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Crunchyroll Enters Merchandising Partnership with Black White Orange in India

Crunchyroll announced on Monday that it has entered a partnership with brand licensing agency Black White Orange to oversee and manage licensing merchandise programs in India. Black White Orange will work with over 35 anime titles including Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, Robotech, Trigun, and My Dress-Up Darling.

Crunchyroll's associate director Raphael Guimaraes will lead consumer product deals for the Indian subcontinent.

The companies plan to develop licensing programs with new partners and across various categories. Mitali Desai, Co-founder & COO at Black White Orange, stated that "According to a study by Rakuten Digital Commerce, anime enthusiasts in India display higher engagement levels and are inclined to spend 40% more on licensed products than the national average."

Crunchyroll hosted a launch event with an anime screening on July 20 at Maison PVR, Jio World Drive Mumbai. The company announced its promotional partnership with Indian actor Tiger Shroff on July 14 and Indian actress Rashmika Mandanna on July 18.

Crunchyroll announced its first slate of Hindi and Indian English dubs in November 2022 as it introduced subscription tiers for Indian audiences.

The company began streaming several of its anime titles in India on March 1, 2022. Funimation and Crunchyroll announced on the same day that Funimation and Wakanim's anime library and simulcast content had moved to Crunchyroll. The company appointed Rahul Purini as CEO in April 2022 after several years as COO of Funimation.

Sony's Funimation Global Group completed its acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T in August 2021. The purchase price was US$1.175 billion, and the proceeds were paid in cash at closing.

Source: Press release