Miami moms’ dolls are all about nostalgia - Baby Abuelita
Baby Abuelita Productions Salutes Miami Children’s Hospital
On Thursday, August 7th, Baby Abuelita Productions, creators of the popular Spanish-lullaby singing dolls, salutes Miami Children’s Hospital for its service to the children and the South Florida Hispanic community. The Neighborhood Salute, which is a prize awarded to Baby Abuelita by Edy’s SlowChurned ice cream for its written submission in appreciation of the Miami community, will be celebrated at Miami Children’s Hospital.
The salute will include free ice cream for 100 participants to attend and a premier showing of an episode of the new Baby Abuelita DVD, Family Fiesta. The first in a series of DVDs distributed by Baby Abuelita Productions, Family Fiesta was honored in July with the 2008 Outstanding Products award by iParenting Media Awards, a Disney company. Children patients, their families and Miami Children’s Hospital staff are invited. Baby Abuelita dolls and books will be raffled as part of this event.
At this celebratory event, information will also be distributed about Baby Abuelita’s Sing, Abuelita, Sing! contest. As part of the company’s desire to preserve the heritage from one generation to another, people of all ages can enter for the chance to win one of two Sing Abuelita Sing contests. The entire family can participate by either singing a traditional lullaby or nursery rhyme or by submitting a drawing or photo of family members that resemble one of the Baby Abuelita characters: Abuelita Rosa, Abuelito Pancho, Baby Andrea or Baby Tita.
Sing Abuelita Sing is a contest for the entire family, as an effort to embrace the family heritage. Dress up in a bata de casa, put on a pair of gafas or sing “Arroz con Leche” and submit your entry to Sing Abuelita Sing. Full contest rules and regulations can be found on the company website at www.babyabuelita.com.
Founded in 2005, Baby Abuelita Productions was created by a pair of working mothers — Hilda Argilagos-Jimenez, a dance teacher and Carol Fenster, a psychotherapist. “We wanted to create a doll that preserved tradition and warm memories,” said co-founder Carol Fenster. “But our dolls have managed to do that and more. We get emails from teachers and parents who are using these dolls to educate their children and teach them Spanish, which is a wonderful thing.”
Baby Abuelita dolls, books, and DVD are available at a wide variety of Wal Mart and Toys R Us locations and online at
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Wal-Mart replaces Garland Hypermart with first ‘Hispanic community’ store - Texas
With an estimated 14 percent of its U.S. shoppers being Latino, Wal-Mart in recent years has been tailoring stores, such as its I-30 and Cockrell Hill location in Dallas, to meet the needs of Hispanic families. It has added specialty bakery items, expanded varieties of chile peppers, printed store signs and advertising circulars in Spanish and last year stocked baby Abuelita dolls for Three Kings Day celebrations.
But the new Garland store at 1801 Marketplace Drive is the first designed from the ground up to meet the needs of Hispanic shoppers, said Daniel Morales, regional spokesman for Wal-Mart.”*
Miami, Fl-based based Baby Abuelita Productions has named Sound Points of Knowledge, LLC of Westport, CT as its merchandizing representative.
Sound Points of Knowledge (a/k/a SPOK) is a branding and licensing agency started by Baxter Urist and Jeanne Taylor Hard, both former officers of Sesame Street. SPOK specializes in developing brands, products and licensing for socially responsible brands for kids and families.
Baby Abuelita Productions was originally designed by Hispanic moms to preserve Hispanic songs and culture. Co-founders Carol Fenster and Hilda Argilagos-Jimenez of Miami Beach, FL recognized the desire of Hispanic parents to preserve their cultural heritage. Abuelita Rosa and Abuelito Pancho are the grandparent dolls that sing sweet lullabies like “Canciones de Cuna” and other traditional Hispanic songs. The dolls help keep the cultural heritage alive for every generation. Retail has responded: the dolls are a huge hit at Wal- Mart, Target and Kmart. Production for a home video animated series is currently underway. This reverses the usual formula of a doll being spun out of a popular program.
Baxter Urist has an extensive background in building children’s brands: Former president of The Smile Train, The Youth Trust, as well as former Group President, Licensing and International Television for Sesame Workshop. Jeanne Taylor Hard started one of the first brands aimed at Hispanics with HOLA BEBE and Sonia Manzano (”Maria” from Sesame Street). As Vice President for Sesame Street, Ms. Taylor Hard helped open up the food business and the Asian market to Sesame Street-licensed products. Overseeing the launch of over 400 stores in Japan alone, ranging from stationery and gifts to school supplies, housewares and apparel.
According to SPOK partner Baxter Urist, “Baby Abuelita is a lovable and authentic Hispanic brand with four main characters. We will be expanding into many other infant and pre-school categories. We are so proud to be ‘God- parents’ to Baby Abuelita.”
