popular thinking

CH-CH-CH-CHRISTMAS MEANS CH-CH-CH-CHIA!

Be sure to read to the end of this story for the breaking news portion (hint: The Chia Pet is getting enshrined in the Smithsonian next year! I confirmed this with the museum officials on Friday.)

Sprouting cheer: 'Tis the season for the Pet that ‘anyone can give to anybody’ (Boston Herald)
A holiday tradition for almost a quarter-century, it’s the gift that keeps on growing, provided you maintain proper care of its seeds and water levels.
Would it be Christmas without ch-ch-ch-Chia?
With apologies to Rice-a-Roni, the Chia Pet may be the true San Francisco treat, manufactured each Christmas since 1982 and marketed worldwide by San Francisco-based Joseph Enterprises.
“It is a gift that anyone can give to anybody,” said company vice president Michael Hirsch.
Hirsch said the product’s notoriety developed on its own.
“What we do is promote heavily on television just to make people aware of the product itself,” he said. “We try to have everybody see the commercial three or four times. We don’t have the guts not to advertise. We feel if we didn’t advertise, we wouldn’t have our Christmas.”
And thousands of people each year wouldn’t have bewildered smiles on their faces after unwrapping presents to see a Chia Pet staring back at them.
The company offers 32 different molds - from animals (turtle, puppy, pig) to people (guy and kid), and in recent years, characters from animated movies and TV shows. You might find Chia Scooby-Doo and Shaggy, Garfield, Homer and Bart Simpson, several Looney Tunes characters, and Donkey and Shrek from “Shrek.”
This year, Joseph Enterprises and DreamWorks offer Chia molds of Alex the Lion and Marty the Zebra from “Madagascar.”
Chias sell for $19.99, available locally at most Walgreens, Brooks, Kmart, Ace and True Value stores.
But you can only find a Chia Pet between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The company limits production both out of logistics (it can only produce so many from its handmade molds) and the economics of supply and demand.
Joseph Enterprises - which also makes the Clapper and the Ove Glove - produced and marketed garden products before stumbling upon the Chia Pet.
“We had no idea they would sell the way they did,” Hirsch said. “We thought we were going to lick our wounds and have the Chia Pets all come back to us. We found they were so well-liked we had to take rainchecks.”
The product combined kitsch appeal with ancient practicality.
Chia seeds have been planted for hundreds of years in Central and South America, enjoyed for their ability to sate appetites. Mayans long ago sculpted decorative planters for them.
Since 1982, Joseph Enterprises has sold millions of Chia Pets. Hirsch wouldn’t disclose figures, but he said sales “grow a bit each year, pardon the pun,” with the most likely purchasers being women 35 and older.
New ideas for Chias often come from consumer suggestions.
That’s how the company decided to develop a cat-grass planter, also new this season.
Some molds, such as the original ram and bull, have been shelved in favor of more popular contemporary molds such as Chia Garfield.
Rarest is the Mr. T Chia, a limited-edition stunt for TV Land.
The company wanted to make a Chia Jerry Garcia, but the Grateful Dead said no.
Joseph Enterprises promises bigger and better things for Chia next year as it enters its 25th holiday season.
The company will mark the anniversary by having a Chia Pet in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Museum officials already are collecting everything from business papers and photographs of the company founder to ads, marketing materials and Chia molds.
“We’ll be right up there with Mister Rogers’ sweater,” Hirsch said. “We’re pretty proud of that.”

Related: Ch-ch-ch-Chia!
Related: Smithsonian National Museum of American History