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After creating iconic music, Backstreet Boys to foray into restaurant business

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After creating iconic music, Backstreet Boys to foray into restaurant business

If you want to relish some roasted chicken along with ‘Larger than Life’ music, it’s time to break out into a choreographed dance number. Wonder why? After creating iconic music, Vocal group Backstreet Boys are all set to foray into the restaurant business – Backstreet Barbecue.

A company with the group’s members A.J. McLean, Howie D, Brian Littrell and Nick Carter listed as directors, filed documents, which were obtained on February 9 to trademark ‘Backstreet Barbecue’ for use in a new restaurant.

Founded in 1993, the group consists of AJ McLean, Howie D., Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell.

On Saturday, Carter took to the Twitter and wrote, “When you have two boys from Kentucky and three from Florida, I promise you that it’s gonna be finger licking good.”


The news comes on the heels of Carter telling a food blog they are looking for a partner in Mexico to start making their own tequila.

The band recently chatted with Tasting Table during a two-show stint in Cancun, and they casually mentioned their huge interest in tequila.

“And that leads us into talking about our tequila venture that we’ll be coming out with. We just need to find a partner here in Mexico,” Nick was quoted as saying from the Cosmopolitan.

However, Backstreet Boys aren’t the first boy band icons to break into the world of comfort food; NSYNC’s Joey Fatone runs a successful Florida food truck called Fat One’s Hot Dogs and Italian Ice.

Since its formation, the American band had delivered hit numbers like ‘I want it that way’, ‘Incomplete’, ‘Quit playing games and ‘Show me the meaning of being in love’.

Smileys to spread happiness in India, company seeking partners for collaborations

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Smileys to spread happiness in India, company seeking partners for collaborations

 

Nicolas Loufrani, who created the first-ever 3D smiley in 1997, have big plans for India.

In an interview with The Hindu, Loufrani told the company is seeking new partners for collaborations as India is at top of his priorities.

The Smiley Company maker, which is known for nearly 1,000 emojis and smileys sees India as a market with immense potential.

The company foresees volumes from potential markets such as FMCG, fashion, toys, school products, home decor and footwear.

“We will introduce new collections in India from its global portfolio. We want to grow four-fold in three years here to a retail revenue of USD 20 million from USD 5 to 6 million,” Loufrani was quoted as saying.

Last year, the company appointed Dream Theater as its representative to enter into new partnerships. In addition, the licensees sold over USD 400 million worth of products globally across 13 different industries last year.

The Smiley Company is one of the top 100 licensing companies in the world, with over 310 licensees globally. The Smiley trademark is registered in over 100 countries. The company is already into fashion products in India through its licensees Lifestyle Departmental stores and Archies Gift shops.

“When I started developing the digital smiley in 1997 and started the official smiley dictionary in 2001, I had said it was the birth of a universal language. My slogan then was to create a new form of communication that people could use to bring more emotions into their communication and replace words with the images,” Loufrani was quoted as saying.

Recognized as the symbol of positivity across the world, Loufrani added the idea behind the creation of Smiley is to spread smiles throughout the world.

Puma and BTS join hands, to launch new sportstyle campaigns

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Puma and BTS join hands, to launch new sportstyle campaigns

Sports major PUMA has announced its partnership with world-renowned pop music icons BTS. PUMA and BTS will release their collaborative product first in Korea this Spring, followed by other regions later this Summer.

The PUMAxBTS collection includes a remix of the classic PUMA Turin and stylish sportswear basics.

Earlier, they had already partnered with PUMA in South Korea on brand campaigns and product collaborations.

With this association, BTS will be seen in PUMA campaigns this year for the brand’s Sportstyle range, which includes classic PUMA icons such as the PUMA Suede and T-7 Track Suits.

The Seoul-based K-pop group comprised of V, SUGA, JungKook, RM, Jin, j-hope and Jimin have been making huge waves in the music scene and are adored by millions of fans from their home base to the far corners of the globe.

