The origin of thousands upon thousands of consumer products programmes all over the world is animation.
From Bluey to The Simpsons and KPop Demon Hunters – and everything in between – virtually every successful, animated property will evolve into a licensing programme at some point, whether that’s a limited range of collectables or a multi-SKU, multi-demographic portfolio.
So, for animation studios across Europe, there is no better place to visit this October than Brand Licensing Europe (BLE), taking place 6–8 October 2026 at Excel London. For studio directors and creative leads thinking seriously about the long-term life of their brands, BLE is the most efficient opportunity in Europe to grow an animation IP into a global, commercially successful, consumer products business.
This is why the likes of Miffy and Hello Kitty, Bluey, Sesame Street, One Piece, Paddington and Teletubbies are just a handful of the animated brands exhibiting at the event. And why studios like Paramount, Warner Bros Discovery, Banijay Kids and Family, Studio 100, Cartoon Saloon, BBC Studios, Moonbug, Xilam, Aardman, Animaccord, MGA Entertainment, Blue Zoo Productions, Crunchyroll, Magic Light Pictures and Toei Animation are attending this year.
Here’s why BLE deserves a place on your calendar.
The Entire Licensing Ecosystem, Under One Roof
BLE is Europe’s only event dedicated specifically to licensing and brand extension. In a single visit, studios can meet the retailers, manufacturers, agents and brand owners who can turn their IP into a toy, a book, a t-shirt, a videogame or a homeware range. It is also the place where brands with non-animation properties look for animation studios to grow their own IPs into a broadcast brand.
Trying to build relationships like these offline – one cold email at a time – takes months if not years; BLE compresses it into a few days of concentrated, high-quality conversations with the senior people in Europe who greenlight product.
Revenue that Doesn’t Depend on Another Commission
Content budgets are tighter than they’ve been in years, and broadcast or streaming licences alone may not cover the cost of production, which is why consumer products, brand collaborations and experiential licensing have become essential secondary revenue for animated IP.
BLE exists precisely to connect studios with the companies actively looking for characters and stories to license into retail. For studios that have never treated merchandising as a serious line of business, the conversation starts here.
A Shortcut to International Partners
Most European studios eventually want their IP to travel beyond their home market, but building distribution and licensing relationships territory by territory is slow and expensive. BLE draws attendees from across Europe and internationally, and the event is structured deliberately around deal-making rather than passive exhibiting. A well-prepared studio can leave London in October with genuine leads across several markets rather than one.
Get Ahead of the Retail Planning Cycle
Retailers and manufacturers plan their ranges well in advance – often 12 to 24 months out if not more. That means the ideal moment to introduce a property is before launch, not after, and BLE is the moment to plant that flag and start talking to potential product partners before the market gets crowded.
The inside track on trends
Beyond time spent in meaningful meetings, BLE’s keynotes and trend sessions cover consumer behaviour, retail strategy, territory nuances, brand collaboration patterns, category case studies, and more. For creative teams, this is critical development intelligence.
Learn from the Brands Already Doing it Well
Major entertainment properties like Bluey, Pokémon, Peppa Pig, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Smurfs and Dragon Ball regularly appear at BLE. And with keynotes from the likes of Mattel talking about the return of Masters of the Universe in 2025, watching how these franchises structure partnerships, brief manufacturers, manage brand consistency and market product is a masterclass available to all exhibitors.
Visibility for Studios that Aren’t Household Names Yet
BLE isn’t only for established giants. Licensing professionals from the widest range of categories and territories attend specifically to scout out new IP, which makes it a genuinely useful discovery platform for independent and mid-sized studios.
Think Franchise, not Just Series
The studios that build the most durable businesses stop thinking of their shows as broadcast or streaming products and start thinking of them as franchises, perhaps spanning toys, publishing, games, apparel, homeware, food & beverage, live experiences and brand collaborations. BLE is where all these categories converge in one marketplace, making it a natural place to start planning your global takeover.
The Bottom Line
Whether the goal is licensing a character, finding a consumer products partner, securing agency representation, or simply understanding where the market is heading, BLE has become the key annual meeting point for Europe’s licensing industry. For studio directors and creatives who want their IP to have a life well beyond the screen, three days in London this October is a small investment against a potentially huge return.
Brand Licensing Europe 2026 runs 6–8 October at Excel London; registration is free until 5 October. Explorer, Networking and Service Provider passes are also available. Animation studios interested in exhibiting at BLE are invited to contact matthieu.battini@informa.com
Note of the Publisher: The Animation Journal is a Media Partner of the event, and we can’t wait to report how licensing and animation meet in London this Fall. If you wish to think out of the box, London is your destination in October
