WildBrain Preps New Strawberry Shortcake Content & Partnerships

WildBrain has prepped new content for Strawberry Shortcake, including a Halloween special, and scored new licensing partnerships for the brand.

The Halloween-themed special, Strawberry Shortcake and the Beast of Berry Bog, follows the titular character and her friends as they try to find the monster who is ruining the Berry Scary Fright-Fall Carnival. It is slated to debut on Netflix on October 2.

Strawberry Shortcake and the Beast of Berry Bog is the first of four seasonal specials that are set to come to Netflix in 2023 and 2024. In addition to dropping on Netflix, the Halloween special will have its linear broadcast premiere on WildBrain’s Family Jr. in Canada on September 22. International broadcasters Gulli (France) and TV2 (Hungary, Romania, Slovakia) have acquired all four specials, and NCircle Entertainment took the home entertainment rights in the U.S.

In other content news, the third season of Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City is continuing to stream new episodes on YouTube. The first two seasons were recently acquired by Amazon Kids+ in the U.S., Stan in Australia and Spacetoon in MENA. Edye in Latin America and the Caribbean picked up season one, and TVNZ in New Zealand took season two. TV2 signed a deal for the first three seasons for Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. NCircle Entertainment bought the home entertainment rights for seasons one through three for the U.S.

WildBrain CPLG inked new licensing deals and brand activations for the Strawberry Shortcake brand. The Knot Churros held a nine-week summer pop-up at two London stores with menu items flavored around the Berry in the Big City characters. In MENA, Spacetoon developed a live show for Berry in the Big City that includes costume characters for meet and greets. The first performance took place at the Qatar Toy Festival in July.

In the digital space, Berry in the Big City will feature in a new mobile gaming app from Tap Tap Tales. Launching this month, it will immerse players in Big Apple City with educational games featuring Berry and all her friends. Bare Tree Media, meanwhile, will launch themed mobile sticker packs for Android and iOS.

Over the next several months, Vampyre Cosmetics will launch a range of Strawberry Shortcake-inspired makeup palettes, lipstick, lip glosses, makeup bags, eyeliner, mascara and eyelashes. The collection will be available in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the U.K. and the U.S.

Goose Greek Candles will be expanding its scent collection this winter and for Valentine’s Day 2024 after its first Strawberry Shortcake range sold out within two weeks. In March 2024, fashion label Cakeworthy will debut a capsule apparel collection, along with accessories, stationery and homewares, in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.

Pop culture retailer FYE, For Your Entertainment, also signed a direct-to-retail deal to create confectioneries, jewelry, home decor and gift items for spring/summer 2024.

“The world of Strawberry Shortcake continues to soar in popularity. Our innovative licensing program, extensive distribution partnerships and multiple brand activations are a testament to Strawberry’s enduring appeal as a much-loved brand,” said Elizabeth Litten Miller, VP of franchise strategy at WildBrain. “With the first of four new Strawberry Shortcake CG-animated seasonal specials premiering on Netflix on October 2, we’re excited that partners and fans are embracing Strawberry Shortcake to celebrate her message of diversity, creativity and friendship in so many imaginative and inspiring ways.”