BTS won the ‘Top Social Artist’ last year at the Billboard Music Awards, one of the top three music awards in the United States, surpassing world-famous artists. They were also officially invited to the American Music Awards (AMA) to perform on stage, being the first K-pop group to do so, increasing the reputation of K-pop music and culture.

Universal, Gen Art join hands to design new capsule collection for Jurassic Park

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Universal, Gen Art join hands to design new capsule collection for Jurassic Park

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the iconic film Jurassic Park, Universal Brand Development have partnered with Gen Art to design a new capsule collection.

To mark the occasion, Gen Art and clothing label Faircloth & Supply have created a range that includes relaxed womenswear, menswear and unisex silhouette separates in a host of Jurassic Park-inspired colors.

“Twenty-five years ago, Jurassic Park captivated audiences worldwide, and fans today continue to celebrate the film’s legacy,” said Stephanie Kraus, senior vice president worldwide, product design and development, consumer products, Universal Brand Development.

Interestingly, each clothing also showcases the Jurassic Park 25th anniversary logo.

The Gen Art x Jurassic Park 25th clothing line will hit the shelves later this month on the web portal — Macys.com, as well as at Macy’s Herald Square on Monday, April 2, as part of a special shopping event.

“Gen Art is renowned for working with some of the most influential designers, and we are excited to collaborate with them on a collection that captures the beauty, wonder and thrills of the inaugural chapter of our beloved franchise,” Stephanie further added.

The latest installment, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, will hit the U.S. theatres on June 22.

eOne announces Alpha Group as master toy partner for Peppa Pig in China

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eOne announces Alpha Group as master toy partner for Peppa Pig in China

Entertainment One (eOne) unveils that Alpha Group is on board as master toy partner for its hit global preschool property, Peppa Pig, in China and will introduce an extensive new toy line in 2018 that will continue to fuel the brand’s accelerating growth in the market.

As part of their strategy, Alpha plans to offer multiple price points across the range to give consumers more choice and value for money.

The award-winning TV series made a strong broadcast debut in China in June 2015 on national broadcaster CCTV and is now also available on multiple leading VOD platforms including Youku, IQIYi and Tencent, where the series has now accumulated a staggering 45 billion cumulative views.

Harnessing the rising popularity of the show, eOne has just appointed Alpha Group, one of China’s leading toy manufacturers, as master toy partner. Plans are underway for the launch of a brand-new core toy range including playsets, figurines and role play which will debut in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Commenting on the partnership, Andrew Carley, EVP Global Licensing, Family & Brands comments, “Alpha’s leading position in the Chinese market, in addition to its industrial chain platform and diverse operational IP experience, will contribute greatly to the reach of Peppa Pig across a wider consumer spectrum and we’re delighted to have them on board.”

The licensing program for China now proudly boasts over 45 partners and is continuing to expand. Apparel, publishing, digital and confectionery categories are all reporting very strong sales with over 40 million books sold since April 2016 and over 7 million plush products sold to date. In addition, three sets of Peppa Pig branded and animated emoji’s have been downloaded over 20 million times and shared more than 210 million times.

Live events and immersive fan experiences are also a key priority for eOne in China. This September will see the opening of Merlin Entertainments’ first Peppa Pig attraction in Shanghai. Alongside this, a new deal has been signed with Happy Kids Cultural Development for a Peppa Pig stage show that will tour the country over the next three years. A number of branded pop-up and mall events are also in the pipeline.

Kenny Cao, Senior Vice President at Alpha Group said, “More and more families in China have fallen in love with Peppa Pig. Such collaboration will enable both parties to make the most of resources for a mutually beneficial partnership. Alpha also aspires to enhance its competitiveness in the family entertainment field.”

To manage this rapid growth, eOne has expanded its local team in the company’s Hong Kong office and has recently appointed Jennifer Pang as Licensing Director, Leo Tsoi as Hardgoods Manager, Joyce Lauw, as Director of Product Development and Debra Ng as VP of Marketing.

