Who says Barbies are all looks and no substance? Barbie is also a career woman — and for the 60th anniversary of the doll, her many careers are being put front and center in the sweetest way possible. Barbie has teamed up with luxury candy company Sugarfina for a special line of Sugarfina candies celebrating Barbie's most iconic careers which will be available from February 26 — and the candies look downright delicious.
Here's the lineup, Barbie fans with a sweet tooth: Astronaut Barbie is being celebrated with a Cosmic Sours Small Candy Cube; Athlete Barbie gets Gummy Kicks Small Candy Cube; there's a Candy Clouds Small Candy Cube to remember pilot Barbie; Candy Pearls for Firefighter Barbie, and News Anchor Barbie is remembered with Strawberry Sparkly Pops. Finally, The originally 1959 Barbie is being celebrated with a Birthday Cake Caramels Small Candy Cube. All of these will retail for $7.50 — so you could end up with a "gotta catch 'em all" situation.
“Barbie has always inspired me to dream big and pursue my career aspirations,” Rosie O’Neill, co-founder and co-CEO at Sugarfina, explained in a press release. “From playing with Veterinarian Barbie as a little girl, to creating Computer Engineer Barbie and Architect Barbie during my career at Mattel, I have always viewed Barbie as a role model and a trailblazer. I’m so proud to have the opportunity to bring our two brands together to inspire girls everywhere, just as Barbie inspired me to pursue my dream of becoming an entrepreneur."
But the best part doesn't come in candy form at all — 100 percent of the net proceeds from the Sugarfina Barbie collection will be going to StepUp, an organization dedicated to creating confident women and girls through supports girls living or going to school in under-resourced communities. Not only that, but in honor of International Women's Day and Barbie’s 60th, Sugarfina will be hosting events in Southern California, Dallas, and New York on Saturday, March 9.
The events are set to include candy tasting bars (which really should be all you need to know to get yourself down there), as well as sketch artists, local female entrepreneurs giving talks, light food, and mocktails. You can check out the Sugarfina website for more information, but if you read past the words candy tasting bar without getting a rush of excitement, then I don't even know how your brain works.
Barbie has long been associated with unrealistic body types and a reductive view of women, but in recent years we've seen a definite, concerted effort to change that. From a Barbie vlog on the "Sorry Reflex" that encourages women to stop apologizing to a new range of Barbies designed to be more diverse and inclusive, we've moved far beyond this idea of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman with an impossibly small waist. In fact, last year a Robotics Engineer Barbie was introduced, which made even my small, cold heart swell with happiness.
It's great to see the brand evolve to empower women rather than represent only a tiny section of the population — and giving back to organizations that empower girls is always a heartening sight. So good move, Barbie and Sugarfina — and let's keep them coming.
