Wedding invitations, birthday presents from grandparents to grandchildren, life-saving medications, and magazines featuring the latest toys and games (like this one) — vastly different items, but they all move through the United States Postal Service (USPS) to get to their destination. Now, USPS-licensed goods are passing through at an expedited rate.
Founded before the nation itself, the USPS has served communities for more than 250 years. While the federal organization remains a daily presence in American life, younger generations often know the Postal Service only through the white delivery trucks in their neighborhoods. That gap has created an opportunity.
The team behind the USPS hopes to highlight its offerings — and introduce itself to a new generation — through a broader licensing program, focusing on entertainment, apparel, costumes, and, of course, toys and games.
SHIFTING SIGHTS
While the USPS has cemented its position as the go-to mail carrier for more than 200 years and has offered licensed goods since the ‘80s, its program truly kicked off a decade ago. In 2016, Global Icons, a corporate brand licensing agency, was enlisted to refresh USPS-themed collections across different categories and engage with younger audiences.
Although parents and grandparents are likely familiar with the inside of a post office and may be on a first-name basis with their letter carriers, children and teenagers are noticeably detached from the organization that serves them.
“Young people don’t write letters and buy stamps at the same rate they used to,” says Amity Kirby, Manager, Licensing and Creative at the United States Postal Service. “So it’s important for us, as this brand and federal agency, to show new generations and younger people the relevance of the Postal Service.” Before the USPS and Global Icons joined forces, the USPS’s licensing program focused mainly on stamps and stamp art.
Lesley Tuttle, Senior Vice President, Licensing at Global Icons, notes that the team first invested in young adult apparel, resulting in warmly-received collaborations with Forever 21, Anti Social Social Club, Casetify, and Vans. As the licensing program grows, so do options in the toy, game, and kids’ entertainment space.
BUILDING THE DIGITAL BRAND
While the USPS deals with letters, boxes, and other physical items, it doesn’t shy away from the power of virtual media and messages. In an effort to expand its presence and reach digital-first audiences, USPS recently reshaped Mr. ZIP — a character from the ‘60s who originally highlighted the importance of including the ZIP code on shipments — into a digital entity.
The USPS is “delivering moments, connections … So it’s important for us to adapt to what is currently going on, especially in the digital format,” Kirby says. “So that’s how we’re trying to reach these kids. If they’re mainly digital, let’s bring in Mr. ZIP, let’s update him. Let’s start introducing him to children, so they see that truck and that person that comes to your house every day, that’s Mr. ZIP.”
Five decades after his initial introduction as a brand icon, Mr. ZIP is the star of his own YouTube series. Following a guest appearance on Moonbug Entertainment’s Blippi in 2024, the USPS and Moonbug launched the Mail with Mr. ZIP on YouTube last year. The series follows Mr. ZIP as he delivers mail, interacts with the community, and teaches young viewers about the USPS.
“Not only are Mr. ZIP and his friends [B. Franklin and Farley] delivering to you different boxes and letters, but they’re also a part of your community,” Kirby continues. ”And, if you think about it, we are in every community. We are your friends, we’re your family, we’re everything, and we’re everywhere. So it’s really tying in that community aspect and just trying to give that different experience [with the Post Office] because again, it’s going to be different from what I had when I was little.”
The USPS team is vying for a third season, which could feature additional kids’ brands or crossover episodes.
INVESTING IN THE TOY SPACE
The USPS’s investment in the digital age comes full circle — kids can add Mr. ZIP plush pals and books to their screen-free toy box, then unbox them from a USPS package right at their front door. In addition to plush products, the agency’s licensing program includes USPS-branded vehicles, puzzles, games, playsets, and more.
While the Global Icons and the USPS teams are invested in expansion, the licensee must be the right fit. As Tuttle states, “Now we have a little over 40 licensees, but we’re very careful of the companies that we work with. We want to make sure that nobody’s cannibalizing anybody else and really kind of bringing the postal service to light in a very fun way.”
