BOCA RATON, Fla., May 23, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Grom Social Enterprises, Inc. (GROM) Curiosity Ink Media – an original cross-platform family entertainment franchise creator, producer and franchise manager – announced today that the company s is partnering with Cepia LLC to serve as the licensing agent for the successful toy and entertainment franchise, Cats versus pickles. The Cats versus pickles The brand has established huge appeal among fans around the world with bean-filled collectible toys, popular YouTube animated shorts, and hyper-casual app play. The announcement was made jointly by Cepia LLC Founder and Managing Director James Russell Hornsby and Curiosity Ink Media Managing Director Jared Wolfson, Content Director Russell Hicks and Chief Creative Officer Brent Watts.
The licensing partnership builds on the Curiosity-Cepia relationship established in 2021, an alliance to develop Cats versus pickles in a widely distributed animated series featuring the hilarious cast of characters from the hugely popular Cats versus pickles range of products. In addition to entertainment content, Curiosity Ink Media has also committed to developing several publishing titles, slated for release in 2022 and 2023. The first book in the series, Everyone loves cats versus pickles is slated for release in September 2022.
“Cats versus pickles has all the makings of character-based toy ownership that can successfully expand into various business categories,” Wolfson said. “We believe it is ideally positioned for continued growth, and we are excited to work with Russ and the great team at Cepia to further strengthen the property, with expanded entertainment content and cross-licensing applications.”
The licensing program will benefit from the growing popularity of Cats versus pickles, as fans have amassed huge collections and love the brand’s quirky and clever designs. To date, there are over 600 distinctly styled characters (or “beans” as fans call them) in the collection, all featuring silly puns in their names and bios (including one-eared Vincent van Meow). or Triggy Kitty, the covered black cat in mathematical equations). And, of course, the adorable Pickles are also treasured by collectors, including Leaf Pickleson, the Viking Pickle or the dashing Fitzgherkin in a tuxedo.
A recent survey of over 1300 Cats versus pickles fans revealed that the average collection size was over 70 characters, with 20% having collections of 120 or more in the last year alone. The brand also has fans for children and adults, with boys and girls collecting. Remarkably, more than 60% of all fans report regularly taking their Cats versus pickles collectibles with them at school or at work, making it a true lifestyle brand.
“Cats versus pickles is more than a collector’s item; for our fans, the whole CvP community is an important part of their lives that gives them a bit of happiness and joy,” says Hornsby. “Cats versus pickles speaks to the “kidult” in all of us and, in many ways, is truly a collectible comfort pet. »
The brand phenomenon is not new territory for Cepia. Their robotic hamster toy, Zhu Zhu Pets, was a huge success that created 60 million Zhunatic fans worldwide and generated over $1.7 billion in retail sales for the privately held toy company. The Zhu Zhu Pets brand is commemorated on TIME magazine’s list of “100 Greatest Toys of All Time” and received “Toy of the Year” honors in five countries, including “Toy of the Year 2010”, “Most Innovative Toy” and “Best toy for girls”.
“We see several hallmarks of a collectible franchise that hits the right notes, with an engaged and growing fan base that spans demographics, intelligent characters that are loved, and a storyline that has heart,” Laura Frerichs added. , Marketing Director of Cepia. “Our CvP community has been actively requesting licensed merchandise across all categories – they can’t wait to show their true Team Cat or Team Pickle colors.”
Curiosity Ink Media will hold meetings with selected partners at the upcoming Licensing Expo 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 24e – May 26e.
About Cepia
Based in St Louis, Mo., Cepia, LLC is a privately held, family-owned global manufacturer of entertainment-focused brands designed to ignite the imaginations of children of all ages. Led by industry veteran and former Inventor of the Year, James Russell Hornsby and a small group of passionate toymakers, Cepia creates toy franchises that ignite magic through wonder and imagination. Cats versus pickles is distributed through major and specialty retailers in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand. For more information, please visit www.cepiallc.com and www.catsvpickles.com.
About Curiosity Ink Media
Curiosity Ink Media is a global media company that develops, acquires, builds, expands and maximizes the short, medium and long-term commercial potential of children’s and family entertainment properties and associated business opportunities. Led by a top-notch management team, Curiosity Ink Media’s multi-faceted IP library is designed to amass continued value through strategic management, partnerships and highly focused market entry.
About Grom Social Enterprises, Inc.
Grom Social Enterprises, Inc. is a growing social media platform and original entertainment content provider for children under 13, providing safe and secure digital environments for children who may be monitored by their parents or guardians. The company has several operating subsidiaries, including Grom Social, which distributes its content through mobile and desktop environments (web portal and applications) that entertain children, allow them to interact with friends, access relevant information and to play proprietary games while teaching them how to be good. digital citizens. The company owns and operates Top Draw Animation, which produces award-winning animated content for some of the world’s largest international media companies. Grom also includes Grom Educational Services, which provided web filtering services for K-12 schools, government, and private businesses. For more information, visit gromsocial.com.
Forward-looking statements
This press release contains statements that may constitute “forward-looking statements”. These statements include statements regarding the current intention, belief or expectations of Grom and members of its management team and the assumptions on which such statements are based. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements. Important factors currently known to management that may cause actual results to differ from those anticipated are discussed in the Company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission which are available at www.sec.gov as well as on the Company website at www.gromsocial.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unforeseen events or changes in future results of operations.
For social enterprises Grom/Curiosity Ink Media
Marianne Romano
+1-818-681-0849
[email protected]
For investor relations
John McNamara
TraDigital IR
+1-917-658-2602
[email protected]
For CEPIA LLC
Laura Frerichs
[email protected]
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