Business

Licensing deal set for ‘Jersey’ star Snooki

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Forget the reality TV star — say hello to Snooki, The Brand.

Pint-size “Jersey Shore” personality Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi has hired a New York firm to manage the rollout of a slew of licensed products that will bear her name — as well as her distinctly Jersey- fied fashion sense, The Post has learned.

That means fuzzy slippers, blingy jewelry, and giant sunglasses for starters, says Stephen Goodman of SRG Ventures.

Then, over the next year, the firm also sees the potential to expand into numerous other categories, including denim, sportswear, lingerie, handbags, personal care, beauty products, fra grances, swimwear, bedding and home goods.

The 4-foot, 9-inch breakout star of the MTV series will no doubt again gain headlines — and much-needed notoriety beginning tonight when Season 3 of “Jersey Shore” debuts.

Some are warning Snooki to take it slow. If it binges on deals too quickly, Snooki Inc. could end up blacking out, warns Michael Stone of The Beanstalk Group, a New York licensing and branding consultant.

“If I were her, I wouldn’t be gunning to be the next Martha Stewart just yet,” Stone said, noting that the fame of reality TV stars can be fleeting. “I’d pick a product category or two.”

Nevertheless, SRG’s Goodman notes that “Snooki has a passion for a lot of different products,” and is inti mately involved in every item that’s cre ated. “We’re being very strategic and selective about who we partner with,” he says.

Snooki has cut a licensing deal with Happy Feet — the 15-year-old company that has long manufactured the big, fuzzy slippers she wears on the show. New Snooki-designed styles that feature animal prints and neon colors have already surpassed the six-figure mark in retail sales.

The gnomish guidette has a flair for marketing, making deft use of Facebook and Twitter to promote products, says Happy Feet founder Pat Yates.

“She crashed our server the first time she tweeted about our products,” Yates said. DiamondShark.com will “probably sell out” of a limited edition New Year’s “Party Ball” Snooki pendant, according to Daniel Weinstock, a partner at the New York jewelry seller.

That’s despite the fact that city officials nixed a plan by MTV to drop the orange-tanned B-lister inside a ball of her own in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, forcing her to head back to Jersey.

In the coming weeks, DiamondShark will be hawking a Valentine’s Day pendant that bears Snooki’s own design flair.

“We were surprised how involved she got into the process,” DiamondShark Kenneth Hamlet said. “She said, ‘I really think we need to put an arrow through it and put some gem stones on it and bling it out,’ so we did.”

Asked whether Snooki had aspired to be a designer as a child, her father Andy “Papa Snooki” Polizzi, told The Post yesterday: “Her main thing was ‘Dad, when I grow up, I’m gonna be on TV.’ ” james.covert@nypost.com