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About Us

 

EZ Heating Pads and Hotpak Huggies are all owned by Belinda Aquino Enterprises, LLC.  We are based in Pittsburgh, Pa. 

All the HotPak Huggies are created and manufactured by Belinda Aquino, the owner of Belinda Aquino Entp.  She has been making Hotpak Huggies since 2003.  They are cute, cuddly, huggable and FUNCTIONAL heating pads and cold packs in the shapes of dogs, lions, bears, frogs, turtles, etc.

In 2003 I made my first HotPak, a turtle, which I called "Hug a Turtle".  I first filled them with a hard kernel corn.  I even named each one and made up the tags on my computer.  They started selling so quick and I got such great feedback from my customers that I knew I had something good. 

I didn't like using the corn anymore because it smelled and sometimes bugs, I call them corn bugs, came from the corn.  So I started looking for something else.  I tried every heat enabled thing out there except for gel packs.  A friend worked at a close-out place in the strip district in Pittsburgh and he said they had about a thousand gel packs for real cheap.  I didn't think gel packs would work right so I always said no.  After months of him getting on me about using the gel packs, I finally tried it and it worked great and was just the perfect heating element This was a time when I think the Man above helped out.

I started using the gel packs and when they were gone I tried every gel pack manufacturer in the U.S. to replace them and no other gel pack worked.  I finally had to go with the original company, even though they were so far away, the ones that had been in close out.   What are the odds that the only one that worked were the ones that happened to be at close out in Pittsburgh, PA.   At the same time I was working full time with AFLAC, yes the duck, insurance company.  I was splitting my time in two.  About 7 years ago I knew I had to choose.  I couldn't do both any more.  With a lot of thought, I chose AFLAC.  The next week my website for HotPak Huggies went crazy.  God was telling me that I had chosen the wrong thing, so I quit AFLAC the next day and started doing this full time. I did many craft shows and festivals and online sales. Every year my business grew and grew. I loved bringing hugs to the world! 

Now I bring hugs and comfort to thousands of people, from newborns to the elderly.  Lots of people with medical conditions find comfort with my HotPaks, parents and therapists use them for Autistic Children, Activity directors at nursing homes use them for Alzheimer patients for therapy, people with aches and pains use them to bring relief.  Parents with children who can't regulate their body temperature use them cold because they stay cold for so long.  It also helps with sensory issues.  And the list goes on and on.

I use them all the time and can't believe I have created such a warm, cuddly, functional product that actually works.  I can't take full credit though, I truly believe God has chosen me to bring hugs to the world and He is guiding me every step of the way. 

My kids and my grandchildren use them.  I now, as of 2021, have a 16 year old, two 13 year olds, a 5 year old and 3 year old grandsons, and a 12 year old and 6 year old granddaughters.  They all used them since birth because it really helps with babies for warmth and colic and as they got older for comfort.  My 13 year old grandson and 12 year old granddaughter have lived with me for the past 10 years and they love to cuddle with them at night (it helps them get to sleep) and first thing in the morning when it is cold and snowy out or when they feel sick. 

So I consider myself very lucky and honored to be the one to bring this wonderful product to the world.  And I really thank God to have chosen me to do this.

I also want to thank my customers, without you all "spreading the word" my business wouldn't be so successful and fulfilling.  In the ten years I have been making these I have never had to advertise because of you. 

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Life intervened as it sometimes does in 2011 and I couldn't do many craft shows and festivals and I had to step back from making my hotpaks by 2014. I still passionately loved what I was doing but a series of events happened where I had to stop making them and bringing my huggies to the world.

 

So here it is, 2021, and I am going to attempt to start my business again. I have always held onto my passion for my Hotpak Huggies.  Now, I feel, is the time to bring them back.  I have been hearing this little voice in my head and my heart that is telling me...... Belinda, the time is now, and much needed, to bring hugs to the world, one warm hug at a time!