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Courtesy of Forbes
Published 11/30/2019 | Reading Time 5 min 29 sec
NATIONAL (BlackNews) — Black Friday is the most popular sales day of the year in the United States. Small Business Saturday is also a huge sales day, and Cyber Monday is the most popular day in the states for online sales. Every year during this weekend (which follows the Thanksgiving holiday), retailers generate billions of dollars in revenue from anxious customers looking for the best deals. Sadly, Black-owned businesses are not as well supported.
Here are 25 Black-owned businesses that you can support this year
Haircare/ Skincare
#1 – Cajose Natural: After having trouble soothing her kids’ issues with dry and patchy skin, one Black entrepreneur decided to take matters into her own hands – rather literally. Having already been immersing herself into natural ingredients for her own hair and skin, she continued her researching which would best suit the needs of her children.
#2 – Elle Johnson Luxury Skincare: Founder LaVonndra “Elle” Johnson became a skincare enthusiast after witnessing so many women struggle with skin conditions, oftentimes leading to lowered self-esteem and confidence, and a reliance on artificial beauty.
#3 – Koils By Nature: Dedicated to offering high quality, all-natural, hair and skin products, their customers can believe in and feel confident using. They achieve that goal by creating blends that do not contain parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, phthalates, propylene glycol, mineral oil, PBA, petroleum, paraffin DEA, synthetic color, or animal products.
Jewelry and Accessories
#4 – KYW Boutique: Online Black-owned boutique that offers unique & trendy accessories to empower women to be bold and feel confident. KYW Boutique stands for “Know Your Worth,” and the founder, Nakisha B, wants women to be bold and classy.
#5 – Gabby Bows: This company was launched by Gabrielle Goodwin when she was just five years old when she started daily insisting she and her Mom create a barrette that would stay in her hair. Since then, GaBBY Bows have helped families all over the world save time, money and frustration.
Toys and Other Children’s Items
#6 – Darlyng & Co: This Black-owned lifestyle brand for children allows parents to keep their sanity. Their new innovative Teether – The Yummy Mitt® Teething Mitten makes your baby less crabby and happier! Plus, a variety of other cool products.
#7 – Toys Like Me: This company was launched in early 2018 by an African American dad who noticed that most toys sold by major retailers do not reflect what children with brown skin look like. He wanted to create backpack dolls and other products that Black children could resonate with, that is, toys that would build character, self-esteem, and most importantly — self-awareness!
#8 – Trinity Designs, Inc.: This Black-owned company celebrates black beauty through dolls that endeavor to inspire, captivate and encourage young women and children to love the skin they’re in. They hope to increase self-awareness and self-confidence by giving them positive options for dolls that they can identify with.
Books and Flashcards
#9 – Urban Ebooks: More than 25 ebooks that empower African Americans, other minorities, and women of all ethnicities. They are 100% educational, and most of the books are available for $5 or less.
#10 – Urban Intellectuals: Black History Flash Cards designed to combat the miseducation and suppression of Black achievements around the globe, and Black History Coloring Books that focus on some of the amazing entrepreneurs in modern history that have excelled via ingenuity, perseverance and drive.
#11 – Entrepreneurs Color Too: This Black-owned company presents the first adult coloring book to highlight the beauty of black women and celebrate those women as being successful entrepreneurs. Since launching in May of 2018, the book has been featured in Black Enterprise, Curly Nikki and Madame Noire. This book is for business creatives and CEOs “because we should all feel inspired.”
Apparel, Backpacks, and Handbags
#12 – Natural & Fit Designs: Workout wear geared toward African American women. The clothing is made from materials that can handle the sweat from an intense workout session, yet leave you looking great throughout your exercises.
#13 – Africa On My Back: a social enterprise that funds study abroad opportunities for African American males while simultaneously supporting small businesses in Ghana through the sale of handcrafted, African-print backpacks.
#14 – Suakoko Betty: a lifestyle brand inspired by African design. Owner and creative director Charlene Dunbar was born in Liberia and moved to Atlanta when she was 11. She took style lessons from her mom and Liberian church ladies, spliced them with her contemporary point of view, and her fashion line was born.
#15 – The Purse Paparazzi: Based in Baltimore, MD, this Black-owned company offers women an assortment of unique, stylish and edgy clutches for every occasion! Their clutches are perfect for date night, brunch or your special event.
#16 – Coco’Pie Clothing: Founded in 2011 by Shantae Pelt, Coco’Pie came to life after one of her daughters saw a t-shirt with a little black girl on it. She excitedly exclaimed, “Look, mommy! It’s me on that shirt!” This helped her to realize that there was not enough mainstream apparel that features images of brown girls!
Greeting Cards
#17 – Culture Greetings: An Atlanta-based startup that allows customers to pick a culturally relevant physical greeting card and write a personal note using their handwriting fonts. They will print and mail the cards directly to the customer’s recipients through an automated integration with their state of the art commercial printing system.
Beverages
#18 – Ellis Island Tea: Ellis Infinity Beverage Company was founded in 2008 by Nailah Ellis-Brown. Their specialty is Ellis Island Tropical Tea, an all-natural, hibiscus tea with a Jamaican blend. The recipe came from the founder’s great grandfather and is now produced in Detroit, Michigan.
#19 – Me and the Bees Lemonade: Founded by 10-year old, Mikaila of Austin, Texas, when she was only four years old when she opened her lemonade stand, using her great-grandmother’s recipe. She called it Sweet Bee lemonade but has since changed the name to Me and the Bees Lemonade.
#20 – Jin+Ja: a revitalizing, anti-inflammatory and metabolism-boosting tea brand that was started in the summer of 2009 by entrepreneur Reuben Canada. He initially made the drinks for himself and friends, but then realized that he had something bigger on his hands. After doing a test at a local retailer, the product kept selling out every 3 days for first three months and the rest is history!
#21 – Bee D’Vine: a popular brand of honey wine that was created by entrepreneur Ayele Solomon after he realized that flowering trees in Ethiopia were an ideal source of nectar and pollen that bees use to make valuable honey. This set him on a quest to better understand the art and business of creating honey wine. He evaluated production in Ethiopia and South Africa but settled on the world-class wine region of Sonoma – not far from where he grew up – using California honey for the first varietals.
Desserts/ Snacks
#22 – CamiCakes Cupcakes: These yummy cupcakes were the inspiration of African American entrepreneur Andra Hall. She named the cupcakes after her daughter Camille and includes over 25 different varieties like sweet potato, banana cream, salted caramel, red velvet and more. Order online or visit one of her 7 locations in Florida and Georgia.
#23 – The Black Cake Company: Caribbean rum cakes are the specialty at this bakery. They use fresh ingredients and recipes that have been handed down for generations. The company has been around since 1987 and ships cakes around the world.
#24 – Symphony Chips: Created by an Atlanta-based father and his 2 daughters, this company produces healthy potato chips with all-natural ingredients that are both delightful and memorable.
#25 – Southern Culture Foods: This Decatur, Georgia-based company makes pancake and waffle mix, bacon rub and syrup. Owner Erica Barrett starting cooking for her family at the age of 9. Her first break came when she took first place in a food contest being held by The Food Network and Lea & Perrins, winning $10,000 and a trip to New York City. The rest she says is history.