Brand Licensing Europe Launches Discovery & Design Accelerator Zone to Support Entry-Level Licensing Entrepreneurs

Wendy Morrison Design stand at BLE 2023

Brand Licensing Europe has introduced a Discovery & Design zone, a new accelerator launchpad for entry-level licensing entrepreneurs.

The Discovery & Design zone houses 14 entrepreneurs and is sold out for 2024. It sits within the Character & Entertainment zone and adjacent to the License Global content theatre, ensuring lots of traffic for exhibiting entrepreneurs, which include a mix of smaller businesses and brands from quirky greeting card companies and art illustrators to children’s authors and more:

•              Mea Mouse – new for 2024

•              Sophie Jonas-Hill – 2022 License This! winner

•              Vicki Thomas Associates 

•              Jelly Armchair – new for 2024

•              Aniballers – 2023 License This! winner, new for 2024

•              Kate Merritt – new for 2024

•              Middle Mouse – new for 2024

•              Ginger Betty – License This! winner

•              Greg & Company – new for 2024

•              Pictufy – new for 2024

•              Afro Entertainment Studios – new for 2024

•              This is Iris 

•              Plus, two final exhibiting entrepreneurs, to be announced shortly 

Sophie Jonas-Hill is an independent artist and illustrator and a winner of BLE’s License This! competition in 2022.

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“I will be bringing an onslaught of color and detail, a world of images and imagination that will give Discovery & Design visitors a taste of my versatility and talent,” says Jonas-Hill. “They will get to see something they’ve not seen before and which bucks the trend of uniformity. From darkly gothic and intriguing, to bright and bold with tones of humor and joy, it’s a collection of images and concepts which could spawn a myriad of product lines and campaigns.”

Jenn Cash (Mea Mouse) is a graphic designer, technology consultant and STEM ambassador. She is also the founder of Mea Mouse.

“Mea Mouse is a vibrant and exciting new brand and we’re exhibiting at BLE because I want to grow Mea Mouse from an Irish known brand to a global brand like Peppa Pig,” says Cash. “We have Mea Mouse toys and clothing to inspire STEM subjects in young children and, at BLE, we will be launching STEM books for younger children.”

“Discovery & Design is a springboard for small businesses with emerging brands eager to explore the world of brand licensing,” says Ella Haynes, event director, BLE. “It’s a brilliant showcase for BLE’s global audience of licensors, retailers and industry professionals to discover and partner with untapped creativity, talent and unique offerings before they go mainstream.”

Entrepreneurs specializing in art, design and illustration are welcome to apply to exhibit in Discovery & Design 2025 at any stage in their business’s journey. Other smaller brands and businesses can qualify as exhibitors in the area for a maximum of two years on the proviso they have no licensing deals and/or officially launched products.

To speak to any of these brands, register for Brand Licensing Europe 2024 for free.