The line was later expanded to include dolls, clothing, posters, and other products featuring the character, as well as an extended cast of friends and pets.

The character of Strawberry Shortcake was originally created by Barbi Sargent, who was then working as a freelance artist for American Greetings.

Rex Conners, American Greetings' staff art director, knew this card was very popular and determined that this was due to the strawberry motif.

In the late 1970s, further Strawberry Shortcake concept art was drawn by Muriel Fahrion, an illustrator working in American Greetings' Juvenile & Humorous card department.

In May 1983, following a court case, copyrights to Strawberry Shortcake were granted to Barbi Sargent from American Greetings Corporation.

At the time, there were many related products, such as children's books, sticker albums, clothing, bedding, a video game by Parker Brothers entitled Strawberry Shortcake Musical Match-Ups for the Atari 2600,[6][7] and Bike's Big Wheels.

Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, of The Turtles and Flo & Eddie fame, wrote the music and songs for these specials.

With production moving over to Canada, most of the voice cast was replaced with Canadian talent, with the exception of Russi Taylor and Bob Ridgely, who reprised their roles from the first three specials.

[citation needed] The first two specials were released on a single DVD by Allumination FilmWorks in March 2007;[15] this was later re-released on February 10, 2015, by Paramount Home Media Distribution.

Strawberry and five of her classic friends each got a makeover with new clothes, hair, and eyes, but the line saw only modest success and was very short-lived, lasting only a year.

In March 2002, DIC and American Greetings officially revealed their plans to relaunch the frappe for a new generation with a series of four specials released direct-to-video through 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment beginning in 2003 and later air on television, alongside various merchandise deals including a major toy licensing deal with Bandai.

Additionally, Strawberryland was divided into "districts", such as Cakewalk, Orange Blossom Acres, Huckleberry Briar and Cookie Corners.

[citation needed] To coincide with the franchise's 25th anniversary, DIC revealed plans to produce three additional direct-to-video specials for release in 2006.

[18] An Argentine live-action TV series based on the franchise was shown on El Nueve in 2005, with Laura Anders as Strawberry Shortcake, Camila Offermann as Angel Cake, Luz Luccarini as Ginger Snap and Alan Ferraro as Huckleberry Pie, and was produced and directed by Paula Venditti and Jonathan Hofman, with 36 episodes.

[21] Playmates' toy range was entitled "A World of Friends" and introduced several "international" characters to the recurring cast who would also appear in the series.

[citation needed] In February 2015, Iconix Brand Group acquired the rights to Strawberry Shortcake from American Greetings for $105 million.

[24][25] In 2016, IDW Publishing began releasing an ongoing Strawberry Shortcake comic series written by Georgia Ball and illustrated by Amy Mebberson.

The cast for the series features Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld as Strawberry Shortcake, Amanda Barker as Orange Blossom, Dylan Jones as the Purple Pieman, Kaylin Lee Clinton as Raisin Cane, and Laurie Hymes as Sour Grapes.

In 2016, Iconix Brand Group and DHX Media (now WildBrain) began to develop a new Strawberry Shortcake animated series.

[31] A 2D-animated web series from WildBrain Studios titled Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City, began airing on YouTube on September 18, 2021, with 40 episodes for the first season, before expanding to television and streaming.

[citation needed] The central cast of this adaptation features Strawberry Shortcake, Custard, Orange Blossom, Lemon Meringue, Blueberry Muffin, and returning character Lime Chiffon.

No further games based upon the franchise were produced until 20 years later, in 2003, with Strawberry Shortcake: Amazing Cookie Party for PC.

American Greetings took offense to the parody and issued a cease-and-desist letter, to which the authors begrudgingly complied[39] (but not without making their indignation very clear).

[citation needed] Various animated television shows, including Futurama ("Saturday Morning Fun Pit"), Drawn Together, Robot Chicken, The Fairly OddParents ("Channel Chasers"), and South Park ("Imaginationland Episode II") have since also parodied or satirized Strawberry Shortcake in various ways.

[45] On the same day as the finalization of the merger, Cookie Jar Entertainment announced further intentions to acquire the Strawberry Shortcake franchise (along with Care Bears and Sushi Pack) from American Greetings itself.