ZDF Enterprises grants Universal Trends extensive merchandising license for the classic "The Jungle Book"

ZDF Enterprises - October 2010

From 2011 onwards, Universal Trends will provide the right merchandising products of “The Jungle Book”, the success program of the coming years, for German-speaking territories.

The classic by Rudyard Kipling is currently being brought to new life in a CGI-animated TV series in HDTV. The series, which has a production budget of several million Euros, is produced by the Indian animation and game experts DQ Entertainment and co-produced by ZDF and ZDF Enterprises. ZDF Enterprises also has the distribution rights for German-speaking countries, Europe (except France, Great Britain and Ireland), the Middle East and Latin America.

Universal Trends, based in the German city of Aachen, will develop a wide range of diversified products in the areas of figurines, puzzles, games and outdoor toys with the world's famous and popular characters Mowgli, Shere Khan and Bageerah. From collection figurines to frisbees, from bouncy castles to board games – the products to be developed will live up to the spectacular 3D-series and will certainly cause a stir in the market.

ARD and ZDF’s joint kids channel Kika will broadcast the series starting in spring 2011; ZDF tivi will air it right afterwards on a weekly basis until the end of 2011.

Sylvia Brucker, Director of Merchandising at ZDF Enterprises: "We are very pleased to have inked this deal with Universal Trends. The company is a well-established and renowned partner in merchandising high-caliber brand to their best. We are convinced that the worldwide popular characters of THE JUNGLE BOOK will come to new life in the creative merchandising ideas of Universal Trends."

Andreas Chevalier, CEO of Universal Trends GmbH: ”The entire Universal Trends team is happy about this important agreement. We see a high potential in the popular licensing topic “The Jungle Book”, as it is an international classic. We know from our own previous experience that there have only been few products in the past which had a similar potential. This, we are pleased to be able to work jointly with ZDF Enterprises, DQ and our team in Hong Kong in order to offer custom-made concepts to the German trade and thus attractive products to the end customers.”