It Came From BLE… with Aykroyds’ Robyn Cowling

Robyn! Always lovely to chat! Can you talk us through a product – or partnership – that originated from a chat at BLE?
We first met with Coca-Cola in Vegas actually and then firmed up the outline of the proposal at BLE, were contracted by Christmas!

It’s been a fantastic experience with Coca-Cola and we’ve had some fantastic retail conversations resulting in a great spread of listings across Coke for Christmas and the fruity drinks for Spring/Summer. Our design team have absolutely loved working with the vast amount of assets and the results are some fabulous ranges that we’re really proud of.

What makes BLE such an effective place to unearth or facilitate these sparks?
Face-to-face time is absolutely key in an industry which really values connection. BLE is a really important chance to connect brands, retailers and licensees and a great opportunity for us to see industry friends, longtime collaborators and nurture existing relationships too – if that’s done at the bar, then even better!

Ha! And if you could wave a magic wand, which product or partnership do you hope will be kickstarted at BLE this year?
We’ve had serious FOMO with all the fantastic Oasis collabs out this summer. Perhaps there’ll be another iconic band touring next year who are looking for a fantastic apparel partner!

We’ll see! Thanks Robyn – see you at BLE!