Toonz, Epic Story Media, and Chef Aliya LeeKong to Develop New Culinary Kids’ Brand, Issa’s Edible Adventures

Global kids and family entertainment major, Toonz Media Group, and creator-driven kids franchise company, Epic Story Media, have announced that they have partnered with chef, cookbook author and television personality, Aliya LeeKong to produce Issa’s Edible Adventures in a new 52 x 11” animated series.

October 03, 2023 The animated series Issa’s Edible Adventures is centered around 7-year-old Issa, a tiny aspiring chef with a big heart who, with her best friends Tartufo the hilarious Basque pig, and Maha the magical bird, ventures into the world in search of the one ingredient that’ll complete the amazing dish she knows will bring joy to the life of a friend, a family, or guest of the Hotel Du Monde, the awesome hotel where her mother is Executive Chef.

Toonz, Epic and Aliya have agreed to jointly develop, finance, produce and distribute the series.  While Epic will have exclusive distribution and L&M rights in USA, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand, Toonz will retain the distribution and L&M rights in rest of the world. The teams will bring Issa’s world to life via books, an animated series, consumer products, and more.

Toonz delegation will be at MIPCOM this year at R7 L23 in Italian Pavilion for meetings regarding this series and others between October 14th and 19th.

Innovative, sparkling, and deeply empathetic, Issa journeys from the center to the edge of Earth, falling into the wackiest, but most delicious adventures ever, showing just how extraordinary food can be!  Issa inspires curiosity about the world and an openness to new tastes and flavors as well as a knowledge that the things that make us different can also bring us together. 

The series aims to tell multicultural and multiracial stories using food and cooking as narrative, entertaining viewers globally. This series highly encourages co-viewing among children and parents, a proven way to facilitate communication and connection within families and communities. Diverse and inclusive, these stories will be fun and educational for children and parents alike.

Talking about the inspiration behind Issa’s Edible Adventures, Aliya LeeKong said: “After the birth of my first daughter, Asya, I realized there were no interesting food properties out there for kids nor was there a central character to be its ambassador – the way Doc McStuffins taught about wellness, for example. There were also very few characters that were multiracial and multicultural, which I clearly think is important for children, like my daughters, to see. And, thus, Issa’s Edible Adventures was born – combining my own loves of food, cooking, travel and kids.”

Commenting on this exciting tri-partite collaboration, P Jayakumar, Chief Executive Officer of Toonz Media Group said: “Issa’s Edible Adventures offers authentic educational content for kids in an area where kid’s content is scarce—food. The series is being developed into a wholesome content with focus on education, inclusivity, and adventure around the world. I am confident that this series will become the household name in the near future.”

Ken Faier, President of Epic Story Media, said, “We’re extremely excited to work with Aliya and the Toonz team to bring this unique show and Aliya’s vision to a global audience. The series will resonate with today’s families by celebrating different cultures and bringing people together…all through food!  A guaranteed recipe for success!”