Tag: Green Gold

Karnataka sets sights on creative technology leadership following GAFX 2025

BENGALURU: The Karnataka government has unveiled ambitious plans to position the state as a global creative technology hub, announcing upcoming Esports Summit and Game Developers Conference events following the conclusion of the highly successful Bengaluru GAFX 2025.

The three-day conference, held at The Lalit Ashok and organised by the Department of Electronics, IT & Biotechnology and the Association of Bangalore Animation Industry (ABAI), attracted over 5,000 daily visitors and featured 100+ sessions with 200 speakers from ten countries.

“Karnataka is not just the IT, biotech, and skill capital of India—we are on our way to becoming the global creative capital,” declared information technology minister Priyank Kharge at the valedictory function. “With the right policies, incentives, and vision, we will transform India into a hub for creative technology.”

The minister outlined plans for significant investment in incubators, Centres of Excellence, and original intellectual property creation, inspired by the success of global entertainment giants like Disney and Marvel.

Karnataka’s AVGC-XR Finishing School has already trained over 842 students, while the state hosts 27 Digital Art Centres and represents 20 per cent of India’s Media & Entertainment market.

Several major announcements marked the event, including the animated debut of beloved comic character Suppandi, unveiled by actor Rana Daggubati. The character will stream on PowerKids TV, with Tinkle’s young female superhero WingStar also set for animation. The prestigious Uncle Pai Promising New Creator Award was launched, with Mahati Santhanakrishnan named inaugural recipient for her comic Hunting Monsters.

A significant partnership between Green Gold Animation (India) and TG Entertainment (UK) was announced to expand The Brilliant World of Tom Gates franchise across South Asia, focusing on licensing, merchandising, and animation production.

The conference proved particularly fruitful for business development, with the B2B Forum facilitating 395 letters of intent between companies. Fifteen top buyers engaged with 39 participating companies, with 40 intellectual properties showcased. The Investor Connect Program saw 29 investors from 22 companies meeting with 34 startups, offering crucial funding and mentorship opportunities.

The Skyesports Souvenir 2025 National Esports Championship featured four elite teams competing for a Rs 5 lakh prize pool, with Gods Reign crowned champions and Aakash “PH1NNN” Bose earning MVP honours. The competition showcased Counterstrike 2, confirmed as a title in the upcoming Olympic Esports Games 2026.

The AnimationXpress GEM Awards recognised industry excellence across gaming, esports, and metaverse categories. Notable winners included Bloom – A Puzzle Adventure (Best Casual Game), Indus Battle Royale (Best Mobile Game), and 1971: Indian Naval Front (Best Hardcore Game). SuperGaming claimed Game Studio of the Year, with Lucid Labs named Best Indie Studio.

Several strategic agreements were formalised, including an MoU between Uzbekistan and ABAI that will see delegations exchanged between the countries. The ABAI AVGC Centre of Excellence and Media & Entertainment Skills Council also partnered to advance skilling, incubation, and policy development.

A Digital Detox Center by the All India Gaming Federation was launched, while a special session on Bringing Moana 2 to Life offered behind-the-scenes insights into Disney’s advanced animation technologies, including Tonic for hair grooming and enhanced crowd simulation.

“There are tangible outcomes that will be an accelerator for India’s creative technology industries,” said Bengaluru GAFX chairman and ABAI president Biren Ghose. “GAFX 2025 has succeeded in highlighting the disruption that will enable studios, startups, and talent to make a lasting impact on the global stage.”

March 1, 2025
Animation sees an uptick despite expensive production

MUMBAI: When it comes to popular content on TV in India, general entertainment channels (GEC) lead the way. Primetime shows are most watched, most-earning and most talked about since the early years of the saas-bahu serials.

Animation as a genre is sidelined to the kids’ channels but producing it involves tons of cash, which may not necessarily be recoverable so easily. At first, India was content with syndicated content like Tom & Jerry, Mickey Mouse, etc and only in 2008 did we get our most pride-worthy IP Chhota Bheem.

A media professional quoted the price for producing 2D or 3D animated content to be Rs 10-20 lakh or above for one 11-22 minute show. Initial episodes entail an even higher spend at Rs 20 lakh. The cost depends on the number of characters, background, etc. Another professional estimated it to be between Rs 30-50 lakh for shows that top the chart. If we produce it with the intent of selling it to the overseas market, the investment could skyrocket to Rs 1 crore. Compare these staggering numbers with just Rs 7-8 lakh needed for a single GEC episode.