President, Carol Fenster, “We are proud to have Jeanne and Baxter as licensing representatives for Baby Abuelita. Their extensive background in culturally sensitive brands makes for a perfect fit with our vision of growing Baby Abuelita into the preschool brand for preserving Hispanic Culture.”"
International Toy Fair Gets Sneak Peek at Baby Abuelita DVD
The Baby Abuelita direct-to-home DVD follows Abuelita Rosa, Abuelito Pancho and their grandchildren through three 15 minute episodes plus special features designed to teach Hispanic culture through educational, entertaining stories and adventures that include music and dance.
Each episode contains one traditional Spanish language lullaby and one original song written exclusively for Baby Abuelita’s Family Fiesta video series by Latin Grammy Award winning artists Joel Someillan and George Noriega of Jollipop Entertainment.
“With Baby Abuelita distribution growing so rapidly, it quickly became clear just how great a demand there is for Hispanic-centered products,” says Carol Fenster, Baby Abuelita CEO. “It only makes sense for Baby Abuelita Productions to use every current medium we can to teach children about their culture and heritage. We have got dolls and books; DVDs are the next logical step to bring these characters to life. We hope the International Toy Fair will help us reach an even bigger audience.”
Since its launch in 2005, Baby Abuelita has more than tripled the size of its national distribution to over 3,000 stores and products are now available at Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target, Toys R Us, and Sam’s Club as well as www.babyabuelita.com/ . Multicultural initiatives at major retailers across the country have highlighted Baby Abuelita products in their holiday promotions, capturing the attention of Dany Garcia Johnson and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and leading to Baby Abuelita’s strong investment partnership with Garcia Johnson’s wealth management firm JDM Partners LLC. Both Johnsons are excited to utilize their media contacts and expertise to aide in the company’s continued growth and increasing brand equity.
About Baby Abuelita
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. Visit www.babyabuelita.com/ for more information. “
The Three Kings Visit Wal-Mart Stores in Houston
While Three Kings Day celebrations may differ in Latin America and other Spanish-speaking countries, January 6 is the universally recognized day celebrating the arrival of the three wise men who followed a star in the night sky that foretold the birth of Jesus. In Mexico and many Latin American countries, Hispanics celebrate the Three Kings who arrive bearing gifts and toys for the sleeping children on the evening of January 5.
“The Three Kings holiday is a magical time for Hispanic children no matter what country they are from,” said Gisel Ruiz, Wal-Mart vice president and regional general manager for West Texas and New Mexico. “We are pleased to be able to help bring these special Hispanic traditions to more and more families, allowing them to save money and live better each holiday season.”
In addition to Baby Abuelita dolls that are designed by a Hispanic vendor, this year’s holiday toy selection includes an exclusive line of RBD dolls that Wal-Mart developed with Mattel and patterned after the very popular Latin TV and music personalities. Wal-Mart stores participating in the special Three Kings Day promotion also feature traditional Hispanic holiday foods, such as Rosca de Reyes (Kings cake). The special Hispanic holiday store campaign runs through January 6, 2008.
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*From: http://www.businesswire.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish
Baby Abuelita DVD Kicks Off a New Dance in 8th Annual Latin Grammy(R) Awards Gift Bags
Someillan and Noriega are songwriters best known for being the clever minds behind Nick Jr.’s popular Go Diego Go theme song along with key tunes for the Dora the Explorer smash television show. They have numerous gold and platinum records that recognize their talent for adding a fresh spin on children’s entertainment. For Baby Abuelita, the dynamic duo is applying their creativity to integrate modern, catchy rhythms with traditional Latin lullabies to develop a signature sound for Baby Abuelita’s debut DVD.
“As a Latino parent, I was instantly attracted to the Baby Abuelita collection,” said Joel Someillan. “The nursery songs sung by Abuelita Rosa and Abuelito Pancho bring back special memories of my own childhood so I see it as an exciting opportunity to develop a theme song that will build this brand and help preserve beautiful Hispanic traditions for the next generation.”
Since its launch in 2005, Baby Abuelita has tripled the size of its national distribution, diversified its offerings beyond dolls to books and the highly anticipated upcoming home video, and become a highlight of multicultural initiatives at major retailers across the country. Its rapid growth and acceptance among consumers is a result of the company’s unique approach to preserving Hispanic traditions. Unlike other products, Baby Abuelita focuses on classic Spanish nursery rhymes and favorite lullabies which quickly engage children and appeal to parents who remember the tunes from their own childhood.
“We are honored to be working with such talented artists since this DVD soundtrack will help further personify the Baby Abuelita brand,” said Hilda Argilagos-Jimenez, co-founder of Baby Abuelita and mother of two. “Music is so key in Latino culture. The right signature sound will elevate the Baby Abuelita brand and make our products that much more distinctive.”
