Las Vegas Expo 2011.

The worldwide toy phenomenon, ZhuZhu Pets®, has developed into a prestigious property with a wealth of lucrative licensing opportunities for a diverse range of markets. At this year’s Las Vegas Licensing Expo, a visit to the ZhuZhu Pets® booth (Cepia LLC – booth 1884 could be one of the most important stops made. ZhuZhu Pets®, creation of St Louis based firm, Cepia LLC, has grown from the original four cute interactive hamsters, into a whole Zhuniverse™ of pets and playsets. This has led to a flourishing worldwide ZhuZhu Pets® licensing programme, making it one of the hottest properties around, with a wealth of stunning merchandised product entering the market, and further opportunities available for prospective licensees to ensure development of the property.

The brand, aimed at girls aged four to 12 and boys aged four to eight, has proven precedence in international markets since its launch. Renowned for its plush toys, ZhuZhu Pets® has added to its impressive list of accolades, picking up more Toy of the Year Awards for 2010 in USA, UK, Russian and the Czech Republic, and girls Toy of the Year in Australia to name a few.

Lisle International is the master licensing agent for ZhuZhu Pets® and has appointed sub-licensing agents in important territories to ensure there is solid coverage across the markets. These include Character Licensing & Marketing (CLM) as sub licensing agent for South Africa, Stella Projects for Australia and New Zealand and Kidz Entertainment/EEMC for Nordics and Eastern Europe.

Speaking of the property and the opportunities at the show, Francesca Lisle from Lisle International commented: “The ZhuZhu Pets® property has kicked off to a fantastic start, with many key categories already secured across a variety of territories, and plenty more licensing opportunities in the pipeline. We are confident that this year’s show will prove lucrative for prospective partners, and we look forward to the expansion of the property across the globe.”

Las Vegas will also be the place to hear the latest developments for the brand such as a new 72 minute 3D, CGI animated film to be released on DVD in 2011, called “The Quest for Zhu”, and a second movie in the pipeline for 2012 called “Power of Zhu”.