Brand Licensing Europe (BLE), the continent’s leading event for licensing and brand extension, has opened visitor registration for Brand Licensing Europe 2023.
The renowned pan-European trade show for licensing and brand extension will take place at ExCeL, London, 4-6 October.
Free visitor passes are now available to book online.
BLE brings together thousands of brand owners, retailers, and manufacturers working to develop new branded products and experiences that will develop relationships between consumers and the brands they love.
Fandom includes verticals from toys, LBE, fashion, gaming, entertainment, art, publishing, heritage, FMCG, and more. BLE helps participants find ideal partners to reach fans in new and creative ways using brand licensing.
This year’s event is on the theme location-based experiences (LBE), and an unprecedented 150+ companies have already booked to exhibit.
Access to leading brands
The exhibitor list so far includes an impressive line-up of brand owners, including Paramount, Warner Music Experience, Hasbro, Aardman, Acamar Films, Banijay Brands, Asterix, BANDAI NAMCO, Beanstalk, Brandgenuity, Bulldog Licensing, CAPCOM, Caroline Mickler, Crunchyroll, Cyber Group Studios, FC Barcelona, Gallimard Jeunesse, Imperial War Museum, LMI, Magic Light Pictures, Natural History Museum, Penguin Ventures, Perfetti Van Melle, Sanrio, SEGA, The Wombles, The Pokémon Company, The Smurfs, V&A, Yale University and many more.
The organisers expect that thousands of brands will be represented on the show floor in October. Delegates will have the opportunity to secure the rights to a vast range of leading brands, such as Paul Frank, My Little Pony, MTV, Top Gun, Chupa Chups, Asterix & Obelix, Paw Patrol, the Victoria & Albert Museum, The Batman, Hello Kitty, Assassin’s Creed, Peter Rabbit, The Van Gogh Museum, Minions, Jurassic Park, le Petit Prince, Kellogg’s, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sophie la Girafe, and Far Cry.
Global Licencing Survey: key findings
Licencing International published topline statistics from its upcoming Global Licencing Survey at Licencing Expo. It found that in 2022:
- The industry was valued at over $340bn, an 8% lift on the previous year
- The licencing industry outperformed the total retail market, partly due to higher income in LBE and licenced services sectors.
- Licensed services including restaurants, hotels, travel and hospitality rose by 205%
- Pet products increased by 39%
- Music grew 26%
- Non-profit saw a 25% uptick
- Sports lifted 19%
- The value of LBE climbed by 67%
Ben Roberts, content director, EMEA, License Global, says: “Another phenomenal year for the brand licensing industry as sales continue to outperform general retail. If you look at the categories that excelled this year, there’s a distinct commonality between them – they were all impacted by Covid, either positively – pet adoption and pet products – or negatively – the pausing of live music, sports events and LBE, and the closing of travel and hospitality.”
“Last year was their first opportunity to make a real comeback, to reignite our love for them and to rebuild and reconnect their audiences. And they did this with incredible creativity and innovation. LBE, in particular, shined bright, with the likes of the Van Gogh Immersive Experience, Monopoly Lifesized and Squid Games pop-up in London, and the Shaun the Sheep experience in Shanghai.”
2023 theme: location-based experiences
LBE (location-based experiences) is the theme of this year’s BLE. Since the lockdown restrictions were lifted, this licencing area has grown dramatically in value, innovation, and potential.
The LBE Pavilion will have immersive exhibitor content created for visitors to walk through, around, and interact with. Two LBE-focused keynote addresses will also take place on 4 and 5 October, and there are more features to be announced in the coming weeks that will bring LBE to life at BLE.
Ella Haynes, BLE event director, says: “If you thought last year’s BLE was an incredible experience with the fashion catwalks, wait until you get to ExCeL in October and see how the LBE theme manifests; it’s going to be one of the most fun, entertaining and genuinely inspiring BLEs ever. And what’s really exciting is that LBE is for everyone – whether you’re a retailer, licensee, designer or brand owner, I promise you will take away great ideas, contacts and content from this year’s show.”
Informa Markets’ Global Licensing Group, the organiser of Licensing Expo, recently announced details of events that are planned until the end of 2025. This includes the next three instances of Licensing Expo and Brand Licensing Europe (BLE).
