Read Total Licensing’s Comprehensive Preview of some of the Top IP to see in Vegas
As the licensing industry gathers for one of the biggest events of the year, taking place Tue, 20 May 2025 – Thu, 22 May 2025, at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, here we bring you some highlights of what to expect at the show.
For over 40 years, Licensing Expo has connected the world’s most influential entertainment, character, art, and corporate brand owners and agents with consumer goods manufacturers, licensees and retailers.
Spin Master is set to showcase a dynamic portfolio of beloved brands and fresh new hits. In 2025, PAW Patrol charges ahead with PAW Patrol to the Rescue, in partnership with Paramount Consumer Products, while the third animated feature film is set for 2026. Unicorn Academy continues to dazzle girls worldwide on Netflix, galloping into the top spot for new girls’ brands with enchanting toys, products, and a magical story world that keeps growing.
Vida the Vet is seen on CBeebies to FranceTV—bringing music, empathy, and healing to Sweetwood with every episode. After 35+ years of #1 ratings in quality, sustainability, and parental trust, Melissa & Doug is ready to expand into licensing—starting with collabs, publishing and softlines in 2026, and welcoming new partners in 2027.
Toca Boca, with 1B+ downloads, 64M monthly active users, and pop-culture collabs four times a year, is poised for CP growth. Fashion hits shelves via Skybrands in 2025, and books from Harper Collins debut in 2026. And in toys—Rubik’s Cube, Tech Deck, and own award-winning Spin Master innovations continue expanding their CP footprint into 2026 and beyond.
Snowy the Mouse makes its Licensing Expo debut from the woman-owned company Farm to Fun LLC. ‘Whimsical and oh-so-cute’, Snowy is everyone’s best friend, starting a new Christmas tradition for the entire family while being the perfect pal at additional year-round holiday celebrations. A favorite of popular family influencers and toy personalities, Snowy the Mouse boasts an engaging social media following and an all-new interactive website featuring activities, games, new characters and original cartoons.
Surge Brands and its sister company, Surge Licensing, are heading to Licensing Expo this year with a larger footprint, showcasing a powerful portfolio of brands in an all-new booth space. Since January 2025, Surge Brands, led by VP of Licensing Ari Freedman, has secured a range of new IP partnerships, including Benihana, Albanese Candy, Mister Softee, Cookie Dough Bites, Le Clic and Bacon Up, while continuing to drive global expansion for its flagship brand, Toxic Waste. Meanwhile, Surge Licensing, under the leadership of President Mark Freedman, has signed an original entertainment IP, Poindexter, a reimagining of the beloved brainiac from the classic Felix the Cat franchise; the collectible toy of the year, Deddy Bears™, which is expanding globally outside of the U.S.; while licensing partnerships continue to grow for the legendary horror franchise Hellraiser; the Stanley Kubrick Estate—including iconic films 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, A Clockwork Orange, and Full Metal Jacket—and Webtoon, the world’s largest digital comics content publisher.
Perfetti Van Melle will once again be present at Licensing Expo Las Vegas, showcasing its key brands—Airheads, Chupa Chups and Bubblicious—and unveiling new collaborations across multiple categories. As a key player in the licensing industry, the company continues to expand its global footprint with strategic partnerships in food & beverage, fashion, beauty, toys and other categories.
Building on the success of the iconic Chupa Chups luxury lollipop holder by Fendi, Perfetti Van Melle remains at the forefront of fast fashion, collaborating with top global retailers such as Zara, H&M, Primark, K-Way and others, while continuing to explore strategic partnerships. These collaborations aim to align with the brand’s identity, resonate with the target audience, and authentically expand its reach. Exciting new partnerships will be revealed soon, promising to set trends and further strengthen the brand’s influence in the industry.
The beauty sector remains a key growth area, with high-profile partnerships extending well into 2026. Embracing the trend of combining beauty and food, Perfetti Van Melle is actively developing innovative projects with leading international brands while remaining open to exploring new formats and groundbreaking initiatives within the category.
Toys remain a core pillar of the business, riding the wave of the ‘Newstalgia’ trend, immensely popular with Gen Z, who crave nostalgic brands with a modern twist. Perfetti Van Melle brands are excelling, showing strong performance across both physical and digital platforms. Collaborations with Pop Mart, LOL and Zuru in the real world continue to drive success, while the company’s presence in Fortnite, Roblox and The Sandbox metaverse is unlocking new opportunities for brand engagement in the virtual space, to become a bigger player in the evolving digital play landscape.
Brenda Manley Designs represents international artists, illustrators, lettering specialists and surface pattern designers. Their roots span the globe from Amsterdam, Australia, Canada, El Salvador, Germany, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the USA. They create placement art and surface pattern designs for home decor, apparel, gift and stationery markets and more.
Brenda also offers one on one artists consultations. She has 24 years of combined industry experience as an artist first, a buyer/licensee and an Agent. She gets excited to help those who are ready to invest in themselves to take their portfolios to the next level, learn how to market themselves and negotiate deals.
Over the past few months, Beanstalk has welcomed several new clients across a variety of sectors, including Cath Kidston, The Ritz Paris, FEED, Yvonne Ellen, Julius K-9, IPX’s Line Friends and BT2, Cinnabon UK, VW eGames, and Choco Milk, which marks Beanstalk Latin American’s first partnership with a Mexican-origin brand.
In addition, they have expanded our scope of work for WK Kellogg Co., as the company has appointed Beanstalk as its exclusive lifestyle licensing agency to further expand the presence of its licensed merchandise in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. Beanstalk has served as WK Kellogg’s global licensing agency for food and beverage categories since 2021.
Lastly, as video game developers increasingly bring third-party IP into their games across multiple platforms (PC, console, mobile, and UGC environments such as Roblox), Beanstalk has built a strong expertise in interactive licensing for clients such as Bentley, Volvo, IPX’s Line Friends and BT21, and most recently, VW eGames. They are also supporting in-game brand partnerships for clients like Global Merchandising Services, having placed the iconic heavy metal band Iron Maiden into Dead by Daylight – the online multiplayer survival horror game.
Sony Pictures Consumer Products (SPCP) returns to Licensing Expo in 2025 to showcase upcoming Sony Pictures Entertainment properties. Earlier this spring, SPCP unveiled the licensing program for season 2 of the HBO Original hit series, The Last of Us, tapping collaboration partners alice mushrooms, Four Sigmatic, Timberland, Wrangler and Taylor Guitars.
Onsite, SPCP will celebrate the upcoming theatrical release of Sony Pictures Animations’ GOAT, an original animated sports comedy hitting theaters on February 13, 2026. Additionally, Messi and the Giants from Sony Music Vision and Sony Pictures Television – Kids (SPT – Kids). The animated series will be streamed globally on Disney+.
As previously announced, Netflix and SPA are developing an animated series based on the beloved Ghostbusters IP, which will debut exclusively on Netflix. Additionally, Netflix has announced a television spinoff of Hotel Transylvania entitled Motel Transylvania.
Offering something for everyone – SPCP is also celebrating new adult-centric programming. Continuing the momentum for The Boys, fans await the highly anticipated return of the fifth and final season of the series and the second season of its spinoff, Gen V. Additionally, Outlander will celebrate the upcoming eighth and final season plus a new prequel series, Outlander: Blood of My Blood, premieres on Starz.
This summer will see an action-packed cinematic adventure that blends thrilling martial arts with an inspiring underdog story, in Karate Kids: Legends, as well as the newest installment in the I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise. Jumanji 3 will also celebrate its theatrical release on December 11, 2026.
WildBrain CPLG will showcase its extensive portfolio of globally recognized brands across entertainment, corporate, lifestyle and sport.
As Teletubbies heads towards its 30-year anniversary in 2027, WildBrain is celebrating the brand’s unique position as one of the original preschool series, building on its global success with an expanded licensing programme targeting preschool kids and parents that will reach international markets. The iconic Strawberry Shortcake is celebrating friendship in a year-long campaign which puts Strawberry Shortcake’s friends—the ‘Berry Besties’—in the spotlight, including the launch of multiple seasonal style guides offering new opportunities for partners.
WildBrain CPLG’s global representation of Supercell’s powerhouse gaming franchises The World of Clash and Brawl Stars offers exciting opportunities for strategic collaborations. As master licensee for PLAYMOBIL®, WildBrain CPLG continues to expand the beloved toy brand into new categories across merchandise, publishing, location-based experiences and promotions.
