ST. LOUIS, July 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Build-A-Bear Workshop^® recently announced the launch of Kabu™, the company's new lifestyle brand, which is inspired by "kawaii"-style art and the classic characters of the Build-A-Bear Workshop family. The Kabu brand comes to life in a vibrant new graphic novel and related furry friends, outfits, and accessories for furry friends and tweens (all available in stores & online), as well as clothing for tweens (available online only in the U.S. beginning this fall) and a mobile gaming app.

The Kabu characters and their storyline are all about "PAWsitivity," as the friends embark on adventures together and tackle challenges related to friendship, school and growing up—learning along the way that life is 10 percent what happens to them and 90 percent how they react to it. Six primary characters steal the scenes of the graphic novel titled, "The Grreat Race," written by Heather Nuhfer: Bearnice™ (little golden bear); Bearnard™ (little golden bear and twin brother of Bearnice); Bearemy^® (little brown bear and best friend of Bearnard); Pawlette^® (bunny and best friend of Bearnice); Catrina (colorful princess); and Catlynn (vibrant kitten). The pals realize that, by staying "PAWsitive" and putting their heart into overcoming obstacles, situations tend to turn out okay—even if things don't always go as planned.

The first furry friends to join the Kabu crew at Build-A-Bear Workshop are Kabu Pawlette, Kabu Bearnice and Kabu Catlynn, along with outfits, unique accessories for kids and tweens, and more. Fans can explore the world of Kabu by making their own furry Kabu friends—complete with colorful outfits—and integrate the fun into their own world with a downloadable gaming app called Kabu Pop Party Quest™, in which players make their way through the characters' town of Pawston™, popping bubbles and unlocking rare items through many different levels.

Other unique Kabu lifestyle items for kids and tweens include leggings, "squishies," a Blind Bag Cub Condo^®, a shimmery pouch and a pom lip-gloss keychain. Additional exciting updates to the collection are planned for the future.

"We wanted to introduce a lifestyle brand with a variety of ways for our Guests to interact with Build-A-Bear^®," said Jennifer Kretchmar, chief product officer, Build-A-Bear Workshop. "We were drawn to the appeal of the modern 'kawaii' style and the way the artwork translated into our graphic novel. The animations and storyline of the novel wove perfectly into the design of Kabu furry friends, clothing and accessories, as well as the Kabu Pop Party Quest gaming app. We also saw an opportunity to give our classic Build-A-Bear characters, including Pawlette and Bearnard—the friendly face featured on our company logos—a fun, new treatment, and to bring a new generation of Guests to Build-A-Bear Workshop."

Kretchmar continued, "Friendship and positive thinking are at the heart of our Kabu brand, which is perfect for tweens who value friends and adventures."

Kabu joins the growing list of successful intellectual properties from Build-A-Bear, including Promise Pets™, Honey Girls™ and the recently launched Beary Fairy Friends™.

For more information about Kabu, visit buildabear.com/collections/Kabu.

About Build-A-Bear^®
Build-A-Bear^® is a global brand kids love and parents trust that seeks to add a little more heart to life. Build-A-Bear Workshop has over 400 stores worldwide where guests can create customizable furry friends, including corporately-managed stores in the United States, Canada, China, Denmark, Ireland, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom, and franchise stores in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico and the Middle East. Buildabear.com is the online destination for unique furry-friend gifts, featuring The-Bear-Builder™, a shopping configurator that helps create customized gift options. In 2018, Build-A-Bear was named to the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For^® list for the 10^th year in a row. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW) posted a total revenue of $357.9 million in fiscal 2017.

SOURCE Build-A-Bear

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