As consumers become increasingly conscious of their purchasing power, some are placing greater emphasis on buying from Black-owned businesses.
In June, Kimberly Smith and Amaya Smith penned an open letter to Sephora prior to the retailer’s adoption of Brother Vellies founder Aurora James’ 15 Percent Pledge. In the letter, The Brown Beauty Co-op cofounders called out Sephora for its lack of Black leadership, which is 6 percent in the U.S., according to numbers Sephora revealed as part of Sharon Chuter’s Pull Up for Change campaign.
In her search for all-natural products that were Black-owned, Edwards found herself ordering from “15 to 20 web sites,” indicating a lack of a cohesive online shopping experience. “The toxic trade of often illegal mercury-added skin-lightening products is a global crisis expected to only worsen with skyrocketing demand,” the paper read. It went on to list the health risks posed by inorganic mercury in skin-lightening creams and soaps, such as kidney damage, skin rashes, reduction in the skin’s resistance to bacterial and fungal infections, anxiety, depression, psychosis and peripheral neuropathy.
BeautyBeez’s e-commerce platform carries nearly 2,000 products by 200 brands. The brick-and-mortar store, which reopened in May after closing due to COVID-19, has a section called “Classics” that offers some of the brands Ogike intuited her customers may have been taught to use at an early age. When the store first opened nearly a year ago, the Classics section was its best-selling. Now, the best-selling products are the “better products for us,” Ogike said.
“I wanted to know I was providing the best value for the people,” Imbisi said. Nala Essentials’ e-commerce platform carries about 10 brands created by people of color. Ogike said that in June, BeautyBeez’s sales were up as much as 300 percent. In-store foot traffic grew, as well.