Continued growth in key territories inspires expanded regional representation

Bulldog Licensing, licensing agent for the Carte Blanche Greetings Me to You brand and its signature characters Tatty Teddy and Tiny Tatty Teddy, has announced the appointment of two sub-agents to address the brand’s growth in some key territories.

They are MJA Licensing – for France, Belgium and Luxembourg – and WP Brands, which will manage Australia and New Zealand.

Founded in 2005, MJA Licensing is a global agency that represents a growing number of European and international clients and helps them to license their brands. Under the leadership of Françoise Bouvet, an experienced professional whose background includes management posts in the consumer goods, telecommunications and leisure sectors, the company works with a wide range of brands and categories, boasting experience in both licensee and licensor roles, mastery of many different distribution channels, a strong sensitivity to merchandising techniques and international experience in sales and management.

WP Brands is a leading independent brand marketing and licensing agency based in Melbourne, Australia. The WP business creates brand marketing and licensed product partnerships for all types of entertainment and lifestyle properties – from major movie releases to leading video game franchises, platforms and apps.  MD John Vasta is a strategic consumer products and marketing executive with over 25 years’ experience in growing business for the world’s leading consumer brands.

Both of these respected companies will be working with a property that is enjoying a growing international presence more than three decades since it burst on the scene to become a hit in the greetings card market, quickly expanding into licensing.

In fact since 2001 Me to You brand owner Carte Blanche has partnered with best-in-class licensees to bring to market many best-selling Me to You products, led by its signature character Tatty Teddy, the cute grey bear with a blue nose.

More than thirty years since the character first arrived, the appeal of Tatty Teddy now extends well beyond its original incarnation as a greeting card illustration to make it a staple part of the UK brand landscape, achieving around $1.7 million in retail sales value every week. Among the many licensing categories that have embraced Tatty Teddy are daywear and nightwear, accessories, gifting, pins and patches and crafting kits.

Françoise Bouvet says: “For many years Me to You has been the go-to brand for love, friendship, and sharing the moments in life that really matter. Its values – including celebration, kindness and affection – are universal. We see it as a brand with enormous potential across the territories we manage, and we’re thrilled that Bulldog and Carte Blanche have appointed us to boost its fast-growing presence in those areas.”

John Vasta says: “When customers have something to say, whether to a friend or loved one, a Me to You product helps them express the emotion they want to convey. The sentimental nature of the brand continues to resonate with and connect fans worldwide. It’s already making major inroads into the Australia and New Zealand markets and we’re looking forward to taking this wonderful brand to the next level.”

Bulldog Brand Manager Sophie Yates says: “Tatty Teddy is already one of the most popular character brands on the market, with a strong and enduring family appeal that is extending into many new markets and growing in established ones. Managing this growth has meant expanding the brand’s representation – and we’re thrilled to have the skill and expertise of MJA Licensing and WP Brands to support brand growth in two key territories.”

Darts merchandise, arcade games and gifts join growing programme

Bullseye licensing activity has continued to ramp up – further boosted by the recent return of the iconic game show to TV screens. Bullseye licensing agent Bulldog Licensing has announced three more licenses for the Bullseye brand to add to recent major wins in gifting, dress-up, wall art and books.

This time the wildly popular brand is welcoming licensees games, gaming and gifts: Darts Corner for darts, dart flights, dartboards and other darts merchandise; Harry Levy Amusements for coin pushers and novelty redemption games; and PMS International for a wide range of gift products.

Darts Corner is a perfect partner for Bullseye-branded items. It’s the world’s number one online retailer for darts and associated products and is, as it says, “passionate about every aspect of this fantastic sport”.

The Darts Corner Bullseye range, including the highest-quality darts, flights, shirts, cases, mats, dartboards and more, is adorned with classic designs from the famous show including the instantly recognisable Bully cartoon and the famous Bullseye logo. Now available, it’s a must for anyone who loves darts or the TV show.

Harry Levy Amusements, formed in 1980, is a leading manufacturer of amusement machines in the UK. Its Bullseye range will include the company’s universally popular coin pushers along with redemptions machines that offer prizes for winning games of skill. All the machines will feature illustrations of Bully and the Bullseye logo as well as the many catchphrases of the show such as “Bully’s special prize”, and “Nothing in this game for two in a bed”. Available next year, the machines will be sold to arcades throughout the UK.

PMS International Group, the UK’s leading manufacturer and distributor of value-driven gifts and plush, draws on over 50 years of innovation and expertise to create an exciting new range of Bullseye products. Launching in Spring 2026, the collection will feature eye-catching neon bar signs, stylish drinkware, bottle openers, BBQ sets and car accessories — alongside a standout articulated “Bully” figure complete with proximity-activated movement and authentic sound effects.

And many more licence announcements are imminent in what is proving to be an amazing year for the iconic darts brand that first aired on ITV in the 1980s, spending 14 years on ITV. A revival on Sky Challenge, regular repeat showings, guest appearances, celebrity specials and a social media launch maintained brand awareness throughout the 2000s.

And now Bullseye has returned to ITV! Following the massive success of the 2024 Bullseye Christmas special, hosted by Freddie Flintoff and featuring teenage darts phenomenon Luke Littler, Freddie and official scorer Richard Ashdown are back in a brand new series on ITV. More than two million fans old and new are now enjoying this unique show in which contestants consisting of one amateur darts player and one trivia or quizzing expert, play to win Bully’s special prizes.

