Licensing Expo 2026: Predictions, Trends & Insider Advice from the Born Team

The biggest week in licensing is here.

In this special episode of Born to License, we’re on the ground in Los Angeles just days before Licensing Expo 2026 — and for the first time ever, the entire Born team is together.

Before the show floor opens, David sits down with the team to answer three key questions:

 👉 What IP will dominate the show?

 👉 What advice would you give first-time attendees?

 👉 What are you most excited about this year?

🔥 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• The most talked-about IPs heading into Licensing Expo 2026
• Why K-Pop Demon Hunters, Shrek, Bluey, and Pokémon are dominating conversations
• Insider tips for first-time attendees (that most people miss)
• How to prepare, network, and make the most of the event
• What really matters beyond the meetings and show floor

🎯 Top Licensing Expo 2026 Predictions

The Born team shares their insights on what will shape the show, including:

• The rise of new breakout IP
• Major upcoming tentpoles like Shrek 5 and Toy Story
• The long-term impact of future-facing planning (2028–2029)
• How global trends like Olympics 2028 influence licensing

💡 Advice for First-Time Attendees

If you're attending Licensing Expo for the first time, this episode is packed with practical advice:

• Plan your schedule well in advance
• Be open to unexpected networking opportunities
• Don’t miss panels, activations, and experiences
• Wear comfortable shoes (seriously)
• Talk to everyone — your next deal could be anywhere

🚀 From the Host: What to Expect This Year

David shares his own perspective:

• Why K-Pop Demon Hunters is the IP to watch
• Where to focus if your meetings are already locked
• How to get value from networking spaces and panels
• His session at Licensing Expo (AI in licensing)

📍 Catch David live:

 “Brand Licensing Meets AI: The Fundamentals You Need to Know”

 🗓️ Wednesday | 3PM | Networking Hub

📍 Meet Us at Licensing Expo

For the first time ever, Born to License has its own booth!

📍 Booth: T236

 🎙️ Come say hello — you might even be featured on the podcast

🎙 Born to License – Hosted by David Born

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👉 Have a question about licensing? Send it in for our upcoming Q&A episode!

📩 Contact: hello@borntolicense.com

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Transcript

The time has arrived. The biggest week in licensing is here. Licensing Expo 2026. This is it. For the last few days, the born team has been together here in LA getting ready for the show. And if you've been following on Instagram, you'll know that it's been full on. We've been working hard, yes, but we've been having an absolute blast being together as a group in the same city for the first time. You would also have noticed that I've started to lose my voice. Not great timing. I'm hoping it comes back properly before my meetings begin. So while I was with the I took the moment before the madness of the show floor kicks in to sit down with the team and ask them three questions about what they're expecting from Licensing Expo this week. 

 Their answers are great and I think you're going to love hearing from the people who make up the born team. So let's get into it. The first question I asked was, what IP do you think is going to be the most talked about at Licensing Expo this year? 

 I think that the IP that will be most talked about at Licensing Expo will probably be Universal Shrek Wreck, just because of the long awaited release date. It's finally releasing in June of 2027 after it was postponed. So I think that will be one of the most talked about just because it is a fan favorite for kids and adults. 

 Well, everything at Licensing Expo we're really sort of future focused. So I think we'll be looking ahead at 2028, 2029. What's really starting to trend then? So the big things on my radar, of course, going to be the Olympics in 2028, LA28 and Mickey Mouse is turning 100 in 2028. Big news too. So that's really. Everyone here is shopping with their shopping lists for 2028 and 2029. 

 What IP do I think will be most talked about this year? I think Bluey is going to be most talked about at Licensing Expo this year because 2027, the first ever Bluey movie is coming out and I think there's going to be a lot of excitement for that. 

 Oh, okay. I'm going to go Shrek. Yeah, Yeah. I feel like with the movie coming. 

 In 27, given that there are two very big upcoming releases, I would say Toy Story and Star wars, they're gonna, they're iconic IPs and we have these huge releases, so they're gonna be really tempo moments for the entertainment industry. 

 You know, I think this year it's a tie between Pokemon And K Pop Demon Hunters. I think both of them are really popular these days and I'm excited to see what they have presenting at the show. 

 I have a feeling it'll probably be K Pop Demon Hunters. I'm sure some other people have had that answer as well, but I would pre that will be. We'll be talking about that this year and probably next year and the year after that. 

 K Pop Demon Hunters. I think that's the. The obvious one, but I think it's the truth. 

 Yeah. 

 Well, I have a daughter and she's two years and a half and I think probably Bluey because it's something that all the kids are loving right now. 

 So. 

 Well, given all the fuzz and all the hype, I think it's going to be K Pop Demon Hunters. 

 I think Marvel for me is like the biggest one. So that is what I think about. 

 I think it'll be Harry Potter, the new TV series that is going to bring a resurgence and really go into depth on how the book should have. 

 Next up, I wanted to know what one piece of advice they would offer to someone who is attending Licensing Expo for the very first time. 

 For the very first time, I would recommend looking at the classes they have there and just to get yourself familiar with how the licensing industry works. However, if you have a lot of meetings, I would recommend you look at the map and plan your route around the floor area. 

 Connections can happen absolutely anywhere. It can happen at Eye Candy, it can happen in the bathrooms. So speak to everyone. Have your business cards at the ready any time of the day while you're lining up for coffee. Could be just the person you need to speak to in front of line. The line with you. So yeah, talk to everybody. Say hello. 

