The history of Strawberry Shortcake began once upon a time…

In 1979, Strawberry Shortcake first appeared on a greeting card created by American Greetins Corp.  Due to the loving nature of this adorable character, it wasn’t long before the Kenner toy company began to manufacture Strawberry Shortcake dolls in 1980.

The first set of dolls manufactured were Strawberry Shortcake, Huckleberry Pie, Blueberry Muffin and Apple Dumplin along with Tea Time Turtle.  Soon to follow were the characters of Apricot with her pet Hopsalot Bunny, Lemon Meringue, Orange Blossom, Raspberry Tart, and the villain Purple Pieman with Berry Bird.

The second edition of Strawberry Shortcake dolls released by Kenner, were all produced with pets.  Strawberry Shortcake with her new best friend, Custard the Cat, Huckleberry Pie with Pupcake the dog, Blueberry Muffin with Cheesecake the Mouse, Apple Dumplin reappeared with Tea Time Turtle, Apricot was still teamed up with Hopsalot Bunny, Lemon Meringue introduced us to Frappe the frog, Orange Blossom with Marmalade the butterfly, Raspberrty Tart with Rhubarb the monkey and who can forget the villain Purple Pieman with Berry Bird.  New additions to follow shortly after included Angel Cake with Souffle the skunk, Butter Cookie with Jelly Bear, Lime Chiffon with Parfait the parrot, and another villain Sour Grapes with Dregs the snake. Cherry Cuddler with Gooseberry was also introduced as a new friend.

In all by 1983 the "regular line" consisted of 19 dolls (5 who were international friends and their names were Cafe Ole  with Burrito Donkey, Mint Tulip with Marshland Mallard, Almond Tea with Marza Panda, Crepe Suzette with Eclair Poodle, Lem and Ada with Sugarwoofer Dog)

New introductions to the Strawberry Shortcake family continued on throughout 1985, however the final line of Kenner dolls, called Berrykins by collectors were produced.

These 6 dolls had long hair that flowed to their feet, came with a critter instead of a pet, and fancier outfits. A new creation added to the Berrykin series was Banana Twirl and her banana Berrykin. She is the most expensive and harder to find Berrykin now. They also had a princess to help the Berrykins. The Berry Princess was similar to a fashion doll with long blond hair and a beautiful pink and white dress.

In 1991, a company called Toy Headquarters (THQ) obtained the rights to produce new Strawberry Shortcake dolls. These re-released dolls had an updated look and feel to them with long styled hair, larger eyes and really cute outfits. 

The dolls that were released were: Strawberry Shortcake Berry Best Party, Strawberry Shortcake Berry Sweet Sleep Over, Strawberry Shortcake Berry Beauty Shop, Strawberry Shortcake Berry Beach Park, Blueberry Muffin Berry Neat Eats, Lime Chiffon Dance And Berry Cise, Lemon Meringue Berry Fun Shopping, Orange Blossom Dancin Berry Fun. 

These 5 1/2 inch dolls came on large cards, not boxes like the originals and came with an extra outfit which had a cardboard doll displaying it. No pets were included in this line. They also came with their own comb.

In 1997, American Greetings released stickers and greeting cards with Strawberry Shortcake's picture, but not dolls.