WildBrain CPLG is also looking to expand its partnership opportunities for The World of Peter Rabbit and Carmen Sandiego in U.S. and Canada, while SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog, Paramount’s PAW Patrol, MGM’s Wednesday and Hasbro’s PEPPA PIG are slate highlights for EMEA. Spin Master’s Vida the Vet and Unicorn Academy, as well as Dr. Seuss’ Grinch and The Cat in the Hat, and WildBrain’s Peanuts present opportunities in both EMEA and APAC.
WildBrain CPLG’s Corporate & Lifestyle division, brings a notable line-up including distinguished colleges: Yale; Harvard; Cambridge and Columbia; renowned spirits brands Absolut and Malibu; as well as Sauber Motorsports’ racing team, Stake F1® Team KICK Sauber; North America’s #1 padlock brand, Master Lock, and premium lifestyle brand, Peugeot.
Rainbow, led by Iginio Straffi, come to Licensing Expo with excitement building for the launch of the thrilling CGI reboot of Winx Club, their hugely popular evergreen series following the vibrant adventures of a group of fairy friends, which premieres on RAI in Italy and Netflix globally this autumn.
The response to early trailers for the 26-part series has been amazing, while licensees have been similarly enthusiastic. An exciting new toy line, including fashion dolls and playsets, is coming from master toy partners Playmates (ex-Europe) and Giochi Preziosi (Europe).
Supporting the series launch, wide-reaching PR and marketing campaigns are planned for leading territories, including engaging Comic Con activations.
Also making a splash is groundbreaking CGI animation Mermaid Magic, an irresistable blend of magic, action, humour and emotion following the thrilling adventures of three inseperable mermaid friends who travel to the surface world to save their ocean kingdom from the wicked pirate Barbarossa. Master toy partner Headstart will be launching the first toy line this autumn.
Another Rainbow reboot, Gormiti – The New Era, revitalizes the pop culture phenomenon Gormiti as it pairs pulsating live action adventure with extraordinary CGI effects. Full of positive messages and educational values, the series chronicles the daily lives of four friends from Earth who must harness the powers of the elements to stop an evil lord and his army from ruling planet Gorm. Master toy partner Giochi Preziosi’s products will be available at retail later this year.
Japanese character content and fine arts brand KENSHIN Co., Ltd. (ART OF WAR) is set to make its international licensing trade show debut at Licensing Expo 2025.
The company will present its original IP Samurai Animals, a unique property that fuses authentic samurai culture with the 12 animals of the Japanese zodiac. Known for its deep artistic roots and historical fidelity, ART OF WAR has been a leader in traditional Japanese craftsmanship and storytelling for over two decades.
Samurai Animals has already garnered international attention, having been nominated for the Character or Toy Brand Program category at the LIMA Licensing Awards 2015. With the global resurgence of interest in samurai and Japanese culture—most recently fueled by the success of the Hollywood series SHOGUN—the timing for its global debut is ideal.
Dr. Seuss Enterprises, a leading global children’s entertainment company, continues to stay dedicated to promoting literacy, education, self-confidence, and the wonderful possibilities of a child’s imagination through the works of Dr. Seuss. For over three decades, Dr. Seuss Enterprises has stayed true to its vision of inspiring generations of readers and driving its status as a true pop culture and entertainment mainstay by inking hundreds of licensing deals in virtually every category and accelerating its global entertainment presence fueled by several new projects that keep its legacy brands fresh and relevant to audiences.
At the 2025 Licensing Expo, Dr. Seuss Enterprises will have a presence on the show floor, highlighting a slate of new initiatives that aim to ignite growth across their longstanding properties, through the rollout of new consumer product lines, breakthrough initiatives, entertainment projects, and more.
Over the last year the Fred Rogers Productions team has been taking the steps to build out an art and style guide portfolio for use by licensees. Three style guides will be available for creative use in 2025 with artwork developed for Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and Donkey Hodie. For all three brands this is just the beginning as we build a creative collection of curated graphics and art to be leveraged by licensees in a fun and fresh way like never before from the shows under the Fred Rogers Productions umbrella.
