<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=192888919167017&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Thursday, March 28, 2024
March 28, 2024

Linkedin Pinterest

ZhuZhu Pets hamster toys set for a return, cartoon series in works

The Columbian
Published: February 22, 2015, 12:00am

ST. LOUIS — Three years after retiring the brand, Cepia is bringing back ZhuZhu Pets this fall and debuting a cartoon series next year.

Cepia, based outside St. Louis, announced the return of the furry hamster toys at the 112th North American International Toy Fair in New York. The toys, which will be priced just under $10, will be available for sale in time for holiday shopping.

TIME magazine listed ZhuZhu Pets among the top 100 toys of all time following their launch in 2009. From 2009 to 2012, Cepia sold more than 70 million ZhuZhu Pets, totaling more than $2 billion in retail sales.

“We get phone calls and letters from kids all over the world who love their Zhus,” Cepia founder and CEO James Russell Hornsby said.

The launch of eight ZhuZhu Pets will include previous characters NumNums, Chunk, Pipsqueak and Mr. Squiggles, in addition to new characters. The toys are similar to their earlier versions, but have been refreshed so they are “cuter and smarter,” Cepia’s senior vice president of marketing Laura Kurzu said.

The redesigned ZhuZhus will have embroidered eyes to make them more expressive, and the toys incorporate updated technology so they have more “silly behaviors and sounds,” the company said.

In late 2014, Cepia introduced Amazing Zhus Magician Pets, motorized mice that use radio-frequency identification and infrared technology to perform tricks.

As part of the relaunch of the ZhuZhu Pets brand, Cepia is partnering with Canadian-based Nelvana Studio to produce an animated ZhuZhu Pets TV series that will debut in the U.S. and internationally next year, a first for Cepia.

Additionally, Nelvana’s distribution arm signed a deal with Cepia to manage licensing and merchandising for products such as backpacks, which previously was handled in-house.

“This is a significant enhancement for our brand platform.” Kurzu said.

Loading...