Of late, Barbie movie produced by Mattel films earned in millions by brand collaborations — almost 100 plus. A wide range of products were Barbie-branded. The company itself, Mattel, released an entire range of Barbie merchandise — sweat shirts, bucket hats and hoodies.

In India, we do not see licensed merchandise ecosystem for movie characters except a Chhota Bheem here or a Bal Ganesh there.

Licensing depends heavily on brand building. There cannot be any licensing without building brands.

We in India have plenty of characters which can be associated with the brands. To begin with, we can start with the movie market — there are iconic characters like Bahubali and Pushpa which are amenable to merchandising opportunities.

There is an issue here — counterfeiting. Consumers opt for counterfeit merchandise which is available at a fraction of the price of originals. There is lack of awareness, especially in people from smaller towns and rural areas. In addition, licensed merchandise is costly, because of the high cost of licensing. It comes in the way of adoption of this merchandise. There should be consumer education, and strong anti-counterfeit measures.

In future, licensed merchandise will be facilitated by Web 3.0 and metaverse. New channels will be available for Indian characters.