The 8th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards, set for Nov. 8 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, will be broadcast live on the Univision Network from 8 - 11 p.m. ET/PT. In addition, the broadcast also will be distributed internationally to more than 100 countries.
To learn more about Baby Abuelita, visit www.babyabuelita.com/ for more details.
About Baby Abuelita
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, Kmart, Target and Toys R Us 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 www.babyabuelita.com/ for more information.
About The Latin Recording Academy(R)
The Latin Recording Academy is an International, membership-based organization comprised of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking recording artists, musicians, songwriters, producers and other creative and technical recording professionals. The organization is dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural condition for Latin music and its makers. In addition to producing the Latin GRAMMY Awards to honor excellence in the recorded arts and sciences, The Latin Recording Academy provides educational and outreach programs for the Latin music community. For more information about The Latin Recording Academy, please visit www.grammy.com/.
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“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.”
“U.S. toy manufacturers and retailers are boosting offerings of multicultural products, from bilingual talking toys to dolls of many races, and parents are responding by opening their wallets.
Dolls Like Me, a New Jersey online retailer, features dolls of many skin tones, dressed to reflect ethnic varieties. The company has grown quickly since it was founded in 2005 by Denise Gary Robinson, an African-American entrepreneur. Robinson said children should have dolls that look like them and dolls that look like their friends, too. “We all look different; I celebrate that,” she says.
Robinson says she gets letters from parents all the time. There were so many requests from Muslim Americans, she said, that she found an appropriate doll and commissioned an outfit for it that would appeal to Muslim American girls. The doll wears a hijab, or traditional head scarf.
This fall, Robinson intends to sell a series that may appeal to immigrants. Made by Karito Kids, each of the five dolls has a story about the country from which she hails — Kenya, China, Mexico, the United States and Italy.
Another small startup company is Miami-based Baby Abuelita Productions, which had its genesis in a desire by Hilda Argilagos Jimenez to preserve the lullabies her grandparents sang to her in Spanish. She and business partner Carol Fenster hired artists to design grandparent-style dolls, and singers and sound engineers to record the music the dolls sing. Fenster said the lyrics resonate with Cubans, Colombians, Puerto Ricans, Nicaraguans, Mexicans and others.
The first dolls — Abuelita Rosa and Abuelito Pancho — were manufactured in 2004, and within a year they were selling at major retailers like Wal-Mart, Target and Toys “R” Us. That year, the new company sold 10,000 dolls; it expects to sell more than 100,000 in 2007.
While some store buyers were initially skeptical — “Who would buy a grandparent doll?” they asked — the reaction by Hispanic consumers has been strong. “In Hispanic countries, the grandparents are the keepers of the culture. There is respect for them in that role,” said Fenster.
HISPANICS’ GROWING INFLUENCE ON TOY MARKET
In fact, toys that appeal to the Hispanic market are especially popular today, according to manufacturers.
Reyne Rice, a trend specialist at the Toy Industry Association, said manufacturers’ interest in the Hispanic market has picked up markedly since the 2000 census. “This is a niche market,” said Rice, “but a big niche market.”
The U.S. Census Bureau reported a 60 percent increase in the number of Hispanics in the United States between 1990 and 2000. At the turn of the century, there were 35 million Hispanics, making up 13 percent of the total population.
By mid-2005, there were 43 million Hispanics, according to Roberto R. Ramirez of the U.S. Census Bureau. Furthermore, Hispanics have contributed one-half of the growth in the U.S. population since 2000, Ramirez said. The Hispanic population is younger than the total population, a fact not lost on toy makers. Nearly one-fourth of all babies born in this country since 2000 have been Hispanic.
“We are constantly looking at birthrates,” said Brenda Andolina, a marketing representative of Fisher-Price, a division of Mattel Inc. She said her company began a dedicated effort to reach Hispanic mothers in 2003.
Hispanic households outspend others on children’s apparel, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and toy makers are betting they will spend more on educational toys, too.
Manufacturers are increasing offerings of interactive electronic toys that use Spanish and English — leaders in the category include Fisher-Price, Leapfrog Enterprises and VTech Electronics.
Fisher-Price holds the license for toys based on television characters called “Dora” and “Diego,” who use some Spanish phrases. They began as a mainstream brand but are increasingly popular with Hispanics, according to Andolina. New in 2007 is a toy from Fisher-Price called “Dora’s Vanity,” which will have a feature whereby, when a child says a word in English, Dora will say it back in Spanish. “General market moms like exposing their children to a new culture and language, and Latina moms like reinforcing their roots,” Andolina said.
