Hanukkah Barbie sparks outrage, excitement with 'hooked' nose. Come on Barbie, let's go latke! This week, Mattel debuted its first official Hanukkah doll as part of the legendary toy brand's Holiday Sweaters collection. The $28 toy is part of the company's upcoming Holiday Sweater collection, which also includes two Barbies - one blonde, one Black - dressed in red-and-green Christmas sweaters that light up when you press a hidden button. They have Barbie's iconic swishy hair, shiny lips and Malibu-approved full smiles, along with the doll's wide eyes and button nose. The Hanukkah Barbie is a little different. First, there's her outfit: A cobalt sweater printed with a giant menorah, baby blue dreidels, and tiny snowflakes along with blue Stars of David. The Dreamhouse resident also sports blue checkered leggings and tiny Ugg boots - adorable, but likely the first thing she'll lose while playing "summer camp color war" with the other dolls. But although Hanukkah Barbie maintains the same super-skinny shape embodied by bombshell Margot Robbie in the "Barbie" movie, this version has olive-toned skin, a mane of babka-colored brown hair and eyes, and a closed half-smile with a matte finish. She's also got a schnoz - one that's noticeably more pronounced than the noses on her Christmas cousins. A seeming update to Barbie's "Violet" mold, which was first created in 2018, the Jewish doll's...

Mattel announces EMEA Consumer Products leadership team with new category-led structure. Published on: 24th September 2026 The new EMEA leadership structure will give licensees, retailers and commercial partners greater category expertise and a more consistent approach across the region. Mattel has announced a new category-led leadership structure for its Consumer Products business across EMEA. The new structure follows the recent appointment of Jessica Kelly as Senior Director of Consumer Products, EMEA and is designed to deepen category expertise, strengthen collaboration with licensing, retail and commercial partners, and enable a more global approach, whilst helping Mattel and its partners identify and act on new growth opportunities across the region. Under the new model, Mattel's EMEA Consumer Products business will be organised around five key pillars: Softlines, Hardlines, Food/Health & Beauty Aids (HBA)/Quick Service Restaurants (QSR), PEM and Retail Franchise Activation. The newly appointed Consumer Products EMEA leads are: * André Moreira has been appointed Director, Softlines. André joined Mattel in 2019 and most recently served as Senior Manager of Consumer Products for Benelux & Nordics and Softlines Lead, EMEA, overseeing the licensed business across six markets and the regional Softlines portfolio. * Natalie Berling-Noé has been appointed Lead, Hardlines. With more than seven years of experience at Mattel across different stages of her career, she brings extensive expertise in brand marketing, trade and customer marketing, and licensing, alongside previous leadership roles in the toy and entertainment industry. * Kasia Gruszka-Mierzwa has been appointed Lead of Food, Health & Beauty and Quick Service Restaurants. With 20 years of experience at Mattel across local and regional roles, Kasia most recently led Consumer Products Licensing across Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. * Isidora Tassopoulou has been appointed Director, PEM. During her 25 years at Mattel across Marketing and Consumer Products, Isidora has held regional leadership roles spanning Softlines, Hardlines and Food/FMCG, with extensive experience in licensing, market development and strategic partnerships across EMEA. * Caroline Daget has been appointed Lead, Retail Franchise Activation. She most recently led Licensing for Mattel France, following senior licensing and partnership roles at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee and Warner Bros. Discovery. * Mara Verze has been appointed Lead, Direct-to-Retail (DTR). Mara joined Mattel in 2024 to lead the UK and Ireland licensed products business and strategic brand partnerships, bringing more than 15 years of international experience across multi-category licensing and fashion retail. * Eleonora Schiavoni has been appointed Lead, Apparel. With over 25 years of experience across licensing, consumer products, fashion, retail and brand partnerships, she most recently led Mattel's Consumer Products business across Italy and Iberia. The new Consumer Products leadership team will provide licensees, retailers and commercial partners with more specialised category leadership and a more consistent approach across EMEA, supporting closer collaboration and helping to identify and act on new growth opportunities. The leaders will also represent Consumer Products within their respective markets, helping to ensure the business remains closely connected to the local consumer dynamics, partner needs and commercial opportunities. Jessica Kelly, Senior Director of Consumer Products at EMEA, said: "Consumer Products plays an important role in bringing Mattel's brands and franchises into fans' everyday lives through new products and experiences. By combining deeper category expertise with strong local market knowledge, this new structure and talented group of people will enable us to collaborate more closely with our partners, respond to emerging consumer and cultural opportunities, and create more relevant ways for fans to engage with the brands they love." Mattel will be at BLE from 6th-8th October at Stand A141. To learn more about Mattel's new Consumer Products business across EMEA, as well as the latest brand and licensing news from a raft of Mattel's hottest brands, click here to read its dedicated Mattel Supplement that is coming out alongside its November issue.

