Detroit-based Healthy Roots Dolls has debuted a reimagined version of its flagship product, the Zoé doll. With a new design and hair that users can wash and style, the doll also boasts a hair care kit with My Black is Beautiful products — courtesy of a partnership (and $250,000 in funding) with the Procter & Gamble-owned cultural platform.
“Toys influence how children think, act and see themselves, so when little girls can’t find dolls that look like them, it negatively impacts their self-esteem," said Healthy Roots Dolls founder and CEO Yelitsa Jean-Charles in a statement. "Zoé has already brought smiles to so many girls faces, and our new doll will bring even more joyful educational play experiences."
The $89.99 limited-edition product includes the Zoé doll, a matching T-shirt for kids and the curl care kit, which includes My Black is Beautiful's newest full line (the Golden Milk collection) and a Denman brush. Jean-Charles said that the site will sell the bundle until the conclusion of the holidays (if they don't sell out first).
"Zoé reimagined was inspired by the original doll and listening to the feedback we received from hundreds of customers," Jean-Charles explained. "They loved Zoé, and we wanted to keep her, so we made the major improvements that were need from her face [and] hair to full body redesign."
The revised product is hardly the first big move for Jean-Charles, who first conceptualized her brand while a sophomore at Providence, R.I.-based Rhode Island School of Design. She was required to reimagine a fairytale character as a class project, so Jean-Charles chose Rapunzel. Her representation of the character "as a brown girl with kinky hair to show that black girls can have beautiful hair too" resonated with her classmates, who thought the creation looked like a doll. Coupled with her innate passion to make bold statements with her art, Jean-Charles began the journey to establish Healthy Roots Dolls with a successful $50,000 Kickstarter campaign.
" ... with over 50% of kids in the U.S. being of color, it’s time to create toys for them."
Since then, there has been a number of milestones for the company: winning the American Underground’s 2018 Startup Stampede pitch competition in Durham, N.C.; receiving the inaugural Main Street Ventures Wendy S. Lea Female Founders Grant, worth $25,000; earning a $100,000 investment via its participation the in Backstage Accelerator Program in Detroit; and winning $125,000 as both the People's Choice Award and first place in the "start" category at Quicken Loans Demo Day. In total, that's just around $400,000 raised since the company's inception.
2019 has also brought cultural milestones for Healthy Roots Dolls, with the establishment of its first-ever office and adding a full-time hire to the staff: Lauren Hughes, marketing manager.
As for its more recent moves, such as the My Black is Beautiful partnership and even working with a professional doll sculptor on Zoé's redesign, Jean-Charles explained to Cincy Inno that professional mentors, such as Candice Matthews-Brackeen of Hillman Accelerator, for example, were integral in facilitating important introductions.
Jean-Charles said her successful partnership with P&G was kickstarted after she appeared on a Cincinnati news station to share her work. The appearance reignited conversations between P&G and Healthy Roots Dolls, and the P&G team ended up circling back on conversations she had initiated earlier.
“Since 2006, My Black Is Beautiful has empowered over 3 million women to celebrate their beauty both inside and out,” said P&G Director of Multicultural Beauty Lela Coffey. “The partnership with Healthy Roots Dolls furthers our mission to ensure young girls and women of color are celebrated for their uniqueness and beauty, and are being supported in building a positive self-image with products designed especially for her natural hair texture."
While the partnership is still fresh, Jean-Charles hinted at exciting things to come for Zoé in the new year.
"Customers can expect some new play experiences and accessories for their dolls." she said.
In the meantime, Healthy Roots Dolls customers can also count on additional hairstyle tutorials debuting on the site.
Whatever Healthy Roots Dolls does next, its mission remains the same: “Kids need to see positive representation, and with over 50% of kids in the U.S. being of color, it’s time to create toys for them," Jean-Charles said.
