As a global toy brand with offices in three continents, Moose Toys has significant deals with popular brands, including Shopkins, Magic Mixies and TV properties like “Bluey,” and the company is positioned to continue that momentum with a slew of IPs launching in the upcoming months. 

To better understand how Moose Toys got to this point, Menal McGrath, vice president, global licensing, Moose Toys, shares with License Global how the company’s licensing program began. “Moose ramped up its first major licensing program in 2014 following the success of Shopkins,” says McGrath. “It was the first time we expanded beyond the toy aisle into a variety of kids’ lifestyle categories.” 

While Shopkins helped put Moose Toys on the map, the master toy license for “Bluey” helped cement its place in the licensing world. 

“One of our largest partnerships has been ‘Bluey,’” says McGrath. “It was our first global master toy deal. We found the property through our team in Australia, where it launched on ABC Kids. It spoke so strongly to the hearts of our creative team that we went after it aggressively. The partnership with BBC has been amazing, and the success of ‘Bluey’ globally has been incredible. It’s universally loved by both kids and parents, and we’re having a great time introducing fun toys from key moments of the show.” 

An essential part of working in the toy industry is knowing what trends are coming down the pipeline and not just focusing on what’s popular right now.  

“Trends have been moving fairly quickly over the years,” says McGrath. “They vary depending on which category we are talking about. Movies, gaming, social media and fashion trends impact what we do in toys. We take it all in and use those cues and themes to create a truly fun experience for our consumers. Trends move a lot quicker than they used to.” 

On top of trends moving faster than they used to, the pandemic has changed how Moose Toys does business. The way children play and interact with the world around them has changed drastically. 

Learn more by reading the February issue of License Global now!