Ioguis takes home top prize at the annual competition for promising new brands.

EUROPE–Ioguis was named the winner of the License This! competition for new creative concepts at Brand Licensing Europe on Thursday as the trade show rounded out its 19th year.

Held in front of a panel of judges, this year’s final was a head-to-head battle between the British art and design studio Deckled Edge and Spanish children’s brand Ioguis.

Presented by Florencia Kohan, Ioguis features five illustrated friends friends who live in the woods and meet a yoga master who teaches them the philosophy of yoga through games, postures and wisdom. The story has been designed to invite children to learn how to handle their emotions and habits and encourage them to practice yoga.

"I feel pretty emotional and very happy to have won License This!,” says Kohan, creative director, Ioguis. “Winning this award and being able to come back next year with a stand at BLE 2018 will be a very important step in growing the brand and helping to position it across new sectors."

This year’s judging panel was led by Kelvyn Gardner of LIMA U.K., and also included Sam Ferguson of Jazwares, Jane Evans of JELC, Dan Grant of Danilo and Clare Piggott of Larkshead Media.

“The mindfulness and the element of yoga, and installing it in a pre-school property the way they have, just feels lovely,” says Ferguson. “It’s truly shocking when you read about children suffering with stress at such a young age so this brand’s ethos is great.”

Launched in 2009, License This! was introduced by BLE to give unlicensed brands and image owners the opportunity to enter the licensing market, which is currently worth $262.9 billion globally.

BLE is Europe’s premier licensing event and took place this week, Oct. 10-12, at London’s Olympia. The 20th annual BLE is set to take place Oct. 9-11, 2018, at Olympia.