Alpha’s leading position in China and rich IP management experience will facilitate the Peppa Pig IP to reach a wider audience. eOne’s proactive efforts to protect its IP from piracy are ongoing and in 2017 the licensor removed over 80,000 online marketplace listings across leading e-commerce platforms covering 5 continents, as well as seizing approximately 1.5 million physical goods globally. eOne and Alpha will continue to collaborate with Chinese authorities to carry out an extensive anti-counterfeiting programme to reduce and deter infringement of its brands.

Entertainment One is a global independent studio that specialises in the development, acquisition, production, financing, distribution and sales of entertainment content.

Was cheated by Pan Masala brand in India, says British actor Pierce Brosnan

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Was cheated by Pan Masala brand in India, says British actor Pierce Brosnan

Pierce Brosnan, best known as portraying James Bond in the movies, has told Indian authorities that he was “cheated” by a mouth freshener company by linking the British actor to a product with a reported association with an addictive form of tobacco, BBC reported.

In 2016, Brosnan agreed to advertise a so-called breath freshener/tooth whitener for an Indian company called Ashok & Co. However, after taking part in the campaign, the actor discovered that the company were using his image to promote a separate brand – Pan Bahar.

In a written response, the British-actor told the Indian government that Ashok & Co, a mouth freshener company, never disclosed the hazardous nature of the product Pan Bahar.

The former Bond actor had condemned the “unauthorized” use of his image in the ad for Pan Bahar in in 2016, soon after it first appeared.

However, Ashok & Co. denied in 2016 that tobacco was linked to its product and had not reacted to Brosnan’s most recent statement, reports BBC.

In an interview with the People Magazine, he told that he was “deeply shocked and saddened” to participate in the Pan Bahar ad campaign after learning it may include cancer-causing ingredients.

Soon, after the advertisements, people went berserk, and questioned the actor of endorsing a hazardous product.

“As a man who has spent decades championing women’s health care and environmental protection, I was distressed to learn of Pan Bahar’s unauthorized and deceptive use of my image to endorse their range of pan masala products. I would never have entered into an agreement to promote a product in India that is dangerous to one’s health.,” Brosnan said clarifying his stance, per People in 2016 and was quoted from the Newsmax.

Recently, Health officials in Delhi, SK Arora, released Brosnan’s response to the press. It stated, “Brosnan also said that his agreement with the company was over and he was ready to extend all kinds of support and cooperation to our department against such campaigns. He has given an undertaking in writing that he would never assist any company with regard to promotion of such products or other such harmful products in future.”

Both pan masala and gutka have been linked to cancer, with many Indian states banning their sale to discourage people from buying those hazardous items.

Jacqueline Fernandez to be the new face of Jaipur-based Bella Casa

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Jacqueline Fernandez to be the new face of Jaipur-based Bella Casa

One of the largest manufacturers of home textile products and designer ethnic wear in India, Jaipur-based Bella Casa, has roped in Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez on board as its brand ambassador for a two-year period.

Speaking on the association, Jacqueline Fernandez said, “Bella Casa has been setting benchmarks in the Indian home textile and ethnic fashion apparel industry when it comes to marrying design innovation and product quality with affordability. All of its offerings are created with an in-depth attention to detail, which is why more than 50 lakh Indians every year choose Bella Casa products. I am excited to be associated with the brand and am looking forward to representing its unique proposition to the Indian consumer base.”

The association with Jacqueline will allow the brand to enhance its market salience on a pan-India level. Bella Casa have been aggressively working towards increasing its visibility and distribution capabilities across the country.

“The bed linen market in India is pegged at around Rs 13,000 crore at present and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12 percent annually. The ethnic fashion and apparel space has also witnessed a massive growth in demand for high-quality, stylish, yet affordable designer wear. We want to tap into these emerging business opportunities with our market-leading offerings. Bringing Jacqueline on board as our brand ambassador is perfectly in line with our growth strategy, as she personifies the style, trendiness, and elegance that Bella Casa as a brand stands for,” said Saurav Gupta, CEO, Bella Casa about the collaboration.

Listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the brand has a strong online presence through its associations with leading e-commerce companies such as Flipkart, Amazon, HomeShop18, and Naaptol.com.

Besides, Bella Casa has also tie-ups with some of the biggest modern retailers in India, including Reliance retail, Lifestyle, Pantaloons, Maxx, HyperCity, D-Mart, and Metro.

In addition, the brand also holds the licensing rights for Disney, Marvel, and hallmark design collection in India.

FREAKY FRIDAY – From Paintcollar to Souled Store: These startups have taken merchandising, art licensing to different level

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FREAKY FRIDAY – From Paintcollar to Souled Store: These startups have taken merchandising, art licensing to different level

From customization to merchandising, E-commerce in India has changed the way, something that was unthinkable years ago.

Fashion is the highest margin category in e-commerce, with most online marketplaces reporting that first-time customers often prefer to make fashion or mobile phone purchases. In fact, this category has given rise to a bunch of startups in the last few years.

Love Khaleesi from the Games of Thrones? Or still stuck in Harry Potter or FRIENDS? Want to showcase it on your quirky t-shirts or recently bought iPhone? Don’t worry! These startups have a solution, and have stood out, made a mark, and continue their winning streak.

Here we go:

The Souled Store:

Would you believe if I tell you that three youngsters from Mumbai turn their love for Star Wars into an online marketplace for pop culture merchandise – The Souled Store.

One of the famous online destination, where you can get customized items

Unlike other physical stores, the Souled Store give official merchandise at great prices, with a personal touch.

The Souled Store claims to be India’s largest online brand for big budget movies (Marvel, Batman, Superman, The Justice League, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Raees, etc.), cartoons (Cartoon Network, Scooby Doo, Flintstones etc.), TV Shows (Friends, The Big Bang Theory, South Park etc.), and sports (WWE, IPL teams like Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab, kabaddi franchises) and much more.

Founded by Vedang Patel, Rohin Samtaney and Aditya Sharma (all 28-years old) in June 2013, the online space has 5,00,000 customers with more than 1,000 orders per day.

The Store’s target audience is in the age group of 16-30 years, a bulk of which belongs to the middle-class segment.

Currently, The Souled Store’s official merchandise is all co-branded. TSS is also doing collaboration with artists from various fields such as music and stand-up comedy.

Merchandising inspired by cinema, TV, and popular characters had begun in the 1980s, with Disney’s products for children.

From a team of three and a small cupboard of T-shirts, the company now has a team of 75, including 18 designers (majority are NID and NIFT graduates). The Souled Store offers more than 20 designs for each category.

“We do not just do the regular logos and copy-paste merchandise. Once we acquire a licence for official merchandise, we are presented with a set of original and ready designs. However, we redo the designs and make them wittier and quirkier,” Patel was quoted as saying from The Hindu.

The online store even collaborated with 20-30 YouTube channels, including All India Bakchod, for promotion of products via tweets and videos. Partnerships with IPL teams such as Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings 11 Punjab, WWE and others help garner TV ads.

With an investment of Rs 1 Crore, the co-founders plan to open offline stores in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore in 2018 as branding exercise.

Paintcollar:

From a fest at IIT Bombay to ‘Baahubali’ merchandise, Paintcollar was founded in September 2014 by four 23-year old boys namely ‑ Shantanu Mahajan, Deepak Yadav, Akash Arun and Amogh Vaishampayan. It is a marketplace for merchandise, made and sold by partner artists.

As it is impossible for an independent artist to sell your artworks in the market, Amogh, who hails from a family of artists, felt their startup should focus on artists. The team recognised that they could help independent artists and creators.