To procure a license, companies must have strong values, comply with the ATF rules (no alcohol, tobacco, or firearms), and understand that USPS is a neutral entity (as mentioned by the Hatch Act). The USPS serves everyone, providing universal services to millions of people across the nation, regardless of their positions, and its partnerships must reflect those standards.
“When we work with companies, we have to make sure that we’re not taking stances on anything, because again, we are universal. We are here for everybody. We serve everybody, and it’s our mandate. We’re binding the nation,” Kirby adds.
Retailers can currently stock ride-ons from Flybar, costumes from Rubies, Mr. ZIP bobbleheads from National Bobblehead Hall of Fame, model train accessories by Walthers, and small vehicles from companies like Round2, GreenLight Collectibles, Candylab Toys, Fairfield Collectibles, Kintoys, and more.
Global Icons and the USPS aim to deliver toys that have developmental benefits and teach littles. Tuttle notes that products like the Flybar x USPS Foot-to-Floor Toy, which recently won The Toy Book’s Pulse of Play Award for Juvenile Product Launch of the Year, highlight the USPS’s role in communicating with loved ones and supplement gross motor skills.
“The ride-on, it has the play letters that go along with it, so you’re emulating and role-playing what it is like to be a letter carrier. So learning is a key [aspect],” Tuttle says. In addition to the Foot-to-Floor ride-on and its 6V USPS Mail Delivery Truck, Flybar also offers USPS Post Office Play Tents. While there is one design available, Lesley notes that new tents emulating Western and Cape Cod style Post Offices will be available for kids to role-play both employee and patron.
Families can also integrate Mail Carrier and Mail Box costumes from Rubies into their role-playing experience. Consumers won’t see any adult USPS costumes, as impersonating a mail carrier is illegal, but littles (and their dogs) can pretend to be the smiling faces who deliver mail each day. These branded toys encourage little ones to take their pens to paper and build connections with family members and friends — no screens required.
While the government entity expands its roster of toy licensees and diversifies the type of branded toys, it continues to invest in the artwork and collectibility of stamps. Families can bond over their favorite stamp designs with games like Hasbro’s Monopoly: U.S. Stamps Collection or puzzles like White Mountain’s State Greeting Stamps 1,000-piece Jigsaw Puzzle. Each item, officially licensed by USPS, incorporates iconic artwork into familiar gameplay.
For companies like White Mountain Puzzles, a “Made in the USA” company that has held the USPS license for more than 15 years, stamp art products feature that classic American heart and soul. Sean Minton, a Co-owner of White Mountain Puzzles, mentions that “One of the reasons the license has worked well over the years is because it fits well with what White Mountain is known for — Americana, nostalgic, colorful, collage images. The iconic stamps that so many older folks remember are perfect for creating fun, colorful collage puzzles.”
The company has released numerous USPS-themed puzzles throughout the years, including products featuring Forever Stamps, Christmas Stamps, and more. Puzzle fanatics can look forward to White Mountain and USPS’s upcoming America 250 puzzle, which celebrates the long history of the postal service in the nation. Families can bond over the puzzles, dissecting art both old and new, potentially exchanging stories inspired by the stamps.
Minton notes the ease of working with Global Icons and USPS, mentioning that “My father started the partnership before I took over the business. I can only assume that being a Made in America company helped us obtain and keep the license. It has been a great partnership.”
THE NEXT 200 YEARS
While the licensing program has blossomed, this is only the beginning for the centuries-old brand. As Kirby mentions, “For us, it’s getting more touchpoints, getting more of the brand in front of kids. We want to grow the toy category; we’re just dipping into it. We want to get more role play. We’re looking for play sets … who doesn’t want a little Post Office where you can have fun with your packages and sell people stamps?”
While retailers can expect additional vehicles, books, ride-ons, and more, the teams are also investigating the gaming space and aim to release a family-friendly video game in the near future. Looking ahead, the teams at Global Icons and the USPS plan to go even bigger, striking deals and delivering letters, kindness, and licensed goods for many years to come.
Stay on the Pulse of Play!
A version of this feature first appeared in The Toy Book‘s 2026 Licensing & Entertainment Issue, featuring The Licensing Book. Read the full issue here!
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