Bulldog Licensing has revealed that confectionery specialist Kinnerton is developing a range based on new anime YO-KAI WATCH.

Tipped to be the biggest boys brand for Back to School 2016, YO-KAI WATCH follows an average boy, Nate, who gets a special watch empowering him to discover mysterious beings called “Yo-kai.”  Yo-kai are everywhere, causing little nuisances in our daily lives.  Nate’s ongoing quest is to discover the reason for the Yo-kai’s mischievous behaviour, with hopes of talking them out of it.  Each time Nate needs to solve a problem – a problem often caused by another troublesome Yo-kai – he uses his watch to call upon a friendly Yo-kai to aid him.  Adventure and high jinks ensue, to the great delight and amusement of the millions of YO-KAI WATCH fans across Japan, and soon across the world.

The anime series has already enjoyed huge success in Japan, where it dominates the television, merchandise, gaming and toy markets, generating retail sales of over €2 billion in less than two years. In the UK the show broadcasts on Cartoon Network.

Kinnerton will produce a varied range, including Easter eggs, mealtime sets, mug and egg sets, advent calendars and chocolate lollies. Distribution will be through chain stores, department stores, mass merchants, catalogues and speciality stores.
The deal follows hot on the heels of a publishing agreement with Centum, and adds to existing licensees Hasbro (Master Toy) and Nintendo (Video Games).

“Despite only recently launching in the UK, this brand is attracting a huge amount of interest,” says Bulldog Licensing Manager Vicky Hill. “We are in talks with many other partners, so watch this space – YO-KAI WATCH is going to be huge!”