Like many categories arriving later to the brand licensing party, beauty is responsible for some of the most creative consumer products around. At its simplest, brand licensing is an agreement that allows one company to use another's intellectual property - a celebrity, character, fashion house name, film franchise - in exchange for royalties or fees. Pat McGrath Labs x Candy Crush SagaVideo games is a powerful brand licensing category with tonnes of potential. Dr PawPaw/Wild x Paddington BearNostalgia (another massive brand licensing trend) is still doing plenty of heavy lifting. They're often the result of relationships built years before a product reaches shelves - and much of that groundwork takes place at Brand Licensing Europe (BLE).