Beacher Samantha Ong’s Joeydolls empower children through representation and inclusivity
By KAT BERGERON
Community and identity are connected in Samantha Ong’s business, Joeydolls.
Joeydolls was founded during the COVID-19 pandemic, during a rise in anti-Asian racism, to promote inclusivity and empowerment to children from underrepresented communities.
“It’s been proven through multiple doll studies that children still choose that classic blonde doll even when they look nothing like her, and they still think that she’s the prettiest because they don’t see that representation around them,” said Samantha Ong, founder of Joeydolls and a Beach area resident.
“Representation is so important in fostering identity and your place in the world. And I know that for myself, growing up as a minor minority and not seeing myself represented in toys or books or media, how important it is to see someone that looks like you, so that you can feel valued in this world.”
The idea originated from a moment where Ong was looking for a doll for her own daughter, to comfort her, but the options available weren’t what she had been looking for.
Although it took time, research and investment to get the business running, Ong successfully started it in the midst of the pandemic.
“It took a while to get up and running and find the right manufacturer and get to a point where we could launch. But we launched in May 2023, on a pre-order basis, but we only got our products in December 2023, less than two years,” said Ong.
Joeydolls has come a long way from the start up on Ong’s kitchen table. The business will be featured on Season 20 of CBC’s Dragon’s Den in an episode that will run in January of 2026. Joey Dolls has also been featured on other media such as podcasts, Youtube, blogs, shopper recommendation lists, magazines and stories on Global News, Filipino TV and CTV News.
“That was definitely an experience. It’s not something that I ever expected me to be on. I never applied to be on the show,” said Ong of Dragon’s Den.
“They actually found me through a pitch competition. And I just thought like this would be a great way to share our story nationwide, especially when tariffs were looming, and 90 per cent of our business is in the U.S.A., and I thought this is a great opportunity for us to share our story amongst Canadians, us being a Canadian brand.”
In addition, the business has won multiple awards including the Mom’s Choice GOLD Award, a distinction granted by the American organization that reviews family friendly products such as toys and games as a national resource for parents. Joeydolls has been added to recommendation lists from Buzzfeed, Huffpost, Toy Insider, Womanly, The Spruce, Toy Book and LA Parent Magazine. It also won the National Parenting Products Award (NAPPA).
“We hope that we can continue to expand representation even beyond Asian cultures,” said Ong.
“You see the Mexican doll and we hope that we can do a Pacific Islander. We’ve also had a lot of requests for an Indigenous doll as well. You keep pushing with one step at a time, and we hope that we can definitely represent underrepresented communities, and that’s definitely our mission.”
Joeydolls has been working to expand the selection of dolls since the initial idea came to be, striving to show young girls everywhere that they are being represented, are valued and should be proud of who they are. Most of Ong’s newer doll ideas have come out of listening to the community around her.
“I think (community) it’s so important, especially when you think about how we can set ourselves apart from bigger brands. It is that we have such a strong community that believes in us and support us, but we do it together with them,” said Ong.
Joeydolls can be found locally at Treasure Island Toys, Montessori Room and Silly Goose Toys, as well as online at https://joeydolls.com/ for the full selection currently available.
