Gabrielle Union Expands Her PROUDLY Baby Care Line with New Clothing Collection. And It's Kaavia-Approved (Exclusive)

Gabrielle Union is expanding her PROUDLY Baby Care line and partnership with JCPenney with the addition of a new kids' clothing collection.

"We've been working on this for quite a while, and it's finally here and it's even better than I dreamed," an elated Union tells PEOPLE at the launch event for the line held at the Babylist Showroom in Beverly Hills on May 20.

Union and her husband, Dwyane Wade, first launched PROUDLY back in 2022 with a line of skincare products. They expanded into haircare in 2023. And while it seems as though the baby clothing was part of the initial plan, the Bring It On actress reveals it wasn't in the works until their customers started asking.

"Hair was always after skin care, and just listening to our customers, we're like, what can we do more? What do you want to see from us? And baby clothes kind of kept coming up, and we were like, let's just see. And luckily, we were already in partnership with JCPenney for Flawless and the SimStyled Experience, and we were like, let's go to them first and see if there's synergy there. And they were like, 'Absolutely. Whatever you guys want to do.'"

As with everything else in the PROUDLY line, the new collection is inspired by Kaavia James Union Wade, their bright and hilariously opinionated 7-year-old daughter.

"It's designed based on Kaav's nursery, so the animals that you see, the color palette, the textures, the prints — that all comes from her actual nursery, our real lives and the things that we loved in her room and the things that she loved," the actress explained.

"We would wake up and she'd be on the monitor, talking to the wallpaper and talking to her little stuffed animals. So we just kind of continued it through."

Being a parent also taught Union the importance of convenience at an affordable price. The new line is not only made of high-quality materials, which she stresses in all her businesses, but all pieces are mix-and-matchable and made to last so that families aren't stretching their dollars to give their young ones the best.

"The color palettes and the materials are great for any skin tone and any hair texture. So you see our towels with the little cute animal heads, they're lined with satin, so it's good for textured hair and safe," she explains.

She continues, "Everything is hypoallergenic, soft, and we wanted to make sure it was affordable. All of Kaav's super expensive things, she never even wore because you're like, 'Oh, this is so precious, we have to save it.' And then she outgrew it. So we want these pieces to be things that are beautiful and stylish and super cute, that you want to pass down, and that survive long enough to be passed down, that you can keep it in the family."

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So, what does the 7-year-old who inspired the new collection have to say about the line? According to Union, she's given it a thumbs up.

"We run everything by her just to see what her visceral reaction is, and she's like, 'So cute,'" Union reveals. "And she does it in a Southern accent. I don't know why. We're from Omaha and Chicago. I don't know. But she sounds like she's from Alabama. She's like, 'So cute, so cute.'"

The mother-daughter duo recently sat down with PEOPLE for the World's Most Beautiful issue, in which Kaavia chatted with her superstar mom about all things style and beauty.

Asked what her favorite matching outfit to wear with her mom is, Kaavia responded, "Pajamas." "The Little Mermaid Ones," to be specific.

According to Union, other parents might just be able to get their matching jammies from her line at JCPenney as well as the actress hopes PROUDLY grows to include more offerings.

"I used to get all my school shopping, uniforms, sweats, all my sports equipment, bedding, everything from the JCPenney catalog growing up," she tells PEOPLE.

"So hopefully sooner than later we can expand into bedding, we can expand into cribs and other offerings, but still maintaining that the core business is what is best for melanated babies and what works best for our skin, our hair, our style, our flavor, and expand on that."