Green Gold Animation chief strategy officer Srinivas Chilakapudi said that GECs will raise the cost depending on the quality they wish to achieve. With Netflix and Amazon bringing in high value content, TV channels will be compelled to add visually appealing elements as well. He says that the case is similar with animation.

It took a while for producers to realise that owning IPs was more profitable than syndicating animation content. However, Green Gold has a balance of local and syndicated shows. By playing shows at different times and watching where the ratings come from, the production house does its budgeting. Older shows like Luv Kush or Arjun are syndicated at a lower price.

GEC ad rates are four times that of kids’ channels due to the viewership they command. Brand-building founder Ambi Parameswaran says, “It will be a much lower cost per thousand to reach kids through channels focussed on them. Obviously, GECs have huge barriers to entry and while they may deliver good number of kids, you are also reaching homes without kids.”

He says that as the penetration of TV grows, there will be a growth of sub genres like kids, sports, religion, travel etc. There has also been a growth of Indian language niche channels that will further lead fragmentation of audiences. “Surprisingly multiple TV homes are still a rarity. I expect this to change in the next five years. From the current low level of multiple TV homes (less than 5 per cent) we can expect this to go beyond 15 per cent in the coming decade,” says Parameswaran.

Viacom18 kids entertainment head content Anu Sikka says that kids love animation as it allows them to step into an imaginary world with their favourite characters. “Kids love stepping into Furfurinagar with Motu Patlu or riding a cycle in Vedas city with Shiva. Also, the repeat value of animation content is high, which increases the shelf value of the show. This, in turn, allows broadcasters to produce hours of original content that can be played on the channel for years bringing in a great success thereby reducing the cost average.”

She further added that connect of an original Indian show with Indian characters is higher given that there is better connect and relatability to the environment. “Also creating content locally and owning the IP’s gives us more control over the creative of the show, which then can incorporate the local sensibilities thus making the show more endearing to the audience.” She added that the turn-around time for local show is much faster compared to international shows, which is the need of the hour, especially in India, as today kids are always looking for refreshed and newer content. Today, there’s a dearth of international shows, which has a strong universal appeal and which can match the success of some of the earlier acquisitions like Ninja Hattori or Oggy and the Cockroaches. “If we own the IP, it opens up more streams of revenue for the broadcaster, especially in CP, digital platforms, licence products, etc.”

In an earlier interview, Shemaroo Entertainment head-animation business Smita Maroo and Green Gold Animation VP-content sales Bharath Laxmipati agreed that anything that is made for the own territory is far more expensive than syndicated content.

Sikka also agrees with Maroo and says that today there’s a strong potential as the content is being viewed on multiple platforms world over in various languages. “If the content and the characters are universal enough, the potential of them being acceptable in the international market goes up substantially.” She said that an Indian show, Pakdam Pakdai was renamed as Rat-a-Tat and was sold to 30 territories worldwide, the concept was developed by Nick and executed by Toonz animation.

Vaibhav More Films founder Vaibhav More takes a different view. He said that GECs are expensive than animation production. “In GECs the actors are charged high. Not only this, the equipment costs, editing, post-production activities, etc are also taken into consideration.” He feels that some stories live longer via animation.

When asked about the ways you keep the production cost low, Sikka said that today it’s increasingly becoming difficult to keep down the cost of animation series in India as there’s been a surge in demand for local animation content in India. This requirement for local content is coming not just from the broadcasters, but also from digital platforms as kids are consuming content from all these mediums. “There’s also a shortage of big animation studios which can deliver the product from scratch to the end while maintaining a certain benchmark in terms of quality,” she says. She further added that one way to control the cost is by commissioning and committing to a certain number of episodes, which allows the studios to re-use the assets which in turn keeps the cost in control. “The other option that can always be explored is to go with 2D animation, which is cheaper in comparison to 3D show, provided the concept allows you to do so.”

Though animation is a more intense and cost-expensive content, broadcasters and creators see potential in it, especially with the growth of digital and the global reach that popular ideas are likely to get.

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February 22, 2018
Kids genre grows on TV despite digital onslaught

MUMBAI: There was no dearth of excitement in the kids’ entertainment space in 2017. Despite the digital onslaught, original content producers grew from strength to strength, keeping children enthralled on television. TV viewership grew during the year even as doomsayers predicted that the end of the good old box was nigh.

Among the major events of the year, Toonz India Media Group struck a deal with ReachMe.TV in the US to enable streaming of Toonz TV through the latter’s mobile web platform. Green Gold Animation signed a deal with Netflix for creating a spinoff of popular character Chhota Bheem for snippets of Mighty Little Bheem.

