Grom Social Enterprises, Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GROM) Curiosity Ink Media
– a creator, producer and franchise manager of original
multiplatform family entertainment – today announced that the
company will partner with Cepia LLC to serve as licensing agent for
the hit toy and entertainment franchise, Cats vs Pickles. The Cats
vs Pickles brand has established tremendous appeal among global
fans with collectible bean-filled toys, popular YouTube animated
shorts and a hyper-casual app game. The announcement was made
jointly by Cepia LLC Founder and Chief Executive Officer, James
Russell Hornsby, and Curiosity Ink Media’s Chief Executive Officer,
Jared Wolfson, Chief Content Officer 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 vs Pickles into a widely distributed animated series
featuring the hilarious cast of characters from the wildly popular
Cats vs Pickles product line. In addition to entertainment content,
Curiosity Ink Media has also signed on to develop multiple
publishing titles, planned for 2022 and 2023 release. The first
book in the series, Everybody Loves Cats vs Pickles is slated for
release in September of 2022.
“Cats vs Pickles has all the ingredients of a
character-based toy property that can successfully expand into
various categories of business,” said Wolfson. “We believe it is
uniquely positioned for continued growth, and are excited to work
with Russ and the great team at Cepia to further bolster the
property, with expanded entertainment content and multi-segmented
licensing applications."
The licensing program will tap into the growing
popularity of Cats vs Pickles, as fans have amassed huge
collections and love the brand’s signature quirky, clever designs.
To date, there are more than 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 blackboard cat covered in math equations).
And, of course, the lovable Pickles are treasured by collectors as
well, including Leaf Pickleson, the Viking pickle or the dashing,
tuxedo-clad Fitzgherkin.
A recent survey of over 1300 Cats vs Pickles
fans revealed that the average collection size is over 70
characters, with 20% boasting collections of 120 or more in just
the past year. The brand also has kid and adult fans, with both
boys and girls collecting. Remarkably, more than 60% of all fans
report that they regularly take their Cats vs Pickles collectibles
with them to school or to work, making it a true lifestyle
brand.
“Cats vs Pickles is more than a collectible; to
our fans the entire CvP community is an important part of their
life that gives them a little happiness and joy,” explains Hornsby.
“Cats vs Pickles speaks to the ‘kidult’ in all of us, and, in many
ways, is really a comfort pet collectible.”
Brand phenomenon are not new territory for
Cepia. Their robotic hamster toy, Zhu Zhu Pets, was a massive hit
that created 60 million Zhunatic fans worldwide and delivered more
than $1.7B in retail sales for the privately held toy company. The
Zhu Zhu Pets brand is memorialized on TIME Magazine’s list of the
“All-time 100 Greatest Toys,” and received top honor “Toy of the
Year” recognition in five countries, including 2010 "Toy of the
Year," "Most Innovative Toy" and "Best Girls Toy."
“We see several hallmarks of a collectible
franchise that hits the right notes, with an engaged and growing
fanbase that spans demographic groups, clever characters that are
beloved and a storyline that has heart,” added Cepia’s Chief
Marketing Officer, Laura Frerichs. “Our CvP community have been
actively asking for licensed product in all categories – they can’t
wait to show their true colors of Team Cat or Team Pickle.”
Curiosity Ink Media will be taking meetings with
select partners during the upcoming Licensing Expo 2022 in Las
Vegas, Nevada, May 24th – May 26th.
About CepiaHeadquartered in St
Louis, Mo., Cepia, LLC is a privately held, family-owned global
manufacturer of entertainment-driven 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 band
of passionate toymakers, Cepia creates toy franchises that ignite
magic through wonder and imagination. Cats vs Pickles is
distributed in major and specialty retailers in the USA, UK,
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, grows and maximizes the short, mid, and long-term
commercial potential of Kids & Family entertainment properties
and associated business opportunities. Driven by a best-in-class
leadership team, Curiosity Ink Media’s multi-faceted I.P. library
is designed to amass ongoing value through strategic stewardship,
partnerships, and highly targeted market entry.
About Grom Social Enterprises,
Inc.Grom Social Enterprises, Inc. is a growing social
media platform and original content provider of entertainment for
children under 13 years of age, which provides safe and secure
digital environments for kids that can be monitored by their
parents or guardians. The Company has several operating
subsidiaries, including Grom Social, which delivers its content
through mobile and desktop environments (web portal and apps) that
entertain children, let them interact with friends, access relevant
news, and play proprietary games while teaching them about being
good digital citizens. The Company owns and operates Top Draw
Animation, which produces award-winning animation content for some
of the largest international media companies in the world. Grom
also includes Grom Educational Services, which has provided web
filtering services for K-12 schools, government and private
businesses. For more information, please visit gromsocial.com.
Forward-Looking StatementsThis
press release contains statements, which may constitute
“forward-looking statements.” Those statements include statements
regarding the intent, belief, or current expectations of Grom and
members of its management team as well as the assumptions on which
such statements are based. Such 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 such forward-looking statements. Important
factors currently known to management that may cause actual results
to differ from those anticipated are discussed throughout the
Company’s reports filed with Securities and Exchange Commission
which are available at www.sec.gov as well as the Company’s web
site at www.gromsocial.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to
update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed
assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to
future operating results.
For Grom Social Enterprises/Curiosity Ink
MediaMarianne
Romano+1-818-681-0849media@gromsocial.com
For Investor RelationsJohn McNamaraTraDigital
IR+1-917-658-2602john@tradigitalir.com
For CEPIA LLCLaura
Frerichslfrerichs@cepiallc.com
Photos accompanying this announcement are available
athttps://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2d8be935-92f4-4304-9be2-db6c5114cf34
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e422e6cc-f7a3-4d8d-854c-00a5ad4042d5
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