Scholastic India announces publishing and distribution partnership with Mattel. 22 Sep, 2026, 10:00 IST Bringing beloved Mattel brands including Barbie(R), Hot Wheels(R), Monster High(R) and Masters of the Universe(R) to young readers across the Indian subcontinent. NEW DELHI, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Scholastic India, an international office of the global children's publishing, education and media company Scholastic Inc., today announced a publishing and distribution partnership with Mattel, Inc., a leading global play and family entertainment company. Facilitated by Dream Theatre, Mattel's Master Licensing Agent in India, the partnership will see Scholastic India develop and distribute a diverse portfolio of books, activity titles, storybooks and early readers, inspired by some of Mattel's most iconic brands, including Barbie(R), Hot Wheels(R), Monster High(R) and Masters of the Universe(R), across the Indian subcontinent. "This partnership marks an important milestone in Mattel's global publishing strategy," said Claudia Lucarella, Director, Global Licensing Publishing at Mattel. "By combining Scholastic India's market-leading publishing expertise with the growing Mattel Press catalogue, we're creating a publishing platform that brings together globally developed content with locally relevant publishing programmes for readers across the Indian subcontinent. It expands access to our iconic brands while enabling us to scale our publishing business through trusted, best-in-class partners around the world." Designed to excite kids to read and spark creativity, the first wave of titles include Hot Wheels Ultimate Handbook 2026, Level 1 Readers Barbie's Big Move and Hot Wheels: To the Extreme as well as story collections from both brands. Having launched across major retail, online, and educational channels, the program will continue to expand with additional formats and publishing initiatives in the coming years. "We are thrilled to partner with Mattel. Together, we aim to create meaningful literacy experiences that combine imagination, adventure, creativity, and learning," said Neeraj Jain, President-Asia, Scholastic Inc. "Bringing Barbie, Hot Wheels, Monster High, and Masters of the Universe to life on the page aligns with our commitment to creating world-class content for young readers across the Indian subcontinent, just as we have done with iconic Scholastic characters from Clifford the Big Red Dog(R) to The Magic School Bus(R)." The collaboration combines Mattel's powerful storytelling brands with Scholastic India's deep understanding of local markets, extensive publishing expertise and unmatched reach across schools, bookstores, e-commerce platforms, and educational channels, all at a time when character-based publishing continues to experience strong growth, driven by increasing demand for trusted brands that encourage reading engagement among children. "We are delighted to partner with Scholastic India to bring the iconic brands of Barbie, Hot Wheels and Masters of the Universe to life through stories, activity and coloring books that not only engage young fans but also spark creativity and imagination. We believe that licensing's true power is in delivering meaningful products to fans while driving long-term business value for our partners and this collaboration successfully achieves both," said Jiggy George, Founder and CEO, Dream Theatre. About Scholastic India Scholastic India is the international office of Scholastic Inc, the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's book. Through its publishing programs, school partnerships, book fairs, and extensive reach across retail stores and ecommerce, Scholastic India reaches millions of children, parents, teachers, and schools across India, fostering a lifelong love of reading and learning. About Mattel Mattel is a leading global play and family entertainment company and owner of one of the most iconic brand portfolios in the world. We engage consumers and fans through our franchise brands, including Barbie(R), Hot Wheels(R), Fisher-Price(R), American Girl(R), Thomas & Friends(TM), UNO(R), Masters of the Universe(R), Matchbox(R), Monster High(R), Polly Pocket(R), as well as other popular properties that we own or license in partnership with global entertainment companies. Our offerings include toys, content, consumer products, digital and live experiences. Our products are sold in collaboration with the world's leading retail and ecommerce companies. Since its founding in 1945, Mattel is proud to be a trusted partner in empowering generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential. About Dream Theatre Dream Theatre leverages the power of licensing to CREATE, REPRESENT and DISTRIBUTE iconic brands in South Asia. These brands are focused on Entertainment, Sports, Lifestyle and Corporate brands businesses. Dream Theatre represents The Pokémon Company, Sanrio, Real Madrid CF, FIFA, Little Singham, Universal Music amongst other iconic brands for licensing and merchandising in India and South Asia. Media Contact Sugandha Wahal Head Marketing, Scholastic India [email protected] +91 97180 17285