Maximum Licensing’s Sarah Fletcher talks through plans for the quirky Icelandic brand.
Licensing already has a firm global footprint, but with the growth of platforms such as YouTube and social media, there isn’t any country that a property feasibly can’t reach.
The Source today kicks off a series of highlights featuring five brands from different territories and sectors of the licensing business which are busy making an impact on UK consumers.
Today: Tulipop (Iceland)
Quirky and original, Tulipop is inspired by the eclectic Icelandic heritage of brand founders, illustrator/creator Signy Kolbeinsdottir and ceo Helga Arnadottir (pictured above).
The Tulipop characters and ideas are inspired by ancient fairytales and this will also translate into the product development, says Sarah Fletcher, md of Maximum Licensing, which is handling the growth of the CP programme in the UK.
Gift will be one of the first categories to launch in the UK, while key categories will also include paper and stationery, as well as apparel, with a focused retail distribution to grow the brand organically.
A dedicated Tulipop YouTube channel launched last summer with the first English language series of 10 x 2’30” episodes written by Tobi Wilson (The Amazing World of Gumball) and just recently hit 1.5 million views. Thanks to its worldwide popularity, a further ten adventures were commissioned which will be available later this year.
A recent foray into the US market was also a success, with licensees across key categories launching exclusively at Hot Topic. In addition, Toynami’s Blind Box figures were nominated for a LIMA International Licensing Award.
Sarah comments: “Tulipop is currently in a major period of expansion. Signy and Helga’s goal is for the Tulipop world to reach and engage with people globally on as many platforms as possible. They always wanted to extend the world of Tulipop into animation so were thrilled at the response to our YouTube channel, and in five years the goal is to have brought Tulipop to territories around the world through a variety awesome merchandise, great content and gorgeous retail stores.”
This feature originally appeared in the summer 2018 edition of Licensing Source Book. Click here to read the full publication.
