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10 months old Maddison Maddie Mendoza from Colorado, a Filipino-American baby, was announced as the winner of the 2023 Gerber Baby on July 13. Gerber’s search for its 13th annual Gerber Baby photo led them to a throwback submission by Maddie’s family. It included a photo of Maddie at 9 months and her mother at around 11 months old.
Tarun Malkani, the CEO and president of Gerber, said that the resemblance between Maddie’s photo and the throwback of her mother perfectly catered to the spirit of the program this year.
For this year's contest, Gerber asked parents to send their own childhood photos along with their children's. In a side-by-side comparison sent by the Mendoza family, Maddison appeared to be the spitting image of her mother, Crystal Mendoza.
Malkani added that the photos also brought joy to the judges. Gerber expressed their excitement to partner with Maddie Mendoza and her family throughout the rest of 2023 until next year's contest to highlight the journey from baby to parent coming full circle.
Maddie Mendoza's parents were high school sweethearts
Maddie Mendoza’s parents stated that she was born with a head full of hair. Her mother shared that the baby enjoys exploring new foods, swimming lessons, baby music classes, and hiking with her parents. Not only Maddie herself, but her parents’ love story also filled the judges at Gerber with joy.
The love story of Maddison’s parents goes way back to high school. They have spent 22 years as a couple and even went through nine years of a long-distance relationship together.
Maddie’s father, Jun Mendoza, is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and serves in the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel physician, while her mother, Crystal Mendoza, is a dentist.
Both Maddie Mendoza’s parents are descended from the Philippines’ first-generation families, as both of the baby’s grandfathers served in the U.S. Navy. Gerber said that the families of Maddie’s parents came to America with very little.
The couple said they are hoping that Maddie will embrace and share her parents’ love for worldly cultures.
“Being a rainbow baby, Maddie has brought us immeasurable joy with every milestone, snuggle, and moment spent with her enriching our lives and making every day more meaningful and beautiful. We look forward to witnessing her grow into a kind, compassionate, strong, independent, and worldly individual as we hope to be stationed overseas again to teach Maddie about all the different parts of the world,” Crystal Mendoza said.
Gerber said that the reason for choosing Maddie Mendoza as this year’s winner was because her photo submission stood out and because the family’s story had love and resilience in it. The CEO, Tarun Malkani, said:
“Gerber has always believed in the magic of babies, and Maddie’s story, filled with love, resilience, and adventure, embodies the spirit of generations of Gerber babies.”
Since Maddie Mendoza won the Gerber Baby contest this year, she will be featured in the marketing campaign for the brand throughout the year. The Mendoza family also won a cash prize of $25,000 and Gerber products for free for a year.
