FRANKLIN, Tenn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Hardee’s, known for quality you can taste, today announced the return of the restaurant’s beloved Star Pals meals to its menu for the first time in eight years. To celebrate the return, the brand is teaming up with kids’ entertainment studio pocket.watch and Ryan’s World^® for a first-of-its-kind partnership as YouTube creators continue to transform the toy industry.

“When we decided to reintroduce Star Pals to our menu, we wanted to ensure we had a partner that families would be excited about,” said Jenna Folk, Director of Brand Marketing, Hardee’s. “Ryan ToysReview has seen tremendous success on YouTube and beyond, and we are thrilled to have exclusive Ryan’s World toys in our Star Pals meals this summer.”

The new Star Pals meals will feature an exclusive toy line under the massively successful Ryan’s World consumer products brand, designed by Ryan, the seven-year-old YouTube star with more than 19.4 million subscribers. The toys will be available at participating Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. restaurants across the country beginning June 19, 2019.

“This partnership with CKE is a perfect extension of Ryan’s World, the amazing character universe created by Ryan and his family,” said Edwina Cumberbatch, Manager, Sales and Co-Promotion, pocket.watch. “And, it really builds on pocket.watch’s mission to bring kids and families more of what they love from their digital worlds.”

Hardee’s new Star Pals meals come with three protein options including Kid’s Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders, a Kid’s Hamburger or a Kid’s Cheeseburger. All Star Pals meals have the option of a side of applesauce and a milk beverage.

The Ryan’s World^® exclusive toys available within the Star Pals meals will include:

• Mystery Egg Puzzles: Open your egg to find out what puzzle you’ve got inside! Next, spread out your pieces on the table and start to put your puzzle together. There are two sides to each puzzle, so if a piece does not look right, try flipping it over. When you have finished putting together one image you can take it apart and solve it again to complete the image on the other side – collect all three!
• Rockin’ Ryan Figures: Place Ryan down on a flat surface and gently press the top of his head to watch him bounce up and down and raise his fist into the air – collect all three!
• Gil Squirter: Squeeze Gil to blow out all of the air and submerge him into water, then slowly release to fill him up with water. Remove him from the water and squeeze his sides to squirt water from his mouth!
• Combo Panda Roller: Place Combo Panda down on a sloped surface, and push him gently to watch the wheel roll along. Combo Panda will rock back and forth as he rolls, but will never fall down!

The program will continue later in the summer with the introduction of a new line of toys from HobbyKids Adventures, a new animated series from pocket.watch based on YouTube family HobbyKidsTV. HobbyKids Adventures Star Pals meals will be available at participating Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. restaurants nationwide in August.

Hardee’s Star Pals will be available at participating Hardee’s locations beginning June 19, 2019. The new meals will start at $3.99 and up, price and participation may vary by location, tax not included.

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About CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc.

CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. (“CKE”), a privately held company based in Franklin, Tennessee, runs and operates Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, two beloved regional brands, known for one-of-a-kind premium and innovative menu items such as 100 percent Black Angus Thickburgers^®, Made from Scratch Biscuits and Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders. With both a US and international footprint, Carl’s Jr. Restaurants LLC and Hardee’s Restaurants LLC have over 3,800 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 44 states and 43 foreign countries and U.S. territories. For more information about CKE, please visit www.ckr.com or its brand sites at www.carlsjr.com and www.hardees.com. STAR PALS is a trademark of Carl’s Jr. Restaurants LLC.

About pocket.watch

Pocket.watch is a new studio that specializes in entertaining and inspiring kids and families through digital-first content and sparking their imaginations with lifestyle products ranging from toys to toothbrushes. The company inspires kids to seamlessly move between screen time and playtime and boasts a growing portfolio of franchises that includes some of the largest kids and family YouTube brands in the world. Pocket.watch developed and launched the massive Ryan’s World^® consumer products line and created and produces Ryan’s Mystery Playdate, which airs on Nickelodeon and is the #1 preschool show on television. The company was founded in March 2017 by Chris M. Williams and is located in Culver City, CA where it maintains an office and studio. Its management team is made up of studio veterans and visionaries from traditional and digital entertainment including Albie Hecht, Stone Newman, Jon Moonves and David B. Williams. Investors include Viacom, Greycroft, Third Wave Digital and United Talent Agency (UTA), as well as notable strategic angels including Robert Downey Jr. (Team Downey) and Jon Landau. For more information about pocket.watch, please visit pocket.watch. RYAN’S WORLD, GIL, COMBO PANDA and RYAN TOYREVIEW are trademarks of Remka, Inc.