Staffing up for 2012, Russian developer ZeptoLab is looking to expand the real world attraction of Cut the Rope.

It's announced that it's hired Tanya Haider as its head of licensing and merchandising.

She's already appointed Bob Traub of U-based Established Brands Licensing and Robert Miller of Canada-based Studio Licensing to represent the brand in North America.

Haider previously worked Nickelodeon and Viacom Consumer Products, on properties such as SpongeBob Squarepants and Dora the Explorer.

Sugar rush

The star of the game is the ever-hungry sweet-eating Om Nom, and with Cut the Rope now having done more than 70 million downloads on iOS and Android, the company is keen to follow in the footsteps of Angry Birds.

It now has plans for toys, games and activities, clothes, accessories, confectionery, home decoration and stationery. The first wave will happen in the spring, with a broader rollout in the autumn.

New horizons

"With Om Nom, we believe we have created a property with the potential to become a long term entertainment franchise," said Misha Lyalin, ZeptoLab's CEO.

"As such, we recruited a team with experience building some of the most incredible consumer brands of this generation.

"The collective experience in licensing, international consumer products and retail development that our licensing team and agents bring to the table will enable us to take Om Nom and Cut the Rope to a new level of consumer recognition and mass market appeal."

[source: ZeptoLab via MarketWatch]