Introducing Tiny Travelers: Inspiring Kids To Be Citizens Of The World
We officially launched Tiny Travelers last week and the response has been nothing short of amazing! 🙌🏽
The latest #DTC family brand in the Encantos portfolio, this has been something I’ve been working on for a long, long time. Ever since I was young, my family taught me that it’s not a “small world after all” but in fact a really big, beautifully diverse world.
Growing up with an American father (the “Wolfe” part of my last name) and a Dominican mother (the “Pereira” part of my last name), I always felt like I had the best of both countries and cultures growing up. Living in the United States I certainly was exposed to how amazing this country is, however I never really got to see anything about the Dominican Republic in the US or as I traveled 🤔. This vibrant culture and beautiful country where I spent my summers and holidays seemed hidden from my friends and the public at large. I knew how amazing the DR was, but how would others?
My passion for travel and being a global citizen continued when I went to college. With their lauded International Relations program, large international student body and the top graduate school of international affairs in the country The Fletcher School, I applied early decision to Tufts University and really thought I’d go work for the World Bank or the U.S. Department of State. My career took a different path however, and I started my career in finance before finding my true calling at the intersection of technology, media and entertainment. It was in my professional life that I truly got to see how big the world really is. Over a 25 year career, I’ve now been to over 75 countries and it has really opened my eyes to the culturally rich, exciting and fascinating customs, music, food, animals, monuments, cultural heritage and most importantly people of each and every place.
For some, travel is living. Travel is one of the best way to experience the world and it is more popular than ever before. With over 50% of Americans under the age of 40, this is especially the case with millennials who are starting families. According to a recent AAA Travel survey, nearly 100 million Americans — four in 10 U.S. adults — plan to take a family vacation in 2019. The surge in vacations was due in part to 44 percent of millennials planning a family getaway, which is more than Generation X (39 percent) or baby boomers (32 percent). Millennials are also traveling with children in record numbers, as 58% of millennial travelers have children under 18 years of age. With over half of the United States population under 40 years old, millennial consumers are now the driving force in the family travel industry, increasingly seeking culturally-authentic experiences to raise well-rounded, globally-minded children.
Now as a father of two, I want to make sure that my kids grow up to be citizens of the world 🌎. Since my kids have a Dominican-American father and a Salvadoran mother, I want them to see their heritage both celebrated and represented in a culturally-authentic way. I believe 21st century kids need to learn 21st century learning, literacy and life skills — so I also want them to learn about geography, language and culture in a fun and engaging way. The world is so big and there are so many countries, cities, and cultures that have yet to be discovered and explored by kids. In this digital age when people all over the globe are more connected than ever, we need to foster curiosity, empathy and understanding by learning what makes people and places so special. Today’s parents want their kids to become citizens of the world and they crave opportunities for them to discover and explore in culturally-authentic ways — whether on the road or at home.
That’s why we created Tiny Travelers. A purpose-driven brand (we are a public benefit corporation after all) with a mission to embrace how big and beautifully diverse the world truly is, Tiny Travelers seeks to build bridges and cultural understanding for today’s globally-minded families. Designed for preschool and elementary school kids to explore geography, language and culture, the brand will offer engaging adventure-based learning through interactive physical and digital play experiences. The suite of products will include apps, books, content, consumer products, and more. A character-driven animated Tiny Travelers series is also in development.
Tiny Travelers makes its debut with the Treasure Quest series of search-and-find board books, now available on the brand’s website, TinyTravelers.com, Amazon, and other retail bookstores across the globe. Co-developed by me and Encantos’ Chief Creative Officer Susie Jaramillo, Tiny Travelers Treasure Quest explores a country or territory through a beautifully illustrated journey to discover its cultural treasures from food and music to animals and monuments. Along the way, kids and adults alike can enjoy the fun facts, hidden “easter eggs”, and rhyme-based storytelling. Developed closely alongside a Tiny Travelers Country Guide, a destination expert from the featured country or with family ties to it, each Treasure Quest title has been vigorously researched to ensure that cultural authenticity is maintained and accurately depicted.
Our Tiny Travelers Treasure Quest series will explore every country (that’s right, all 195 countries — and we’ll also do territories!) as well as major cities. Of course we’ll cover the most popular places to visit like -#France 🇫🇷& #Italy 🇮🇹. However we’ll cover the places that are just as wonderful and full of cultural “treasures” for you to discover that you may not know. From #Canada 🇨🇦 to #China 🇨🇳, #Germany 🇩🇪 to #Ghana 🇬🇭, #India 🇮🇳 to #Israel 🇮🇱, #Laos 🇱🇦 to #Lebanon 🇱🇧, #Netherlands 🇳🇱 to #Nigeria 🇳🇬, #SouthAfrica 🇿🇦 to #Sweden 🇸🇪, #UnitedKingdom 🇬🇧 to #UnitedStates 🇺🇸- it’s a great way to learn about geography, language and culture. And yes, we will do the #DominicanRepublic 🇩🇴.
The Tiny Travelers Treasure Quest country series launching first with Tiny Travelers Treasure Quest Mexico, available for purchase beginning today. The next few countries include Tiny Travelers Treasure Quest China (available in November), Tiny Travelers Treasure Quest Puerto Rico (available in February), Tiny Travelers Treasure Quest India (available in March) and Tiny Travelers Treasure Quest Japan (available in April) which are all available for pre-order. We also launched the Tiny Travelers direct-to-consumer e-commerce shop with a collection of travel-inspired merchandise that celebrates the world and its cultures.
So this is just Day 1 for us. We launched with our book series but there is so much more in the works — so stay tuned for more! We want Tiny Travelers to be the destination for all kids and families when they think about travel and discovering countries, cities, and cultures. Understanding and engaging with different geographies, languages and cultures is a competitive advantage for kids.
Tiny Travelers is here to help parents raise global citizens today to prepare and inspire them to be the global leaders of tomorrow.
Thank you Jenny Rooney & Forbes for sharing our story — we are forever grateful!
A special shout out to our amazing Encantos team, board advisors and my co-founders Susie Jaramillo, Nuria Santamaria Wolfe & Carlos Hoyos 🙌🏽
Thank you all for helping me bring this lifelong dream to life 🙏🏽.
Let’s go, Tiny Travelers, go! 🧳
