As the Moshi Monsters brand continues to infiltrate the American market, property-owner Mind Candy is setting up a New York-based office and has tapped licensing vet Eric Karp to lead its US efforts.

Karp is stepping into the role of head of Licensing Americas, reporting into Darran Garnham, Mind Candy’s head of Global Licensing. Karp will be tasked with developing, expanding and rolling out an Americas licensing program for Moshi Monsters and building a US-based team to drive the growth of the brand within the territory.

The pet-themed virtual community currently boasts nearly 40 million users worldwide, around a third of which are based in the US. A large marketing drive is currently underway throughout the US in an effort to drive brand awareness and registrations to the site. A number of key licensing partners already on board include Spin Master for toy distribution and Scholastic for publishing. Books and trading cards are already on shelf in the US with toys and other key lines set to launch in the summer.

Karp joins Mind Candy from Massiverse, where he was head of global licensing for the transmedia boy’s action property Dragons Vs Robots. He has worked with children’s licensing for more than 16 years and has experience within senior roles at companies including Chorion, MGM Studios, Copyrights Ltd and Saban/Fox Family Worldwide.