 My one piece of advice for people attending Licensing Expo for the first time would be to block out time so that you actually have time to go to some of the panel events to watch the character parade. Often you're in back to back meetings and it's really hectic and you're going from stand to stand depending on if you're on the license or licensee side. And then it's hard to miss kind of all the fun cool stuff that's happening. So yeah, try and leave some time in your schedule to see what exciting things are going on in the rest of the show. 

 Wear comfortable shoes. 

 Prep your schedule in advance. It's very busy. Everyone's super busy. The schedules get locked in months in advance. 

 So prep in advance to make the most of it. Come with open eyes. And meet as many people as you can. 

 Well, I guess as somebody attending Licensing Expo for the very first time, I'm not sure if I'm super equipped to give other people advice. But if I was going to give advice to myself, it would be to listen to everybody who's been there multiple times over multiple years and take all the advice that they're going to. They're going to give me about the floor and the layout and everything like. 

 That prep plan, even if it's, you know, it's a busy show. So for me, I always make sure that I'm prepping and planning, even if it's just you want to go see a stand, make time for it all. 

 Well, it's my first time, but I would say be prepared because I know we're going to have a lot going on. So, yeah, be prepared. 

 Take it slow. It's lots of things to see, lots of places to go. So just take it slow and keep yourself hydrated and wear comfortable shoes. 

 That's my first time, so I'm not sure. But let's see, how is it? 

 Wear comfortable shoes. Make time for bathroom breaks. 

 And lastly, I wanted to ask them what they're most looking forward to at Licensing Expo this year. 

 I'm looking forward to these summits. I'm currently attending the SEGA Universal Summit and I'm just excited to see what's coming out next year. 

 See you, my old friend. 

 Friends. 

 I love it. 

 I'm also really excited to have the whole gang, like the whole team of us, we just keep growing and having all of us there, I think, in person at the event and sort of running around, so coming back together in those moments to kind of break down what we've just chatted about, seen, just having us all in person. So, yes, I'm excited about seeing old friends, but also all of the adventures we're going to have with the new team. 

 What I'm looking forward to the most this year is seeing everyone. I was on maternity leave last year, so I didn't get to meet up with the team. And since then our team has grown loads and there's so many people that I've been speaking to on teams, but I've never met in person. So I'm really excited to be meeting the rest of my team at IEXPO this year and also to just see all our licensor friends in person who, yeah, often we're on teams calls, but it's very different when you get to meet up in person. 

 Do you know it's Actually been quite. 

 A while since I've been so. 

 I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing old faces. 

 I'm looking forward seeing all the familiar faces, meet new ones and share all the amazing work that we've been doing in the past few months with all the licensors. 

 I'm looking forward to meeting all the different licensees and licensors and seeing what great deals we can create. 

 I'm looking forward to walking the floor and getting to see the lay of the land here. Like I said, it's my first time and I think, you know, this will be the one that I'll, you know, it'll give me the impression of what not only Licensing Expo is like, but what this industry is really like when everybody comes together for this one huge event and it'll be my first convention or of anything of the sort. So I'm. I'm really looking forward to seeing what everybody has to show. 

 All of it. 

 I can't wait. I'm so excited just to see all. 

 The peers and yeah, just see what's going on really. All showcases, love showcase, the characters parade. 

 I think it's going to be really nice. 

 Well, I'm really looking forward to being at born to License booth is the first year we're going to have presence at Licensing Expo. So I'm really interested to meet the people who come and see us. 

 I think like see how is the event and everything. For me, like seeing school, even Las Vegas, I'm afraid to find time over there too. 

 So all the deals to be done, all creative collaborations and just really excited to bring all these new products to consumer shelves and maybe my shelf. 

 Okay, big thank you to the born team for their contributions there. Now it's my turn to answer those same three questions. For me, it's K Pop. Demon Hunters will be the most talked about IP of the show. Without a doubt, it has been the darling of licensing this year. Every toy fair, every conversation, it keeps coming up. I fully expect that to continue this week on the show floor. Special mentions have to go to Bluey and Shrek. I think both of those are going to be absolutely everywhere at the show too. It's going to be a great week for fans of all three when it comes to advice for someone attending Licensing Expo for the very first time. Look, if you haven't booked your meetings yet, that ship has sailed. That planning should have happened months ago. So here's my advice for right now. 

 Being this close to the show, make the most of the spaces that don't require a pre booked meeting, spend time at the Network Lounge, get to the main stage, hear what people have to say. There are some genuinely great speaking sessions and panels happening across the three days, including one of mine. On Wednesday, I'm at the Brand Licensing meets AI the Fundamentals you need to know panel. That's Wednesday, May 20, 3pm at the Networking Hub. Come along. It's going to be a really practical session on how AI is actually changing the licensing landscape. At least come along to see if I've got my voice back. Fingers crossed that I do. And what am I looking forward to the most for the show? Well, that one's easy. 

 For the first time ever, after 13 years of attending this show, we will have our very own booth. That is booth T236. Please come and say hello. We'll have licensed product from our clients on display. The team will be there. And honestly, if you come and say hello, you might just find yourself on the born to License podcast, the podcast you're listening to right now. If you are heading to Licensing Expo this week, I wish you an incredible show. I hope the meetings go well, I hope the conversations surprise you and I hope you walk away with things you didn't expect. To find that's always been the magic of the event for me is learning and discovering. And if you see me on the show floor, please come say hi. I genuinely love hearing from listeners of the podcast. 

 It really means a lot to me. So hopefully I'll see you there. I'm David Born and this is born to License.