April 6, 2018
Disney FamilyFun
magazine has been supplying parents and kids with fun ideas for crafts and family activities. And starting this month, it will supply them with the materials they need to make those ideas come to life, and step up plans for an expanding licensing program.
The first branded craft kits from Disney FamilyFun will arrive in select Walmart stores this month. The Create Your Own line of kits will have a prominent spot on endcaps in the crafts section at Walmart and receive a wider rollout later this year. The craft kits are one of three new programs launched by Disney FamilyFun Group as it branches beyond its magazine roots.
"This is our first big foray into the licensing business," says Aparna Pande, vice president and general manager of the Disney FamilyFun Group. "For two decades, we've been providing ideas for craft projects for parents and children, and now we're providing them with all the components they need to create those projects."
The Create
Pande says Walmart will roll out a second wave of craft kits in July that target parents and children looking for fun summertime craft activities. After the summer launch at Walmart, Disney will give the Create Your Own kits a wider rollout at retail. "We're going first-to-market with Walmart, but then we'll be looking for other retail partners," says Pande.
While the Walmart venture represents its first large-scale push into retail, Disney FamilyFun Group already has two licensing deals in place. It has published three magazine-branded books with Sterling Publishing that include "Cookies for Christmas," "Homemade Holidays" and "Birthday Cakes" that are now in retail stores and sold on
.
Disney is also teaming with
and using its website for a line of personalized party products. In May, the site featured ideas for a "Fairy Fun Birthday Party" for young girls that enables parents and kids to create their own invitations, thank you notes and other party products.
"People can go to
to create unique personal party supplies," says Pande. "All they need to do is upload their own photos to make everything they need, from paper plates to invitations."
With more than 2.1 million subscribers and a total audience of 5.5 million,
Disney FamilyFun
magazine has a reputation for creating "out-of-the-box" family activities—a reputation it hopes to leverage into more licensing programs in categories such as games and puzzles, party goods, Halloween costumes, video games and activity books.
"We're going to have extensive meetings to discuss how we can extend this brand into more categories," says Pande. "There's a whole host of areas where the ideas we provide in the magazine can really come to life at retail."
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