(Image Courtesy: YourStory)

The firm has a creation engine that allows the partner artists to upload their designs on a given product template, say T-shirt or phone case. On uploading the design, the artists sets his or her profit margin on the product. This product margin is coupled with the base price, set by Paintcollar to release the final pricing of the product. This base pricing levied by Paintcollar includes the cost of manufacturing, packaging, and delivering the product.

Similar to FreeCutlr’s, Paintcollar works on a ‘just-in-time’ model, which allows them to incur no cost on inventory management. With 3,000 artists onboard, the firm ships 50‑60 products every day.

Besides, the company also has offline business, which takes B2B bulk orders for merchandise manufacturing to various corporate clients including Times Music and institutions such as IIT and IIM-Ahmedabad.

The firm stepped into the merchandising world with the movie Shivaay starring Ajay Devgan. After it got a huge response, they soon bagged a merchandising contract for Baahubali from Black White Orange Brands (BWO).

Zwende:

Founded by Innu Nevatia and her husband Sujay Suresh, Zwende is a one-stop destination for the customers who were frustrated by the lack of options in design. Zwende is an online mass customization platform that allows users to customize branded products with traditional designs, all falling within the boundaries of a very stringent design ethos.

Frustrated with the ‘aur dikhao’ attitude, the entrepreneurs themselves have created a software that evolves and learns according to the customers preferences while also showcasing the best possible combinations for that particular product.

(Image Courtesy: YourStory)

Once the customer orders the product, the designs and colours are hand painted by master craftsmen from each of the art forms, and delivered within three weeks.

“Zwende is inspired by a Spanish word duende, which roughly translates to that magical feeling when you see something you like, or a heightened state of emotion, expression or authenticity. So we added a zing to make it Zwende!” Sujay was quoted as saying from the Indian Express.

According to its official website, Zwende endeavor to bring together leading designers from all over the world to help build an incredible ensemble of innovative designs.

Currently, inspired from Indian folk art such as Madhubani and Tholu Bommolata, these versatile creations can be effortlessly adapted across lifestyle products.

Redesyn:

Founded by Shikhar Vaidya, Smriti Dubey, and Pratyush Singh in 2015, The platform began by curating graphic art and design on clothing and lifestyle products for men and women.

From an ecommerce platform for curated apparel and lifestyle products, SINS have pivoted to Redesyn a community-driven model and claims to offer design by the people, for the people.

(Image Courtesy: YourStory)

Redesyn works as a tech solutions provider to designers, brands, and influencers. It aims to nurture the community and make it a bigger part of the merchandise experience.

The team says that after the pivot they have been able to power merchandise solutions for over 1,000 designers and acquisition cost has lowered by 15 percent.

As per the founders, this is primarily due to the engagement that designers and artists generate on Instagram and Facebook, by communicating directly with their fanbase, bringing down the cost of acquiring a customer. Users acquired directly by designers stay longer and increase their basket size by over 45 percent in future purchases.

Redesyn also claims to have over 150 active designers, who get a total of over 1,100 orders a month.

Girnar Tea collaborates with Ajay Devgan for Bollywood movie ‘Raid’

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Girnar Tea collaborates with Ajay Devgan for Bollywood movie ‘Raid’

Leading FMCG conglomerate Girnar Food & Beverages has partnered with Ajay Devgan starrer Bollywood movie ‘RAID’.

Leading film marketing and brand alliance agency, Blue Bang Media & Entertainment completed the transaction.

The deal entails a co-branded TV commercial has been created to seamlessly merge the brand with the film. The salient features of the brand inherently align itself to the central character of ‘Raid’ played by Ajay Devgn hence the association fructified.

Started its journey four decades ago, Girnar Tea now holds the reputation of being one of India’s finest tea brands, with a respectable name amongst tea connoisseurs across the globe.

Girnar Tea is one of India’s finest tea brands and a respectable name amongst tea connoisseurs across the globe while the lead character of Raid is that of a tough and honest officer who strongly believes in his principles.

