The World of Eric Carle has partnered with Sunday Brunch to launch The Very Hungry Caterpillar themed pop-up café, called “Harapeko Aomushi Café ” (The Very Hungry Caterpillar in Japanese), located in MARRONNIER GATE GINZA. The Café, featuring themed food, fanciful interior design and licensed merchandise, opened on January 19th and will be open for six months, closing August 31, 2018.
The Café provides fans an opportunity to enjoy a themed environment in one of Tokyo’s most popular destinations, with a menu featuring seasonal ingredients with a creative twist including “A Very Hungry Caterpillar French Toast,” which is actually a sandwich of shrimp, avocado, cheese and vegetables shaped like the Very Hungry Caterpillar, and “A Very Hungry Plate,” which cleverly recreates all the sweets from The Very Hungry Caterpillar story with savory ingredients, as well as a kids menu featuring a gluten-free meal and a simple bowl of udon for the picky eaters.The café is supported with robust marketing including press events and social media promotion, which resulted in a flood of calls, over 400 reservations in the first three hours and a fully-booked first month.
The Café is an extension of the brand’s enormous success in Japan. Episodic pop-up shops in major department stores, The Art of Eric Carle travelling exhibit in key Japanese cities through Fall 2019, consumer products in key retailers including Aeon, Graphis, United Arrows, Toys R Us and specialty stores, and the longest collaboration in Hello Kitty history, sold in all Sanrio locations, have established The World of Eric Carle as a leading children’s brand in the market.
The Japanese brand licensing campaign for The World of Eric Carle is run by Cosmo Merchandising Co., Ltd. through worldwide agent, The Joester Loria Group. The World of Eric Carle is the award-winning publishing franchise that features timeless stories and iconic characters. With 144 million books sold, the brand has been a staple in schools, libraries and homes around the world for over three generations.
The new Very Hungry Caterpillar café was recently featured by License! Global.
The global consumer products program developed by JLG spans 150 licensees and partners and has experienced exceptional growth in over 45,000 doors in better retail channels in 15+ countries. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, one of the top selling children’s books of all time, has been translated into 60 languages and has sold more than 45 million copies since its publication in 1969.