Leapfrog is coming out with a bilingual preschool toy called the “Learn & Groove Animal Sounds Guitar,” which introduces animal names and sounds, as well as numbers and counting in both Spanish and English. Moms love the fact that they can learn English while their child learns Spanish, according to Angelica Elizondo, marketing manager at Leapfrog.
VTech’s “Nitro Notebook,” for ages 5 and up, will include Spanish-language features as it teaches reading skills through games.
A spokeswoman at Oregon Scientific said her company’s multicultural products are “extremely popular” and the company is expanding its bilingual offerings. For instance, the “Barbie B-Smart,” a toy laptop computer with activities that can be played in Spanish, will be updated for fall 2007 to teach Spanish as well.
“Over the years, we’ve seen a steady increase in demand for products that support a variety of ethnic backgrounds, and we expect this trend to continue,” the spokeswoman said.”
Hispanics Select Gifts That Embrace Culture - Baby Abuelita
“As holiday gift-giving time approaches, Hispanics have numerous options of where they can find and purchase that perfect gift for a loved one. More than ever, gifts that touch cultural and traditional heartstrings will score big this holiday season. Baby Abuelita Productions is ready to meet Hispanic consumers’ shopping needs.
The holiday season is a magical time for family gatherings, feasting and displaying love and affection through gifts, whether those relatives are near or far. “Hispanics are often interested in gifts that truly reinforce and elevate their heritage,” said Carol Fenster, a psychotherapist and COO of Baby Abuelita Productions. “Although there is undoubtedly an acculturation process for immigrants, the appreciation and reverence for cultural values will never be erased.”
The desire for parents and grandparents to pass on traditions is one reason why the Baby Abuelita dolls, that sing traditional Spanish language lullabies, are a favorite gift item this year, as evidenced by the skyrocketing demand for these dolls at nationwide retailers such as Wal-Mart and Toy R Us. “Gifts that foster an appreciation and love of one’s culture and people are natural hot sellers this season,” added Fenster. Children love to hear and sing traditional Latin American lullabies along with the dolls fashioned in guayaberas and batas de casa.
In the span of one year, Baby Abuelita’s success has been fueled beyond the retail aisles. The independently owned business won second place in the Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge and has been featured at the New York Licensing Fair, Cuba Nostalgia in Miami and the Edward James Olmos Latino Book and Family Festival in Houston and Los Angeles. The company has built a bilingual website designed to attract thousands of people searching for lyrics and melodies to remind them of special times with their grandparents.
Analysts predict that online shopping will reach new heights this year. Hispanics have a positive attitude towards online shopping. Evidence of this comes from a Forrester Research (2006) study that found that there are 7.6 million U.S. Hispanic buyers who will each spend an average of $1,200 on items purchased online this year.
“The rise of online purchases as a shopping category gives small businesses such as Baby Abuelita an opportunity to reach larger numbers of consumers and be even more competitive,” said Tim Dugan Birrittella, Senior VP of Marketing of Baby Abuelita Productions and Marketing Professor at Florida International University. “Today’s consumer appreciates the variety of items available online, plus they enjoy being able to shop without leaving home. Last year, people from throughout the U.S., Canada and as far away as Great Britain and Israel were elated to find our dolls available on BabyAbuelita.com,” added Dugan Birrittella. “
Bespectacled White-haired Singing Dolls Hit a Home-Run with Hispanic Consumers - Baby Abuelita dolls
I had the opportunity to exchange several e-mails with one of the ladies running this business and I have high hopes for them.
“Baby Abuelita dolls, produced by Baby Abuelita Productions, have been singing success for this minority-owned start-up. The Spanish-lullaby singing dolls’ uniqueness – they resemble grandparents, complete with guayaberas, batas de casa and specs – impressed Wal-Mart and put Baby Abuelita(R) among the approximate two percent of accepted new products. After initial sales results at select Wal-Mart stores nationwide, Baby Abuelita will be available at more than four times the number of Wal-Mart stores across the mainland U.S. and in Puerto Rico giving the founders much to sing about.Gearing up for Hispanic Heritage Month, Wal-Mart is not only buying more of the dolls at more stores, but will reserve the highly coveted end-cap displays for the dolls in select stores across the country. As part of the Baby Abuelita promotion, greeters will welcome shoppers with Baby Abuelita stickers and toy department staff will wear special Baby Abuelita buttons. “
Baby Abuelita @ Conexión Public Relations.
aby Abuelita Productions, a Miami-based manufacturer of lullaby singing dolls that preserve the Hispanic heritage, has assigned Conexión Public Relations as the national public relations agency of record to guide them in their efforts in reaching the growing Hispanic market.
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from hispanictips.com :: hispanic news & commentary
article in English / artículo en Ingles o en Español usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish
from hispanictips.com
hispanic news & commentary
