‘Licensing in the UK alone is a £8.5bn industry, growing at 4.5% per year: It’s a game changer’

By Gill Hyslop

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags brand licensing Brand Licensing Europe

Will Stewart, MD of The Point.1888, tells BakeryandSnacks about the massive potential brand licensing has for the food and beverage industry.

Stewart believes that everyone – regardless of whether they are a manufacturer, retailer or small start-up – should know and understand brand licensing.

“Licensing in the UK alone is a £8.5bn industry, growing at 4.5% per year. It’s a game changer,”​ he said.

“As a tiny little fish with giant whale sharks going past, how do you make a noise or get onto the radar? The answer is to partner with another brand that already has huge loyalty awareness or a big social media following.

“We used to say about five years ago that, to get a product onto the shelf, you had to get another off the shelf. Today, you probably have to get rid of two products and the supplier to get your publicity.

“However, a licensed brand can help you stand out,”​ said Stewart, who has a background in retail – with Sainsbury’s and John Lewis – before joining the licensing industry seven years ago.

“When you think about the modern licensing industry in pure economic terms, it’s supply and demand,”​ added Stewart.

“Supply is brand owners and demand is retail. What an agency tries to do is match these up.”

The company’s marketing material states that ‘if you’re prepared to go out of your comfort zone, create something new and work with businesses you never thought you would, the results could be incredible.’

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