When Licensing Expo opens in Las Vegas on Tuesday, showgoers will see an exhibit space with greater retailer attendance, a shifting studio presence, increased emphasis on outbound licensing from toy manufacturers, and a broad array of collaborations.

These changes are in part fueled by an evolving media landscape, with studios restructuring and trimming content output as streaming services get equal billing with box office returns.

Collaborations, meanwhile, are shifting from long-term deals into limited time offers aimed more at marketing exposure than revenue streams.

And toy companies, once largely licensees of studio IPs, are developing their own properties and licensing programs with an underlying focus on sustainability to meet consumer demands.

The evolving studio presence at Expo—with several studios holding meetings in executive suites rather than hosting booths on the show floor—comes amid a changing business where streaming content has joined theatrical releases as fodder for licensing.

“Entertainment has slowed down and, as a result, food and beverage is catching a lot of interest for licensing across various categories, including soda and alcohol,” a licensing executive said.

Many food and beverage brands are promoting attention-grabbing collaborations in order to appeal to companies looking to diversify their portfolios beyond entertainment properties. Many of these collaborations appear aimed as much at gaining currency across social media as they are at seeking placement at retail.

For example, Kraft Heinz and Brand Central brought the Velveeta brand into cheese-infused vodka martinis garnished with pasta and offered as a $15 promotion with the BLT Restaurant Group (BLT Prime, Florentine, and Casa Nonna). More recently, the brand made its way into candy in the form of TruffVels, white chocolate candy infused with cheese sauce produced by licensee chocolatier Compartes.

Fashion brand Balenciaga bowed Lay’s handbags, which retailed for $1,500, and, more recently, Conagra’s Vlasic label appeared on licensee Sprints’ pickleball attire and equipment. Beanstalk forged a strategic partnership with Collaborations Licensing, which specializes in developing collaborations, having already done so in the skateboard and surf category.

“We have seen in recent years that it is not two partners sharing for the long term anymore,” said Todd Kaufman, VP Strategy and Partnerships at Beanstalk. “It’s now more about two partners coming together to create a cultural moment to really surprise consumers and grab their attention. Three years ago, a good collaboration would involve shared equities, consumer sets, and distribution. Now, for better or worse, I don’t know if there are linear answers. It’s something that draws attention.”

Also likely to draw attention at Licensing Expo will be toy companies increasingly building out their own IP portfolios.

Mattel and Hasbro will have major presence on the show floor as they dig ever deeper into their IP portfolios. Spin Master is developing a licensing program around its 72-minute Unicorn Academy film, which will be released on Netflix in early November. The film will also be released on Roblox in advance of its Netflix premier in addition to short-form content on YouTube.

Unicorn Academy toys will launch in fall 2024 and, as part of program, Spin Master also announced a publishing agreement with Nosy Crow, a print-on-demand deal that’s still being finalized, and licensee Menchie’s frozen yogurt, according to Andre Lake Mayer, Spin Master’s SVP of Global Strategic Partnerships & Consumer Products.

Jazwares will be promoting its Squishmallows brand at Expo, which recently signed on with McDonald’s for a Happy Meal promotion and added Pokémon to its list of licenses. MGA Entertainment will be backing LOL Surprise at the conference, which has an extensive licensing program and bowed a film in 2021.

“We are all trying to create different entry points for a brand, especially when it is digitally native,” Lake Mayer said.

Regardless of the point of entry, sustainability will be a major topic of discussion at Expo as brand owners, manufacturers, and retailers alike continue to incorporate sustainable practices into every aspect of the licensing business. Products of Change will have a major presence at this year’s event in support of sustainability initiatives, including a booth space and hosting several panel discussions.