Here’s a look at what each channel did this year.

Disney

A favourite among young adults, the Disney channel is known for television programming for children through original series, movies and third-party programming. This year witnessed top-level corporate reshuffling. The company promoted Amit Malhotra as the country head for Singapore and Malaysia. Earlier, Malhotra was the general manager for media networks, responsible for businesses across all functions in the media networks in Southeast Asia (SEA). Abhishek Maheshwari was elevated to country head (India).

There were reports that Doordarshan was in talks with Disney for kiddy content in evening slots. Disney also launched a three-week campaign for merchandise, celebrating the spirit of sisterhood, featuring two young daughters and how the Frozen sisters inspired them in their day-to-day lives.

Furthermore, Disney’s sister channel—Hungama—came up with Chacha Bhatija who go on a new adventure in the second movie.

Turner

Turner India creates and manages the sales, distribution and marketing of entertainment brands in India and South Asia, including CNN International, Cartoon Network, Pogo, Toonami, HBO and WB.

It turned out to be a fruitful year with great deals and partnerships. Turner India was successful in imparting a larger-than-life feel to its characters through a tie-up with Amaazia, an upcoming amusement park in Surat. The park is owned and operated by Gujarat-based Rajgreen group. Scheduled to open in 2019, the park will serve as a medium for Turner’s kids channel Cartoon Network (CN) to launch new products and conduct ‘meet and greets’ with its animated characters. Out of the four sections in Amaazia, only the theme park is branded by CN. The rest are a water park, family recreational hub, and serviced apartments and retail shopping area.

Apart from having a chase comedy in the bouquet, Pogo came up with another indigenous slapstick comedy show for its fans. Focussing more on home-grown content, Tik Tak Tail was the chase comedy that it experimented with in September and then came the slapstick show Andy Pirki. It also announced the launch of a brand-new show, Grizzy and the Lemmings. Moreover, Cartoon Network came up with the fifth and sixth parts of Oggy and the Cockroaches.

Discovery Kids

The channel announced a deal with IM Incorporated, a London-based content distribution company, to premiere Sunny Bunnies in India. Angry Birds Sing the Blues came up for the first time in Indian television in a series format.

Nickelodeon

This year, Nickelodeon came up with the Halo Movement—a new year-round pro-social initiative celebrating kids who are helping and leading others. In terms of viewership, too, the channel has done pretty well for itself. In week 50 of Barc data, the channel was ranked number one with 127600 impressions (000s) sum. Another important event was the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2017, which honoured the best in the world of entertainment across film and television.

Sony Yay

On 18 April 2017, Animax Asia was replaced by Sony Yay. While the former focussed on serving young adults, Yay concentrated on children of all ages. Animax was handed over to SonyLiv.

The channel is building local characters to monetise and launched four original shows Guru AurBhole, Sab Jholmaal Hai, Prince Jai aur DumdaarViru, and Paap-o-Meter and it holds the IP rights for all of them. The channel also associated with ‘animals matter to me’ to make Diwali ‘pawsome.’

Although 2017 wasn’t an eventful year, there were plenty of nuggets of action with the latest entrant, Sony Yay, throwing its hat into the ring and fighting it out with the existing players in the kids genre. We will have to wait and see how channels gear up to take on the growing trend of digital in 2018 and whether OTT adds significant value for kids.

December 27, 2017
Green Gold backs first animation pitch at Asia Television Forum

MUMBAI: Visitors to Asia’s leading entertainment content market and conference event – Reed Exhibitions’s Asia Television Forum in Singapore – will get to see Indian animation studio Green Gold Animation getting prominence. The Indian studio has become the first Indian company to get behind as the sponsor of the ATF Animation Pitch which is being introduced at the confab this year on 28 November-1 December.

The competition is being positioned as the premier Asian pitching competition for creators and producers of innovative concepts for new and original animation targeting kids, and is aimed at facilitating the exchange of ideas and talent between leading international television, distribution and Asia-based producers.

ATF has opened its call for entries from today for the live pitch which will take place on 30 November 2017 in conjunction with the annual trade event. This platform will showcase the best of Asian originality and expose ideas for export and development within and even outside the region.

Backed by Green Gold Animation, India’s largest animation production company that caters primarily to children, ATF Animation Pitch 2017 is set to become Asia’s top-flight pitching competition. With the tagline, “Think. Believe. Dream. And finally… Dare.”, ATF Animation Pitch 2017 is open to all creators and producers from around Asia (individuals, students and small-to-medium-sized companies), keen to present their new and original, animated shorts, series and feature films in the genres of Comedy, Adventure, Action, Fantasy.

