the U.K., North America, China, Japan, and Australia securing the biggest growth years to date. Our anniversary campaign repositioned Peter Rabbit as THE must-have contemporary classic character, sharing bespoke assets for partners to use across product, packaging, experiences, and at retail. Experiential activity included the first-ever overseas exhibition in Japan, reaching more than 150,000 visitors and an outdoor immersive experience at Blenheim Palace connecting Peter with thousands of families. U.K. grocer footprint grew more than 22% whilst an exclusive Marks & Spencer DTR delivered across hundreds of stores nationwide.
The social impact initiative Grow with Peter Rabbit continued Potter’s legacy of conservation, bringing gardening to thousands of families and disadvantaged communities in the U.K. PR coverage exceeded a reach of four billion and digital engagement grew by over 2,000% on brand channels, providing a platform for our 2023 global rollout.
The World of Strawberry Shortcake – WildBrain
Starting with a greeting card 50 years ago, Strawberry Shortcake is now a lifestyle brand rich with nostalgia and mass appeal for the next generation, with new content—Berry in the Big City—available on major streamers worldwide. Merchandise is found across retailers including Pacsun, Hot Topic, Urban Outfitters, Forever21, and Target, alongside fashion collaborations with Dolls Kill, Dumbgood, and Unique Vintage. Strawberry Shortcake launched a cosmetics line with Glamlite that sold out immediately and went viral.The brand collaborated with frozen yogurt retailer Pinkberry for a Strawberry Shortcake takeover, including strawberry shortcake frozen yogurt, in-store signage, and souvenir spoons. Strawberry also took over mass market aisles with fruit-tastic promotions with Sunkist, Envy Apples, and NaturRipe, and was featured on 30 million iconic Little Debbie cakes.
