Benjamin Hogue on bringing brands to Bandou

Benjamin, it’s great to connect. You run Bandou, a company known for its award-winning characterful kids’ headphones – and you’re now embracing licensing. Why now?
Now is the right time because we have proven the demand for our products in the past year and we get bombarded with messages from customers asking us for specific designs. Being in the kids market, licensed characters are very popular. Getting into licensing will help us connect on a deeper level with our customers and increase demand at the same time.

What was your biggest concern about entering licensing?
Our biggest concern was the fact that we wouldn’t have the time necessary to invest in outreaching to – and building relationships with – licensors. We also had concerns about the upfront commitments and negotiation process.

You’re working with Born to License on your licensing journey. How have they helped make this a smooth process?
Born to License is helping us in every step of the process. They help us finding the right licenses, reaching out to them, negotiating and more. It allows us to focus on other areas of the business – and relax knowing that licensing projects are progressing smoothly and professionally.

Has anything surprised you about licensing so far?
It’s more accessible than we thought. We originally planned to wait another year before getting into licensing, but when we met David of Born to License, we understood that they would make it much easier and quicker for us to get into it… So we decided to start right away.

What do you feel is the key to successful creative collaborations between a company like yours and a brand owner?
The key to a successful collaboration in my opinion is an alignment in vision and values. It’s important for the two brands to share the values that customers connect with, reinforcing each other at the same time. Open and transparent communication is also very important to ensure the process goes smoothly.

Last question… How do you fuel your creativity? What inspires you?
Travelling. Being in different environments always brings fresh perspectives and ideas for me. The more I expose myself to different experiences, the more “pieces of puzzles” I can gather that can then be rearranged to create new ideas.

Good answer! Thanks again Benjamin.