The winner will receive a US$ 19,000 prize from Green Gold Animation, comprising a $ 2,500 cash award, and a consultancy package worth $16,500 that is tailor-made for the winner to develop their animation, making it ready to pitch to broadcasters.

As part of the bespoke consultancy package, Green Gold Animation’s leading executives will also share their expertise in areas such as marketing, writing a pitch document, global format sales opportunities, trailer and sizzle preparation, production budgeting, talent payments, press publicity, the global sales process and editing.

The first round of judging will be led by Green Gold Animation founder and CEO, Rajiv Chilaka, and Green Gold Animation (USA) vice-president and head of US operations Marc Lumer, with input from the company’s acquisitions and marketing teams led by vice-president, content sales Bharath Laxmipati.

Shortlisted participants will then progress to the live pitching event, where they have the opportunity to pitch their ideas in front of some of the industry’s most experienced veterans, including senior executives from Green Gold Animation. Leading commissioning editors will also be on stage, offering advice and commentary on the ideas pitched.

“Being surrounded by passionate and ambitious people, who share a similar love for animation, is a great way to feel inspired and expand intellectual horizons. It’s also important to give back to the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the animation industry, foster creativity and innovation. After all, animation is the craft of the soul,” says Chilaka about the company’s rationale for supporting ATF Animation Pitch.

“We are extremely proud to launch the inaugural ATF Animation Pitch with one of Asia’s biggest players in the industry – this is a true reflection of the potential of a rising Asia. Just as our existing pitch competitions – ATF Formats Pitch and Southeast Asian Film Financing Project Market – have nurtured Asia’s talent pool and created a culture of excellence in content, we are confident that ATF Animation Pitch will be another significant element within ATF that will allow us to be the enabler of so much merit across this vast and diverse continent,” says Reed Exhibitions ATF senior project director Yeow Hui Leng.

August 30, 2017
Exploring Indian kids’ content opportunities at MIPJunior

CANNES: The world’s kids programming screenings and conference MIPJunior is slated to commence today 15 October at the prestigious Hotel Martinez in Cannes. The little French Riviera village was under heavy black cloud cover the whole of 14 October and a constant drizzle through the day forced everyone to bring out their brollies and their rain jackets.

But that won’t be necessary today and the next three to four days. Reason: the weatherman has forecast that the weekend is going to be mostly sunny through to Monday.

The sunny weather is expected to encourage some brisk meetings, conferences, workshops, keynotes, panel discussions, networking through the day at the famed Hotel. And of course champagne, wine is expected to overflow through the day at the lunches and in the restaurants as the world’s top animation and kids content executives huddle together to figure out what the world and their distribution platforms are going to look like in the coming few months.

One session that is being watched with increasing curiosity is in the MIPJunior Lab at 17:15 pm on 16 October Titled Passage to India: Working in this dynamic space, it is being moderated by Animationxpress.com and Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor in chief Anil Wanvari.

India’s top animation studio heads – Rajiv Chilaka of Chhota Bheem and Green Gold Fame, Anish Mehta of Motu Patlu and Cosmos Maya renown, Munjal Shroff of Graphiti Multimedia – and India’s only kids OTT platform Voot CEO Gaurav Gandhi – will be throwing light on how why it makes sense to look at the growing Indian kids market, and how international studios can make head room for themselves in India in the area of co-productions.

“Indian animation is just waiting to explode on to the world stage,” says Wanvari – who also represents Reed Midem’s MipCom, MipTV, MIPJunior, MipCancun, and Mipim events for India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. “We have the talent, the right stories, and even now the focus to make in India for the world with the Narendra Modi government laying an emphasis on it. An animation requires many partnerships for it to achieve global success. Through this workshop we want to demystify many notions or perceptions that the world community has about Indian studios and the kids content marketplace. Reed Midem and MIPJunior have been very supportive of India’s efforts to build a global IP in kids’ animation. If we succeed in enabling even one partnership or co-production or spark one such opportunity, we will have been successful.”

Shall we say amen to that?

October 15, 2016
Exploring Indian kids’ content opportunities at MIPJunior

CANNES: The world’s kids programming screenings and conference MIPJunior is slated to commence today 15 October at the prestigious Hotel Martinez in Cannes. The little French Riviera village was under heavy black cloud cover the whole of 14 October and a constant drizzle through the day forced everyone to bring out their brollies and their rain jackets.