“An excellent fit between our brand and the character played by the star of the film Ajay Devgn in RAID attracted us towards the tie-up. Our TG of Kadak-Chai lovers looks up to Ajay Devgn as a symbol of toughness and principles as portrayed in the film. Also, it was a great opportunity to reach our core target audience by aligning our brand with an entertainment platform,” said the Director of the brand.

The lead character played by Devgan has an excellent connection with the brand’s TG of Kadak-chai lovers which have been used to link the brand and the film in the co-branded communication. The co-branded TV spot spans over 20 seconds will play out across leading media platforms.

Check out the commercial here:

Speaking on the association, Vinod Bhanushali, President – T-Series, said, “The partner brand Girnar has seamless synergy with our film RAID and the brand ethos of toughness and principles is in line with the character of Ajay Devgn in the film. Hence, we saw a great connection between the brand and the film and we are very happy to have a prestigious brand like Girnar as a brand partner on our film RAID.”

According to Vinay Punjabi, MD and CEO, Blue Bang Media & Entertainment, through this association, Girnar Tea accomplishes its objective of connecting with its core TG through an entertainment platform that echoes the salient features of the brand.

RAID is a thriller film produced by T-Series and Panorama Pictures, starring Ajay Devgn, Ileana D’Cruz and Saurabh Shukla in pivotal roles.

The edgy-thriller RAID hit the theatres on March 16, 2018.

Salman Khan replaces Priyanka Chopra, becomes new brand ambassador of Appy Fizz

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Salman Khan replaces Priyanka Chopra, becomes new brand ambassador of Appy Fizz

With a huge number of celebrity associations, 2018 can be rightly classified as the year of partnerships. Joining the bandwagon is superstar Salman Khan, who becomes the new face of the brand Appy Fizz.

The beverage company Parle Agro has announced Bollywood actor Salman Khan as the new ambassador of its brand Appy Fizz as it aims to further strengthen the brands connect with millions of consumers across India.

Khan is reportedly to feature in the new #FeelTheFizz campaign for the soft-drink brand. The brand association is a part of Fizz’s strategic large-scale marketing investments.

Bhai’s stylish, macho and magnetic attitude is a seamless fit for Appy Fizz’s bold and edgy persona and shall help drive far reaching impact and recall for the brand.

Khan replaces actor Priyanka Chopra who became the face of Appy Fizz during its 2016 brand revamp. She appeared in a television campaign unveiling the new bottle design and positioning the brand as a bold, edgy drink. Before Chopra, it was endorsed by actor Saif Ali Khan.

Speaking about the collaboration, Khan said, “I am delighted to come on board as the brand ambassador for Appy Fizz. With the exciting new campaign, I am positive the fans and the brand’s consumers will Feel the Fizz!”.

Since its launch in 2005, the Rs 650-crore brand, which aims to be Rs 4,000 crore has been a market leader in the category of fruit + fizz drinks. The brand’s recent association with Bigg Boss season 11 met with huge success, when Parle Agro unveiled a special edition Appy Fizz PET bottle along with the show, giving fans an exclusive chance to meet their hero.

Commenting on the association, Nadia Chauhan, Joint MD and CMO, Parle Agro, said, “Appy Fizz has established a strong foothold in the market over the years and with this collaboration, we want to further build the brand through aggressive marketing initiatives. Salman Khan’s magnetic personality seamlessly reflects the brand’s identity and with his popularity along with the power of Appy Fizz, we aim to make this brand a household name.”

With this development, the Kick-actor is the newest addition to the existing list of A-listers as the face of a Parle Agro. Alia Bhatt is presently associated as the brand ambassador for Frooti and its variants and Tollywood superstar Allu Arjun for Frooti in South India.

Khan will feature in an exciting new Appy Fizz TVC supported by a multi-media campaign which will be rolled out this summer.

Apart from Appy, Frooti and Bailley, it also sells jeera masala soda Dhishoom, flavoured carbonated drink Frio and carbonated coffee beverage Café Cuba.

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