Brand Central Marks 25 Years as a Top Agency at Expo 2026
TLL Feature
Brand Central, a top 10 global licensing agency, will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year, marking a quarter century of innovation, brand building, and strategic execution.
As the company reaches this milestone, it continues to expand its influence through new partnerships and a growing portfolio of clients across key categories. In its 25th year exhibiting at Licensing Expo, the agency will showcase new clients, expanded services, and the newest members of its growing team.
TLL’s Gary Symons sat down with CEO Ross Misher (at bottom right in the photo above) to look back at the past 25 years, and look ahead to this year’s Expo.
TLL: Congratulations, Ross, on achieving 25 years in the licensing business. Your 25th anniversary was on May 1st, 2026. Take us back to May 1st, 2001 when you started the agency. What was the premise for starting Brand Central?
Ross Misher: Thanks, Gary. It’s been a wild ride! By 2001, I already had seven years of licensing experience working at Marvel Entertainment and Disney Consumer Products. From those experiences, I uncovered a white space in the agency landscape. No one was paying serious attention to the brands living in the cultural zeitgeist; the ones with passionate fan bases and enormous untapped potential.
The few agencies that existed at the time were focused on corporate brands, and the big studios were chasing blockbuster films. I saw an opportunity to represent pop culture brands with devoted communities.
I wanted to create a central place for those brands, hence the name Brand Central. Soon after, I signed brands like E! Entertainment, Comedy Central, and Miramax Films with fan-favorite properties like Pulp Fiction and E! True Hollywood Story, and Brand Central was off to the races.
TLL: What a great story! Take me through the journey from those early days to your dominance in the food and beverage space.
Ross Misher: For us, the past 25 years have been like Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. Each shift defined a new “era” in our history.
We followed pop culture trends with the goal of representing a portfolio that matched what manufacturers and retailers wanted at the time. After building a strong slate of entertainment IP in the early 2000s, we expanded into lifestyle and wellness with brands like Gaiam, Dr. Andrew Weil, and Seventh Generation.
By the 2010s, the social media and gaming revolution was in full swing and we jumped in, partnering with social brands like Musical.ly (later TikTok) and Jake Paul’s Team 10. We also represented leading bloggers such as Cupcakes and Cashmere and Apartment Therapy, as well as gamers like Ninja.
At the same time, we recognized the power of food and beverage licensing, working with Kellogg’s, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, and Krispy Kreme.
When COVID hit and retail and restaurants closed, everyone was eating at home. We leaned even harder into food and beverage with restaurant brands like Sonic and Fogo de Chão, and CPG brands like Mondelez, Kraft Heinz, Mars Wrigley, and Smucker’s.
Today, we continue to accelerate our food and beverage practice, but we are also expanding with new lifestyle brands. Our current roster includes powerhouse CPG brands such as Mars Wrigley, Kraft Heinz, The J.M. Smucker Co., Bimbo Bakeries, Tapatío Hot Sauce, Fly By Jing, Calypso, and alcohol brands including The Boston Beer Company and Pernod Ricard. In 2025 alone, Brand Central executed more than 75 successful licenses and collaborations, including standout partnerships like M&M’S x Crocs, Starburst x Sparkling Ice, and Heinz x Herschel.
TLL: Brand Central is well-known for its outbound licensing expertise, but in the past 10 years, your manufacturer representation business has really grown. To what do you attribute its success?
Ross Misher: Over the past few years, Brand Central has made significant strides in strengthening our manufacturer representation division, further solidifying its role as a full-service licensing agency for both licensees and licensors.
We represent more than 20 manufacturers across food and beverage, beauty, fashion, and beyond, and the agency has become a go-to destination for companies entering the licensing industry and seeking world-class consulting and execution.
We took another big step this year as Brand Central recently welcomed executive Molly Jacobson, a 20-plus-year industry expert formerly of Frankford Candy, to lead the division alongside veteran Liza Abrams.
TLL: Let’s switch gears to discuss this year’s Licensing Expo. What are you focusing on for the show this year? What is new and what are you featuring at the show?
Ross Misher: We like to say this Expo we are raising the “bar” in alcohol licensing.
We were appointed as the licensing agency for a collection of brands from The Boston Beer Company and Pernod Ricard.
The newly-added portfolio includes Samuel Adams, Twisted Tea, Angry Orchard, and Sun Cruiser from The Boston Beer Company, as well as Absolut, Kahlúa, and Malibu from Pernod Ricard, further positioning Brand Central as a major force in alcohol licensing.
We have a few more brands that we are bringing on board over the next few weeks, so look out for more announcements. Finally, we’ll be unveiling exciting new corporate branding at the show, signaling our new era and positioning us for the next 25 years.
TLL: Well, I’ll drink to that! One last question. Looking back, what has been most rewarding for you over this journey?
Ross Misher: Twenty-five years ago, I started Brand Central in my living room with little more than a big idea. I could never have imagined the opportunity to work with so many world-class brands, to execute over 1,000 license agreements, and be recognized as a top 10 licensing agency.
Those achievements have been wonderful, but what I value most are the relationships we have built along the way; the friends, colleagues, clients, and partners who have made this journey so meaningful.
I have the privilege of working with an incredible team of licensing experts every day. Many of our team members have been with us for more than 10 years, which is a testament to our great clients and a culture that encourages hard work, balance, and fun.
As we look ahead, our commitment remains the same; delivering excellence for our clients and partners and creating work we are proud to see on retail and grocery shelves.
As we celebrate this milestone year, I want to welcome you to visit our booth #D154 in the Brands and Agents section and explore the opportunities we can create together in the next 25 years!