But that won’t be necessary today and the next three to four days. Reason: the weatherman has forecast that the weekend is going to be mostly sunny through to Monday.

The sunny weather is expected to encourage some brisk meetings, conferences, workshops, keynotes, panel discussions, networking through the day at the famed Hotel. And of course champagne, wine is expected to overflow through the day at the lunches and in the restaurants as the world’s top animation and kids content executives huddle together to figure out what the world and their distribution platforms are going to look like in the coming few months.

One session that is being watched with increasing curiosity is in the MIPJunior Lab at 17:15 pm on 16 October Titled Passage to India: Working in this dynamic space, it is being moderated by Animationxpress.com and Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor in chief Anil Wanvari.

India’s top animation studio heads – Rajiv Chilaka of Chhota Bheem and Green Gold Fame, Anish Mehta of Motu Patlu and Cosmos Maya renown, Munjal Shroff of Graphiti Multimedia – and India’s only kids OTT platform Voot CEO Gaurav Gandhi – will be throwing light on how why it makes sense to look at the growing Indian kids market, and how international studios can make head room for themselves in India in the area of co-productions.

“Indian animation is just waiting to explode on to the world stage,” says Wanvari – who also represents Reed Midem’s MipCom, MipTV, MIPJunior, MipCancun, and Mipim events for India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. “We have the talent, the right stories, and even now the focus to make in India for the world with the Narendra Modi government laying an emphasis on it. An animation requires many partnerships for it to achieve global success. Through this workshop we want to demystify many notions or perceptions that the world community has about Indian studios and the kids content marketplace. Reed Midem and MIPJunior have been very supportive of India’s efforts to build a global IP in kids’ animation. If we succeed in enabling even one partnership or co-production or spark one such opportunity, we will have been successful.”

Shall we say amen to that?

October 15, 2016
Green Gold launches Chhota Bheem Himalayan Adventure Skiing on Android

MUMBAI: Green Gold has launched Chhota Bheem Himalayan Adventure Skiing Game in association with Mech Mocha. The game will be available on Android and through Google Play store.

With winter approaching, this game provides a Ski Safari experience to gamers. It’s an endless skiing game where the character will be seen skiing on Snowy mountains with various obstacles and powerups on his way.

Talking about the game Green Gold Animation CSO Srinivas Chilakalapudi said, “We have always focused on creating characters that resonate with Indian sensibilities and taken them places. Once you create a bond with a certain character, chances are that you will accept it over various platforms. With the recent success of the game ‘Chhota Bheem Race’ we got an added impetus to come with Chhota Bheem Himalayan Adventure Ski Game.”

Mech Mocha CEO Arpita Kapoor added, “Chhota Bheem is tremendously popular IP and we found an awesome founder in Green Gold. For us, this is a long-term investment; We will be releasing major updates for the game in coming months including racing and multiplayer. Our focus is ‘Making India Play’ and this is our first step towards reaching that vision. The game showcases popular culture references similar to content by TVF and AIB, which is done first time by any game developer in India.”

The game follows a storyline where Chhota Bheem will be seen roughing it out in the snow capped Himalayan terrain and along with it comes a new look for Bheem. Instead of this usual Saffron Dhoti he will be seen in earthy shades of cool mountain gear , breaches, caps and furry jackets.

December 4, 2015
Now, enjoy a ‘Chhota Bheem’ cycle ride

MUMBAI: Riding high on the popularity of its much-appreciated show, Chhota Bheem, Green Gold in association with Avon Cycles has introduced six different models of children’s bicycles in sizes varying from 12 X 1.75 to 20 X 1.75.

The cycles have been designed to attract its young patrons and are targeted at the age group of three to ten. Priced in the Rs 4000 to Rs 5000 band, the cycles will come in different colours and will be available in Chhota Bheem designs.

“The new range of cycles will also include Mighty Raju, Chutki, Kalia and Dholu-Bholu series. Lately, we have been witnessing a huge rise in the popularity of these characters as well,” said Green Gold vice president – sourcing & licensing Madhav Prabhala.

“We, at Green Gold, are constantly inventing new ways to bring Chhota Bheem and his friends closer to his young fans. Cycles are one of the key products that kids and parents have been asking us for a long time. We are thankful to Avon Cycles for fulfilling this dream. We see great synergy between the two brands and I think this association has come at a time when both Green Gold and Avon are at the cusp of exponential growth in strength and reach of their respective brands. This association will take us to another level,” Prabhala added.

