42, secured exclusive license rights to use trademarks, graphics and vintage art of products and characters from Latino companies and placed them on shirts and sleepware. Palomita tops will bear the bold colors, large type and playful characters of the designs and logos from products that exemplify the Mexican lifestyle - 1-2-3 frying oil, Roma laundry detergent, Blanca Nieves dish soap, De La Rosa peanut candy, Pulparindo tamarind candy. "These products have a sense of nostalgia and represent local Mexican brands ingrained in everyday life," Robbins said.
"These are products from my youth in Mexico and bring back fond memories. É Pi-atas for birthday parties were always stuffed with these kind of candies." A major licensing feat was the popular bucked-toothed mouse Topo Gigio.
The classic puppet sang and danced originally on Italian television in the early 1960s before coming to the U.S. through "The Ed Sullivan Show" and gaining widespread popularity in Latin America.
The Palomita line could do well in stores because, Robbins said, 20 percent of all adolescents in the United States are Latino. "Marin, in particular, has a preponderance of Latinos so it will be very relevant to the Latin market," she notes. Palomita has appeal across cultures, according to Kat Ryan, creative manager at Robbins' company, LicenZing LLC.
"Though I am not Hispanic, I think the graphics are cute and would wear a Lulu shirt just because it is cute. It works for everybody," Ryan said. "These shirts are going to be sold at JC Penneys.
We are not just selling the shirts only in the Mexican market, we are making it mainstream and we are letting them buy it where anyone else would buy their clothes." In 2006, Robbins signed an agreement with Wish Licensing of Burbank to manufacture and distribute Palomita shirts, then launched the line at a Las Vegas tradeshow in February. The tops were worn by 77 contestants at the Miss Universe pageant during an event in Mexico before the pageant aired in May.
Plans are under way to launch a "brother brand" to Palomita, called Chucho, which would feature masculine designs and products such as cement and tire companies. Robbins graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in legal studies and is a veteran of the apparel industry including working as director of licensing for the women's fashion brand Bebe; in licensing at Levi Strauss Co. for 10 years; and at All Access Apparel Inc.
, where she was instrumental in establishing Self Esteem as a top 10 junior brand in the United States. She is president of the brand-building agency, LicenZing LLC, which she started in San Rafael in 2003 and has marketed shirts with popular logos. "I had done it originally for Self Esteem with U.
S. products - with Hershey's, Reese's, Pixy Stix, General Motors, Slinky - a bunch of different products that were very Americana," Robbins said. "That is how I got the idea to do it with Hispanic products.
"There are so many different types of Latinos and we are all away from home so we are always going to want to see new and fresh renditions of things that are nostalgic to us." Contact Carla Bova via e-mail at cbova@marinij.com 42, secured exclusive license rights to use trademarks, graphics and vintage art of products and characters from Latino companies and placed them on shirts and sleepware.
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