The show is synonymous with fun, celebrity players and its many catchphrases. The licensing programme has built on the enduring popularity of the show, with Bullseye-branded apparel, bingo, games, publishing, and food and drink, a specially created Bullseye online store, and formats adapted for holiday resorts and homes.

Led by Luke Littler’s success, the brand is also building on a growing youth interest. Bullseye was recently announced as a sponsor of the Blackburn Youth Darts Academy.

Laura Wood, Managing Director, Bullseye Group, says: “Bullseye has attracted numerous partners across all categories over the years, but the core games, gaming and gift categories have always been popular and are expected to enjoy strong growth with the widely welcomed return to ITV of the show. That is why we are delighted to be able to announce such strong partnerships in areas where the Bullseye name and associations are especially appropriate.”

Bulldog MD Rob Corney adds: “There’s a lot of excitement from everyone involved with Bullseye as brand awareness, always strong, reaches new heights after the announcement of its return to TV. These three best-in-class licensees will bring the fun, skill and unmistakable imagery of the show to arcades, handheld devices and homes across the UK. And there’s much more to come very soon!”

New appointment helps agency manage growth and address new opportunities

Award-winning licensing agency Bulldog Licensing has announced the appointment of Joel Banks as its new Licensing Coordinator. This post has been created to help manage portfolio growth along with the ongoing evolution of service demands for the agency.

Joel’s responsibilities will include supporting the team as a whole across the contract process and product approvals and general administrative tasks – an essential role as business continues to ramp up for this award-winning agency.

This is Joel’s first job in licensing and one to which he brings diverse abilities and experience. Prior to joining Bulldog he worked a chef and a mechanic. But his first love was sport – indeed he pursued academic studies in this field leading to a National Diploma and employment as a sports coach. All three roles allowed him developed creativity, people skills and excellent organisational abilities.

He is now applying these skills to a new field, but one in which he has already hit the ground running. As he says: “Licensing is a diverse and fast-moving field, offering many exciting challenges and opportunities that appealed to me from the start – and working with one of the most respected names in the field is a clear bonus. I am already greatly enjoying my new role, which I hope will be the start of a long career in this amazing industry.”

Sophie Yates, Brand Manager with Bulldog, says: “For this role we needed someone who could work with diverse projects and adapt quickly. Joel’s enthusiasm, intelligence and energy impressed us from the start; they were just what we were looking for. In fact he is already a valued member of the team.”

Bulldog brings popular character to UK food gifting and cards & wrap

Independent licensing agency Bulldog Licensing, which has been appointed by Banijay Kids & Family as UK and Ireland licensing agent for Mr Bean, has announced two major new licensee signings for the iconic comedy character: Blue Tree for food gifting and UK Greetings for greeting cards and gift wrap.

Blue Tree, a supplier of stylish, engaging and contemporary food and alcohol gifts, has launched its first Mr Bean mug and sock set which is available at retail now. A full collection will launch next year, including a breakfast set, and a hot water bottle and sleep mask with hot chocolate and marshmallows set.

Founded in 2001, Blue Tree has become one of the leading specialist gifting companies in the UK, designing, creating, producing and delivering high-quality, stylish, engaging and contemporary alcohol, soft drinks, food and confectionery gift sets to major national retailers. The company also supplies brand owners with premium gifting solutions and limited edition packaging.

The range from UK Greetings, one of the UK’s best known names in social expression products, with a strong licensed output, will also be inspired by the popular Mr Bean animated show which will supply the illustrations for a wide range of funny and memorable greeting cards and gift wrap.

UK Greetings is one of the largest direct-to-retail publishers in the country, ensuring that the Mr Bean range will be widely available from Autumn 2025 across the UK.

Mr Bean tries to solve apparently minor problems presented by everyday tasks and often causes major, and hilarious, disruption in the process. The visual and often non-verbal comedy that drives the character has ensured there have been no language barriers to a success that has brought Mr Bean high awareness and enormous popularity in 200+ countries via a live action show, and animated show, two movies and a vast online presence that has attracted nearly 250 million subscribers across social media platforms and is the biggest Facebook page in the world for a film and television character.

Bulldog Licensing is pursuing new and expanded opportunities for the property in kids’ and adults’ markets, focusing on both the iconic original series and the highly popular animated series.

Among many successes for the campaign has been Whitehouse Leisure’s amusement plush, which is now one of the most popular products in the UK amusement industry.

The fourth and latest Mr Bean: The Animated Series (produced by Tiger Aspect Kids & Family) launched in Q2 2025. Executive produced and voiced by Rowan Atkinson, it airs on multiple platforms including ITVX and Warner Brothers Discovery in the UK.

Imagery from both live and animated formats inform a licensing campaign which targets multiple categories including (to name only a few) homeware, stationery, t-shirts, toys, collectables, bags and greeting cards.

Roubina Tchoboian, Head of Global Licensing, Banijay Kids & Family says: “Mr Bean is continuing to attract a diverse range of licensing partners for whom the strength of the brand, its decades of success, its humour and its iconic visual assets offer strong and attractive selling points. And of course Blue Tree and UK Greetings, both leaders in their fields, are ideal partners for this much-loved property.”

Bulldog Retail Licensing Manager, Laury Howat adds: “It’s been 35 years since Mr Bean first appeared on screens and today he is one of the most recognisable characters in entertainment. With a new animated series enhancing his appeal to fans of all ages, it’s an ideal time to build on that success for audiences old and new – and we’re thrilled to welcome Blue Tree and UK Greetings and their wonderful products to the Mr Bean licensing programme.”