Successful premiere: First BRANDbaby Award goes to Barbie x Condor

Happy winners: as part of the Licensing Summit, the annual event organised by Licensing International Germany, the Licensing Awards were presented for the first time in a new format and in cooperation with BRANDmania on Thursday in Munich. Katrin Störr, Head of BRANDmania, presented the award for ‘BRANDbaby of the Year 2025’ to Condor x Barbie. The ‘BRANDbabies’ are the outcomes and success story of two brands that originated at BRANDmania.

The Licensing Awards celebrate outstanding best practices in the licensing sector in a total of four categories. The ‘Licensed Product of the Year’ award went to the ‘Wacken Edition’ of Disney Consumer Products/Egmont Ehapa's ‘Lustiges Taschenbuch’ comic book series, while ‘Bluey’ from Studio 100 was named ‘Licensing Theme of the Year’. The ‘Retail Loves Licensing Award’ went to Warner Bros. for ‘Harry Potter x Thalia’. A jury of 16 industry professionals selected the winners from over 60 entries in an anonymous vote.

The next licensing highlights are just around the corner: LicenseLounge – powered by BRANDmania – will take place from 27 to 31 January 2026 at the Spielwarenmesse in Nuremberg and will surprise visitors with a new look. The next BRANDmania will invite visitors to Essen again next year, from 24 to 25 June 2026.