Having proven itself successful at creating kids programs and equally adept at licensing product lines based on them, the itsy bitsy Entertainment Company has decided to try its luck in the toy business.

The mandate of Hooray!, itsy bitsy’s new consumer products division, will be to create and market soft, non-violent, non-licensed toys for preschoolers, says Alise Robinson, marketing manager for Hooray! The new division will allow itsy bitsy to focus separately on its licensed and non-licensed properties and to create product exclusively for the specialty stores, a market that has, historically, been reluctant to carry licensed toys or toys that are available at mass-market stores, says Robinson. All of Hooray!’s toys, like Huggy Buggy Basics, which it formally launched in February at the American International Toy Fair in New York, will be manufactured at its plant in India. Huggy Buggy Basics, distributed in North and South America, are made of foam, fabric and flock, and retail for US$9.99.