REMOW is a Tokyo-based content business company established in 2021 as a group company of Shueisha, one of Japan’s leading publishing houses. With additional offices in South Korea and Mexico, REMOW specializes in connecting Japanese intellectual properties with global markets through strategic partnerships, licensing, and creative collaboration.
Though a relatively young company, REMOW has already made an impression through the anime My Deer Friend Nokotan—a viral hit on TikTok,a Crunchyroll Awards nominee for Best Comedy, as well as its availability on Amazon Prime. Looking ahead, the company is also working with exciting anime titles such as Tougen Anki and Hell Teacher Nube, both of which show strong potential for global engagement.
Currently, REMOW is developing a high-profile project co-produced with Shueisha. While the title remains confidential, it is based on a beloved series from Weekly Shonen Jump that ended more than 15 years ago and still ranks among the top fan-requested titles for animation.
2025 is the year of Superman. Ahead of the hugely anticipated DC Studios film “Superman,” Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products collaborated with key global partners to assemble a dynamic collection that celebrates the hope, optimism and cross-generational appeal of the world’s first Super Hero.
Countless WBDGCP teams in every market partnered with premier brands – including Funko, Spin Master, Mattel, and more to develop a bright and colourful collection across toys, collectibles, fashion, beauty and health, home decor, kitchenware, licensed publishing, and of course, Krypto’s favourite category… pets.
To compliment the tentpole film collection, WBDGCP and its partners will also release new offerings celebrating the enduring legacy of Superman across its core business, featuring classic and much-loved designs and art inspired by Superman as seen in comics, animation, film, tv and more.
Of course, Superman isn’t the only hero to get the WBDGCP treatment. Batman programme champions and celebrates everything there is to love about the Caped Crusader. This growing and innovative portfolio covers everything from fashion, to home, to costume and even food and beverage.
Teddy Mountain LLC. has launched ECO Origins in the US and UK, a new collection of sustainable plush products designed to educate and engage as it ignites calls to action in support of local conservation and environmental sustainability. ECO Origins is available for B2B distribution in the USA, UK, EU and The Emirates.
Featuring a range of vulnerable, threatened, or endangered animal species, the ECO Origins product lineup features certified sustainable materials, including all fabrics, stitching, fiber, hang tags, fasteners, sewn-in tags and packaging. An accordion style graphical hang tag provides an immersive learning experience with fun facts about each species featured in the plush line.
Creative Licensing Represents Evil Dead Franchise Titles on Behalf of STUDIOCANAL
Creative Licensing is excited to announce their representation of additional titles from Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead franchise on behalf of STUDIOCANAL. Now fans can look forward to more Evil Dead merchandise from other films in the franchise with expansive partnerships across all product categories.
Apparel is an evergreen category driven by not only by a love of these cult classic comedy-horror films, but by innovative uses of the film’s creative assets to design fashion-forward collections sought out by Evil Dead enthusiasts. Accessories, cosmetics, home, and art-oriented products also continue to generate excitement with fans.
Jewel Branding & Licensing has announced an array of new clients and partnerships at the 2025 Licensing Expo that expand its diverse portfolio of world-class artists, cultural institutions, and lifestyle brands.
New Clients include: Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Ceci New York, Sanderson, Natural History Museum, London.
Lifestyle Brand Partnerships include Nikki Chu, Plum Pretty Sugar, Rachael Hale® + Humane World for Animals.
Jewel continues to see remarkable growth in its heritage and cause-related brand portfolio, with exciting new launches for the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, National Wildlife Federation (NWF), the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG), and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA).
Jewel’s Artist Series programs continue to see tremendous success, bringing diverse artistic perspectives to a wide range of product categories and retailers.
Last year, Global Merchandising was appointed the exclusive licensing agent for the iconic Fender guitar brand to further develop consumer product programs all over the world and is gearing up to celebrate its 80th anniversary in 2026 with an extensive licensing program across multiple categories.
Founded in 1946, Fender has created guitars, amps, pedals and accessories for players around the world and their innovative musical equipment has been played on more stages than any other company in the industry, revolutionizing music and culture as one of the world’s leading musical instrument brands. With over 85% stage share and relied upon for quality, performance, and design, more artists use Fender than other guitar brand in the world. Today, Fender brands also include Squier, Gretsch, Jackson, Charvel and EVH among others.
