Upon release, Flavas were poorly received and were criticized for being stereotypical, bad role models, and a misrepresentation of hip hop culture.

The six Flavas dolls, Kiyoni Brown, Happy D, Tika, Liam, P. Bo, and Tre, are ethnically diverse and portray Hispanic, black and white people.

[6][7] In fall 2002 Mattel released My Scene, a line of redesigned Barbie dolls, in a bid to appeal to tweens and compete with Bratz; however, they failed to reverse the company's faltering sales.

[3][6][7] Less than a year after the My Scene release, Flavas were launched in summer 2003 in a second attempt to appeal to the tween market and offer competition to Bratz.

"[2][3] Wall Street Journal commented that the Bratz success pushed Mattel to release Flavas in direct competition with its own Barbie dolls.

"[5] Jerry Bossick, a Mattel senior vice president said: "Older girls want a doll that represents realistic aspirations.

"[3] Mattel representative Julia Jensen said: "Our research told us that a lot of young girls are now aspiring to the world of rap and hip-hop music.

Jensen said that "by aligning with a real song by an incredible artist like Craig David" they strengthened their position of "authenticity and reality.

"[3] Dr John Richer, a clinical child psychologist in Oxford, England said: "This has the same sort of flavour as beauty contests in America where little kids get dolled up as teenagers.

[15] Moe Tkacik of Slate described Flavas as "ridiculous, but in a cute way" and questioned if their hasty withdrawal had been premature, suggesting they could have found a niche market.