Yowie Group, the Australian confectionery firm, has struck a deal to sell a chocolate product using the Angry Birds brand in the US.
The company will launch a “candy inclusion product” containing an “Angry Birds collectable surprise inside” next year, timed to coincide with a new Angry Birds film that will open in May.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The agreement, struck with Rovio Entertainment, the developer of the Angry Birds franchise, gives Angry Birds licencing rights for three years to September 2018.
Though listed in Australia, Yowie has targeted the US. All production and sales to 30 June were in that market.
In September, Yowie said it was starting on a national launch at Wal-Mart outlets across the US.
The company said it had started to roll-out products to around 4,300 stores. The move follows a trial in 50 Wal-Mart outlets in Texas last year. The success of that test led Wal-Mart to then extend listings to 1,500 stores.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataYowie was a brand developed by two Australian authors under the company name Kidcorp in the 1990s. In 1993, Cadbury struck a deal with Kidcorp that saw the confectionery giant commercialise the brand internationally and own it in some Asia Pacific territories.
In 2004, Cadbury decided to focus on its global brands. In 2012, Yowie Group secured the Cadbury-owned rights to the brand after the Dairy Milk maker was sold to Kraft Foods Inc.
Yowie Group listed on the Australian stock market in December 2012 as a global brand licencing company. It now owns all the rights to the Yowie brand worldwide.
More to follow
