HTI Toys expands character portfolio with a new Sanrio licensing agreement for Hello Kitty and Friends preschool roleplay range

HTI Toys UK Ltd has signed a new multi-territory licensing agreement with Sanrio GmbH to develop and distribute a preschool My First Role Play range featuring characters from across the Sanrio portfolio, including Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll, My Melody, Kuromi, Little Twin Stars, Pompompurin, Kerokerokeroppi, Tuxedosam, Pochacco and Bad Badtz-Maru.

The agreement grants HTI rights across the UK, Ireland, the EU, the EEA, and several additional markets, including Turkey, Switzerland, and Ukraine, giving the company a strong platform to build a long-term Sanrio-themed early years programme. Products are scheduled to arrive at retail in Q4 2026.

A preschool role-play range designed around authentic early years play patterns

The Hello Kitty and Friends collection enables HTI to cover core areas of preschool roleplay, including domestic play, early caregiving themes, simple social interaction sets such as doctor, vet, and shop play, and first tech-influenced items. These play patterns are central to early years development, helping children make sense of everyday routines, practise communication, test problem-solving skills and build confidence through imitation. With their ability to resonate across generations, the Hello Kitty and Friends characters are particularly well-suited to this space.

A clear opportunity for retailers

For retailers, the strength of the programme lies in its breadth, cohesion and commercial clarity. The range gives buyers the chance to offer a complete preschool roleplay story under a single, globally recognised character family. The combination of strong character appeal, familiar play themes and clear developmental relevance positions the line well for cross merchandising, in-store storytelling and tiered price point strategies. The structure of the programme also supports seasonal updates and range refreshes as it grows.

Clare Rix, Commercial Licensing Director at HTI Toys UK Ltd, commented:
“Hello Kitty and Friends characters have an extraordinary ability to remain relevant, whether a child is discovering them for the first time or a parent is reconnecting with them years later. This agreement has given us the opportunity to explore how these much-loved properties translate into a preschool role-play range, and our teams have taken great care to ensure the products reflect authentic play patterns. It has been a highly collaborative process, and we look forward to presenting the full range to our retail partners later this year.”

For more information, visit www.htigroup.co.uk or email sales@htigroup.com.