Toronto’s Boat Rocker Media has roped in German toy maker Simba Dickie Group as the newest international licensing partner for its Dino Ranch preschool series.

Simba Dickie will manufacture branded construction sets, ride-on vehicles, role-play sets, toys and outdoor products (like buckets and shovels) to launch in 2023 across EMEA, the UK and Ireland.

Boat Rocker made two key hires in January in an effort to expand Dino Ranch’s consumer products program, bringing in former WildBrain consultant Emmanuelle Cadet to head up licensing business in EMEA, and ex-Disney senior licensing manager EJ Minor to do the same in the Americas. Last year, the company signed licensing deals with Rubie’s (costumes) and UK-based Kennedy Publishing (books) for the brand.

Dino Ranch (104 x 11 minutes) is a CG-animated series produced by Boat Rocker and its Industrial Brothers subsidiary, in association with Canadian pubcasters CBC Kids and Radio-Canada. Blending a wild west theme with dinosaurs, the show premiered in January 2021 on CBC and Disney Junior. Season two is in production now and set to launch in the US this summer.

Dino Ranch has sold in more than 170 countries, including Germany (Super RTL), France (Gulli), Norway (NRK), Finland (YLE) and Denmark (DR). And Disney+ has acquired it in territories where it doesn’t have a branded linear channel, such as Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland.