“I am truly excited to have The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit – one of the world’s most epic fantasy franchises – join the Embracer family, opening up more transmedia opportunities including synergies across our global group,” said Lars Wingefors, Founder and Group CEO at Embracer Group.

The move celebrates Ben & Jerry’s joining Tony’s Chocolonely’s mission to end modern slavery and child labour in the chocolate industry.

Gregory Benassar, Head of New Business at Asmodee, and Beatrice De La Rochefoucauld, Licensing & New Business Manager at Asmodee, discuss crafting games for brands like Squid Game, Sonic the Hedgehog and Arsenal FC.

The ‘Pixels & Products’ session will explore the creative process behind successfully extending video game brands into consumer products and experiences.

“We asked ourselves: if Sally were built today as a road-approved model, what would she look like?” said Jay Ward, Creative Director of Franchise of Pixar Animation Studios.

“At ZAG Play, we will leverage our unique point-of-difference as both an animation content powerhouse and a high-quality toy company to develop products that empower children to see themselves as heroes through imaginary and aspirational play,” said ZAG CEO Jeremy ZAG.

Start Licensing’s Ian Downes looks at what Topps’ Cricket Attax could do for the wider licensing potential of the sport, with contributions from Greg Lansdowne and Simon Gresswell.

‘The capsule embodies Corona’s relaxed vibes and passion for recreation, aligning with State Bicycle’s best-selling cycling gear,’ read a statement around the launch.

Bubble O’Bill, Golden Gaytime, Rainbow Paddle Pop and Splice are the focus of a new range of candles, fragrant oils, tealights and melts.

As one of last year’s winners, Wayne won a free exhibition stand at BLE 2022. We caught up to find out more about his plans for next month’s show.