On Thursday, March 14, the 2024 Moomin Licensee Meeting was held at Berns in Stockholm, Sweden. The event welcomed over 350 guests to a day filled with keynote speakers, great discussions, networking, a licensee awards ceremony and more.
The Moomin licensee meeting is a bi-annual meeting for all licensees, publishers and partners working with the Moomin brand. The keynotes revolve around different topics and discussions regarding the Moomin and Tove Jansson universe. Spanning themes such as sustainability, literature, case studies and business expansions. The meeting is then followed by a dinner and awards ceremony.
The meeting was inaugurated with a talk between Sophia Jansson, chairman of the board for Moomin Characters, and Philip Ardagh, author of The Moomins: The World of Moominvalley.
Moomin Character’s Creative Director, James Zambra, presented upcoming artwork updates and the Moomin 80 anniversary year event plans.
Rights & Brands’ International Commercial Director Mark Bezodis held a keynote about the Moomin brand’s global expansion.
The guests also got a sneak peek of the upcoming Summer Book film starring Glenn Close as the director and producer Charlie McDowell talked on stage together with the moderator and host Andrea Reuter.
In line with the upcoming Moomin 80 anniversary, the theme of the day was based on the first Moomin story, The Moomins and the Great Flood. The color palette was purple and green, just like the original cover, and artwork from the book was used for the stage décor and other details at the venue.
For the dinner, all tables were decorated with Hattifatteners lamps and flowers matching the color scheme. Hattifatterners were also projected onto the ceiling of the dining hall.
Licensee Awards
At the Moomin licensee meetings, several awards are handed out by Rights & Brands to highlight licensees who have done outstanding work in different categories. This year’s award categories were Rising Star, The Sustainability Award, The Publishing Award, and Licensee of the Year.
The Sustainability Award was given to Gustaf & Linnea for their locally produced beeswax products. The products from Gustaf & Linnea are thoughtful consumable items in stylish packaging that prioritizes local, social, and ecological sustainability. Production takes place on the Swedish island of Gotland, and both the product and packaging decompose in approximately three months in nature – setting these products apart from many of their plastic-packaged counterparts.
Rising Star was awarded the Polish licensee Pepco. Pepco’s first collection of Moomin apparel and home products was launched at the end of 2023, and the products sold out within one month in the largest cities in Poland and other European countries.
The Publishing Award was given to Bonnier Carlsen. Since 2018, Swedish publisher Bonnier Carlsen has been developing a picture book range that introduces the world of Moominvalley, its characters and its values to young readers who might still need to become familiar with the Moomins. The series returns to Tove Jansson’s original storylines and art style using watercolor and ink.
Licensee of the Year was awarded Martinex, one of the most long-running Moomin licensees of all time. Martinex has had such long success because they have invested, allocated resources, and focused on the Moomin brand as a whole for over 30 years. Martinex also continues to be great ambassadors for the brand, embodying the Moomin values and continuously developing new designs.
Watch this video that summarizes the day:
Photos and video: Linus Lindholm, All Things Content Ltd.
The Moomin Licensee Meeting 2024 was produced by All Things Content in collaboration with Rights & Brands and Kobra Agency.
Interested in becoming a Moomin licensee? Send an e-mail to licensing@rightsandbrands.com