Black-Owned Retail Brands Find Inspiration – And Sales Growth – Amidst Black Lives Matter Movement

While the Black Lives Matter movement has sparked action amongst policy-makers, business leaders and the general public alike over the past few weeks, some brands have also seen shoppers voting with their wallets by supporting black-owned enterprises.

I spoke with 5 black-owned businesses who have seen a positive impact on their business, and what it means to the companies they lead and the communities they support.  

Ecoslay – “An outpouring of love from customers”

Adria Marshall,the founder of Ecoslay, a hair products brand, says that a new wave of support has shown up for Ecoslay both emotionally and financially. “Our company has experienced a noticeable outpouring of love from its white customer base ranging from endless #supportblackbusiness (and the like) tags on Instagram and Facebook, sincere questions on how they can help support the Black community and an unquestionable increase in sales,” Marshall says. 

Ecoslay’s online and Amazon
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sales have increased 30% and 20% respectively over the past 3 weeks. “I’ve spoken with several other Black business owners and can confirm a shared experience,” Marshall says.

Scotch Porter – “Lend a hand to your peers” 

Calvin Quallis, the founder of men’s grooming supplies brand Scotch Porter, says that his company has seen a 45% increase in sales over the last 3 weeks. Quallis attributes this to shoppers tagging the brand on social media as a company to support. “Customers who have purchased from us will create a story [on Instagram], and use the hashtag #blackownedbusiness, or will tag the company in a post asking about which black-owned businesses to support,” Quallis says.

But like the other entrepreneurs I spoke with, Quallis lets shoppers take the lead. Scotch Porter has always been an inclusive brand, and while they have been recognized in the media (including Forbes), as being a black-owned business, it’s not something that they have promoted as a point of difference for the brand. 

Still, Quallis has a strong sense of using the company as a platform to support his community. 

“Most employees are black, two-thirds of my board is black, and 50% of the company is run by black women,” he says. “I feel an obligation both in terms of product, and in terms of the team and executive team, to reach out and give back to other entrepreneurs and communities we serve.” For Quallis, this looks like having one-to-one meetings with other entrepreneurs who need advice and helping other founders to successfully raise capital, given that less than 1% of venture capital is awarded to black founders.

Bazodee – “Let your customers help” 

Debra Sandler, CEO of Bazodee, a healthy Caribbean-inspired line of blended sauces, has seen a 20% increase in sales in the last few weeks due to social media campaigns, new product launches, and building rapport with both new and loyal shoppers. 

Sandler, who has previously been named one of Black Enterprise’s “75 Most Powerful Women in Business”, and has a 30 year career in large CPG brands including PepsiCo
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, Johnson & Johnson
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and Mars, says that these are tough times for most black businesses. “Many are single member LLCs that did not qualify for the early government funding programs and are struggling to stay afloat,” she says. When asked for advice for her peers, she says that minority-owned businesses need to do whatever they can to ride this out – adapt, cut back and renew. “Take a page from the larger corporations which are doing the same. Also, don’t underestimate the role your customer or client base can play – most people are willing to do what they can to keep small local businesses operating.”

CPRwrap – “The ‘little man’ has a chance to survive”

CPRWrap is a disposable CPR template, invented by Felicia Jackson. Jackson reports a 500% increase in sales since the Black Lives Matter protests started. Jackson says that as a small, minority-owned company, she had to compete with very large companies that dominate her industry. “People now seem to be intentional with who they spend their dollars on,” Jackson says. “This movement has triggered something phenomenal within consumers and is, in turn, giving the “little man” a chance to survive. Even though my customers know we are on platforms like Amazon and Walmart
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, they insist on purchasing products from our e-commerce platform to help our bottom line.” 

Jackson says that platforms such as The Blackout Coalition 2020, Black Chattanooga, and also the #supportblackowned and #blackfemalefounders hashtags have been strategic and intentional with garnishing massive support around black owned businesses. “I have also witnessed my non-minority peers stepping up to bring recognition and support to my company by not only purchasing my product but sharing my product and mission on their social media platforms,” Jackson says.

Lilies of Charleston – “The change is inspiring”

Tracey Richardson is the CEO and Co-Founder of a specialty brand that is known for its hot sauce and BBQ sauce, Lilies of Charleston. Richardson first found a surge in orders ahead of Father’s Day, when shoppers noticed that the company was a black-owned business. “It’s been a natural progression, rather than a purposeful strategy,” Richardson says. Over the last 3 weeks, sales have continued to expand. 

Richardson says that the extra support has been an uplifting experience, knowing that shoppers are supporting black-owned businesses with their dollars, as well with corporate support through initiatives like black-out Tuesday. People are recognizing that more attention needs to be given, Richardson says. “It’s a great feeling of inspiration that this will continue. People are starting to look internally, at who they are hiring and who’s on the board. A serious change is taking place.”