Retailers Are Showing An Influx Of Interest In Black Beauty Brands

As more consumers are calling out problematic companies over their tone-deaf or flat out racist policies, some retailers are taking note. There is a rush to include more Black-owned beauty products on store shelves, but will the influx be insincerely short-lived? Read more from Liz Flora at Glossy for the background on this pattern.

When Ozohu Adoh founded her skin-care brand Epara in 2017, her retail strategy was focused on wholesale distribution to the world’s top department stores. That plan came to fruition when she launched in Harrods that year. In 2018, she became the first Black beauty founder to land in Barneys.

“We thought that it was a strategic move. It was really important that we placed the brand in a place as elevated as Harrods,” she said.

Now, her brand can be found across a wide range of newer luxury partners including Net-a-Porter and Saks Fifth Avenue. Epara has launched in 10 new retailers since the launch of the 15 Percent Pledge this past summer. During Black History Month, Black-owned beauty brands are being highlighted by luxury retailers, as the industry reflects on the changes of the past nine months and what still needs to be done.

Catch the full story here.