There’s No Time for Hibernation as Hey Bear Sensory is Waking Up the Child Animated Licensing Space
By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
“With over 2.9 million YouTube subscribers, there’s nothing sleepy about Hey Bear Sensory,” says Heidi Schwartz of Universal Branding & Media.
Universal is now representing the rapidly growing animated series, which airs on YouTube, Wayokids and Vimeo.
The brand is relatively new to the licensing space, but Schwartz believes partnership opportunities will grow quickly now the series has licensing representation from Universal Branding & Media, thanks to the big numbers it’s putting up on streaming platforms.
“Like bears to honey, Hey Bear Sensory is primed to attract exciting opportunities in the Infant/Toddler licensing space,” Schwartz says, noting the Hey Bear Sensory universe has generated more than 2 billion views on YouTube alone.
That growth also happened very quickly. Hey Bear Sensory logged 100,000 subscribers in 2019, which grew 10-times in just three years as they hit the million subscriber mark in 2022, and doubled that number by 2023.
Hey Bear Sensory features several animated characters, including the titular character Bear, Avocadosaurus, Pineapple and Mindful Moon just to name a few.
Schwartz says Hey Bear Sensory was born out of a desire to create meaningful, sensory-based content for children, rooted in the personal experiences of its founders Wayne and Lucie.
Initially developed as sensory apps for their own children, they soon realized the potential to reach a wider audience when their videos gained popularity on YouTube. Inspired by this discovery, they embarked on a journey to create videos that celebrate the everyday moments in a child’s life, with catchy tunes that parents would also enjoy.
Today, Hey Bear Sensory not only features video content on YouTube, Wayokids and Vimeo, but has also extended into merchandising collaborations, offering pajamas, plush toys, blankets, printables and more. More recently, Universal Branding & Media fostered a licensing partnership with Kidz Toyz USA, a leader in children’s toys and products for over 30 years, which will result in the launch of Hey Bear Sensory infant products in Spring of 2025.
“Hey Bear Sensory appeals to children and adults because it was created by the passion of two parents who cared about entertaining their own children in a safe and meaningful way,” Schwartz says. “It’s why Hey Bear Sensory continues to grow in popularity and holds such potential for future licensing opportunities in the infant/toddler space.”
Anyone interested in learning more about licensing opportunities with Hey Bear Sensory can contact Universal Branding & Media by email at info@universalbrandmedia.com.
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