Talking about the association, Green Gold executive director Samir Jain, said: “We are very excited with this association. The union of Avon Cycles, having state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and Chhota Bheem, India’s most loved kids’ character would bring smiles to thousands of children. The objective of value for money with the best quality and designs would be achieved with this association.”

With a viewership of over 40 million children, Chhota Bheem is by far the biggest ‘toon icon’ in India. Chhota Bheem and Mighty Raju merchandises that include several products have been witnessing a huge rise in demand. In fact, the company in the past six months has introduced a number of new lines of merchandises.

“The growth in the past couple of years has been phenomenal. When we opened the first store in Hyderabad two years back, not more than 20 products were available for sale. Today, our product spread is more than 200 and includes everything from apparels to accessories, toys, puzzles, board games, bed and bath furnishings and even room decor. Launching Chhota Bheem range of bicycles seemed an obvious extension to cater to the young fans,” he added.

November 7, 2013
Green Gold wins Licensor of the Year Award

MUMBAI: Green Gold Licensing & Merchandising has been awarded the ‘Licensor of the Year 2013’ at the eighth Star Retail Awards held in New Delhi. This is the second consecutive time that Green Gold’s licensing business has been recognised for its unique efforts.

The Star Retailer Awards is a place which witnesses the coming together of the whole retail industry to celebrate and honour the best performers. The awards are presented by Franchise India Holdings.

“This is the second successive year that Green Gold has achieved this recognition. We are really honoured and the star of the entire programme is Chhota Bheem. Three years back we had to put in a lot of efforts to set the licensing division and today with 100 + licensees on board, Green Gold is a big force to reckon with. Our aim is to continue bringing in the best products for Chhota Bheem fans and grow the licensing market in India. We have also signed up new licenses for Mighty Raju, our other show on Pogo,” said Sourcing & Licensing vice president Madhav Prabhala.

Green Gold is the creator and producer of the hit series’ Chhota Bheem, Mighty Raju, Luv Kushh, Chorr Police, Krishna Balram on kids’ TV and cinema. Apart from licensing, the company is into animation, merchandising, franchising stores, gaming application development and movies.

“With the licensing sector getting organised and process driven, we are happy with our growth and we thank all our licensees for being a part of our growth. We would like to sincerely thank the Franchise India team and the Jury for acknowledging and appreciating our efforts,” said Green Gold executive director Samir Jain.

October 31, 2013
Green Gold plans 50 more stores

Mumbai: Green Gold Animation, creators of Chhota Bheem & Mighty Raju, are expanding their exclusive licensing and merchandising division, Green Gold Store. It plans to implement the expansion plans with a wide variety of tie-ups and franchising support across India.

“With a viewership of over 40 million children, Chhota Bheem is by far the biggest ‘Toon Icon’ in India. For the first time we have a desi animation character that can be merchandized and monetized. The demand for Chhota Bheem & Mighty Raju merchandize among children is considerable and rising exponentially,” said Green Gold Stores head Sudeesh Varma.

Besides Chhota Bheem & Mighty Raju, it also owns other hit brands like Krishna Balram, Luv Kush and Chorr Police. To keep these properties as popular as ever Green Gold Animation opened its first exclusive Green Gold Store at Hyderabad in 2011. “From two outlets and a line of merchandise that numbered just ten products, we have grown to become a twenty seven store company with over two hundred products within just two years. By the end of this financial year we hope to open another twenty three stores, taking the total tally to fifty. The key objective behind retail and franchise development is to diversify the portfolio and connect with consumers; especially the diehard Chhota Bheem fan in big and small cities,” adds Varma.

With a new product line being introduced, the company is looking forward to make inroads into exciting merchandise, which will pave way into newer markets and expand footprints in the smaller centers. “The Toy & Merchandise industry in India is largely dominated by the unorganized sector. But the trend is shifting. According to industry estimates, the Licensing & Merchandising is a $ 225 to $ 300 million industry in India and growing at the rate of 20% to 25% annually. We are optimistic about expanding the overall product range and building on it,” said vice president – sourcing & licensing Madhav Prabhala.

The company is also looking at churning out more animated movies, which has been looked as a key revenue generator for the company. “Apart from new products and exciting merchandise, we are already working on our next big release. This time it will be a Mighty Raju special to be released in May 2014 and is titled ‘Might Raju Rio Calling’. You can expect some jazzy merchandise to be introduced at our Green Gold Stores, based on the movie theme”, said Green Gold executive director Samir Jain.

September 27, 2013