Global will develop a comprehensive brand extension program, working closely with Fender to leverage nearly eight decades of musical excellence and innovation. Expanding on successful Fender partnerships from Saint Laurent to Supreme, LEGO, Wrangler, Zara and more, Global will be developing meaningful programs across multiple categories, including Kids & Educational, Home & Tech, Fashion, Collabs, Experiential and more.
Global Merchandising Services Head of Licensing Jens Drinkwater stated: “Fender is an iconic name in music, and our partnership will ensure its legacy continues through strategic brand extensions. We look forward to celebrating its 80th anniversary with innovative programs that reflect Fender’s pioneering spirit.”
Global Merchandising Services is also anticipating a lot of activity around Oasis.
This summer is set to be one for the record books as Oasis begins their sold-out worldwide tour in July, commencing in Cardiff on the 4th ofJuly. The tour is 41 across the UK, US, Mexico, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Argentina, Chile and Brazil, playing to over 2M fans.
Fans haven’t been short of great product releases, with exclusive capsule launches celebrating their Definitely Maybe album anniversary, through to UK streetwear brand, Represent, releasing their best-selling music collection to date and plenty more to come from the likes of Levi’s, Funko, Pintrill, Clipper, Casetify, Pluginz, Licensing Essentials, Cotton On, CPS Chaps, and many more.
Ladybird and BBC Studios have announced a domestic milestone for the Bluey brand with over 3 million books sold in the UK through TCM. Ladybird, an imprint of Penguin Random House Children’s UK, has been publishing Bluey since 2021.
The books have seen phenomenal success with Bluey making the top 20 Preschool chart 51 weeks out of 52 in 2024 and hitting the #1 position in the Preschool chart 6 times. Where’s Bluey? is consistently the bestselling title selling over 250,000 copies through TCM.
Last month Bluey also celebrated World Book Day, which saw Bluey’s Little Book take the crown as the bestselling WBD book of 2025 selling over 160,000 copies and spending 4 weeks as the overall #1 book in the market.
Ladybird continues 2025 with a stellar line-up of publishing which includes a tabbed board book: Meet Bluey’s Family, a second search-and-find title following the success of this format: Where’s Bluey and Bingo? and Let’s Play Verandah Santa! – a first Christmas lift-the-flap book. Other publishing to join the list also includes Bluey and Bingo’s Fancy Restaurant Cookbook which ties in with the brand’s global theme for this year: Let’s Play Chef, and a gifty pop-up book, Bluey: A Big Pop-Up Book publishing later this year.
Jan Paterson, Director of Book and Audio Publishing at BBC Studios, said:
“Bluey has captured the hearts of families across the world and the UK is no exception. The outstanding book sales are a testament to the deep affection fans have for the brand. We’re proud to work with Ladybird to bring Bluey’s warmth, humour and playfulness into homes through books that parents and their children want to read again and again.”
Leanne Gill, Publishing Director for Licensing at Penguin Random House Children’s UK, added: ‘We’re excited to be celebrating this incredible milestone of selling over 3 million Bluey books in the UK. Adults and children alike love Bluey for its relatable, funny and heartfelt storytelling, which we’re thrilled to be able to bring to life in our publishing across a range of formats, from engaging stories to playful interactive novelties and creative activity books. It’s a joy to see so many of our books reaching families and helping them – through the stories – to navigate the ups and downs of childhood and family life. And we have the next million sales firmly in our sights, with plenty more innovative formats coming to market soon, from our gorgeous A Big Pop-Up Book to the hilarious Puppets: Starring Unicorse puppet book’.
Paramount Consumer Products & Experiences UK and Rubies have announced they have partnered to launch a new range of costumes and accessories inspired by some of Paramount’s most beloved franchises.
New ranges based on PAW Patrol (produced by Spin Master Entertainment), DORA, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Avatar: The Last Airbender will target kids of all ages and is set to rollout across the UK and EMEA throughout 2025. The range coincides with a raft of exciting new content for the brands in the near future, including new theatrical releases for PAW Patrol and Avatar: The Last Airbender, a brand-new DORA series, fresh Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles content, and a new SpongeBob SquarePants film this December.
