Moomin Characters, the business set up by Moomin creator Tove Jansson in the 1950s, has chosen arts and culture consultancy Riot Communications as its first ever PR agency.

Moomin Characters was set up by Tove and her brother Lars in order to deal with the floods of requests from would-be licensees keen to make Moomin dolls and other products based on Finland’s best-loved fictional family.

The business is now overseen by Tove’s niece Sophia Jansson, in her role as creative director, and managing director Roleff Kråkström. To date, the original Moomin books have been translated in over 50 languages, and the brand extends from original songs to stage shows, a museum and the Moomin World theme park in Naantali, Finland.

Riot Communications was appointed without a competitive pitch process, on the strength of recommendations from previous clients and the agency’s passion for the brand.

Roleff Kråkström, managing director at Moomin Characters, says, “The coming 12 months are going to be an extremely exciting time for Moomin Characters, with a number of new partnerships and events in the pipeline. We were keen to take on a PR agency that could navigate the company through this period, helping broaden the market for Moomin publishing and product while protecting the qualities that have allowed the brand to remain so successful and beloved over the decades.”

In February, Moomin Characters announced the first in a string of exciting new projects; a new 52-episode animation series with Filmlance International.

Academy Award winner Steve Box (Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit), will direct the series and head up the writing team. He will be joined by Emmy and BAFTA-nominated Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler (Peter Rabbit, Danger Mouse) with Laurie Hutzler attached as Story Consultant. Cate Elliott (Charlie and Lola, Me & My Monsters) and 2014 Bafta winner John Woolley (Shaun the Sheep) will produce, and distribution will be handled by Endemol Shine International.

Also in February, Macmillan Children’s Books published The Moomin Colouring Book. Beautifully conceived and designed, this contemporary colouring for mindfulness book features 96 pages of Moomin patterns and scenes as well as some of the family’s most memorable quotes. The deal was negotiated by Caroline Mickler Ltd, Moomin Characters' UK agent, with whom Riot Communications will be working closely.

Adele Minchin, associate director of Riot Communications, says, “Moomin is completely unique as a brand in that it appeals as much to art and design fans as it does to nostalgic adults and children discovering Tove’s stories for the first time. The secret to this is that Tove’s original artwork and storytelling has always been treated with the utmost respect and handled with integrity."

She says, “As huge fans of her tales of love, tolerance, family and adventure, we’re absolutely delighted to be working with Moomin Characters to bring Tove’s work to new audiences.”