Baby Abuelita Sings Sweet Tune as New Investor Brings on Rock Solid Support For Expansion of Hispanic Doll Company

“Energized by the growing success of ethnic toys in the U.S., Dany Garcia Johnson has joined Baby Abuelita Productions (BAP), making her the first major outside investor of Miami’s hottest doll maker. As reported last week by the Associated Press, the multicultural doll category is booming and greatly driven by the Hispanic population’s buying power projected to grow a formidable 48% between 2006 and 2011 to almost $1.2 trillion. Through Garcia Johnson’s financial and networking support along with business partner, actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s involvement, Baby Abuelita will be able to fast track opportunities to grow brand equity and diversify its product portfolio through such activities as introducing a direct-to-home video series and launching discussions with major networks to create an animated television series.

Since its launch in 2005, Baby Abuelita has tripled the size of its national distribution and become a highlight of multicultural initiatives at major retailers across the country. The unique dolls — an adorable collection featuring a grandmother, grandfather and grandchildren — draw in consumers because they are one-of-a-kind. Each doll sings a special selection of traditional Spanish lullabies, exposing children to fundamental Spanish words and a beautiful side of Hispanic heritage that can be passed down from generation to generation.

“Baby Abuelita dolls and their mission to preserve Hispanic traditions inspire me,” said Dany Garcia Johnson. “As a Latina mother, I appreciate the value of making it easy for parents to keep rich traditions alive and relevant for children. Dwayne and I have been watching the company grow here in Miami and are excited about the opportunity to share our ideas and help Baby Abuelita continue to diversify.”

Garcia Johnson is founder and Chief Executive Officer of JDM Partners LLC, a Miami-based investment advisory firm that that specializes in providing superior investment counsel to high net worth individuals, families and corporations. Ms. Johnson also serves as Chairman for White Buffalo Entertainment and is Executive Producer on such projects as the soon to be released documentary Theater of War, starring Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline. In addition, she is a dedicated philanthropist who founded The Beacon Experience which provides both educational and social tutoring to inner-city students and, upon their acceptance into college, provides full scholarships to ensure continued learning.

Baby Abuelita was founded by two working moms who shared a goal to leverage traditional Spanish-language childhood songs to ensure that Hispanic heritage is preserved, passed along to the next generation and easily accessible for everyone. The growing product line is distributed nationally through major retailers such as Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Toys R Us, Target, and Amazon.com, or at www.babyabuelita.com/. The collection features four dolls: Abuelita Rosa, Abuelito Pancho, Baby Andrea and Baby Tita as well as an interactive sing-a-long book now sold on the Baby Abuelita website. Each 17″ plush doll (SRV of $24.99) sings a different group of songs in a voice reflective of the doll’s character at the press of its hand and comes in packaging designed to look like a rocking chair. The Sing Along with Abuelita Rosa Book (SRV of $9.99) is hardcover and has five musical buttons that play music for the song featured in the book, which appear in both Spanish and English.

Visit http://www.babyabuelita.com/ for more information.”

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