With racial injustice and white privilege being a huge conversation right now, some may be wondering how they can better support the black community. During covid-19, people have already leaned towards small businesses to show their support and now people want to do the same with black-owned businesses. Supporting black-owned businesses is one way that you can show your appreciation for living in a multi-racial world. Black people have made big contributions to lots of different types of industries. For example, Lyda D. Newman who invented a durable hair brush and Madam C. J. Walker who invented a line of hair products designed for people suffering from scalp issues and hair loss. In this article, we are going to tell you about some black-owned businesses you can support!
Beauty Bakerie
Beauty Bakerie is owned by Cashmere Nicole. Her story for starting Beauty Bakerie is remarkably inspiring! She began as a young entrepreneur. On their website, she says that some of her earliest businesses were started from when she was only 9 years old! When she became a single mother at the age of 16, she worked extremely hard while pursuing college courses and taking care of her child. In her 20s, she began considering starting a business when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her near-death experience gave her a new perspective of life and so, she started Beauty Bakerie. Beauty Bakerie is a makeup brand. They sell products that are in line with their bakery theme. For example, setting powder in a flour bag and mascara in an icing tube. In addition, the brand love to give back to those who are less fortunate in a program called Sugar Homes. They started this in 2016 and with every purchase a portion of money goes to providing orphanages with supplies.
FeLAÁ Boutique
FeLAÁ Boutique is a sustainable fashion brand, selling everything from trousers, outerwear and dresses. The boutique features many items in bright and happy colours that are very fashion forward. In addition to selling clothing, the brand owner has a podcast whereby she reads and informs people on the great values for a fulfilling life and career. She reads books, plays music and tells stories in order to inspire and empower her listeners. They feature black artists on their website and music events too. On their website, they identify themselves as the cool place to go for clothing and this is quite evident by looking at the beautiful clothing that is showcased on their site. They also say their website is a hub of smart timeless style where they present various things such as artsy personalised pens to enhance human connection in isolation and they do this to make the situation more positive and loving.
Whipped
Whipped is a home-made skincare brand based in Dublin. They are a new business that just launched in February of this year and just looking at their Instagram would make your mouth water with all the fabulous natural ingredients they include in their skin care products. They use ingredients such as virgin coconut oil and market their products as being whipped from their hearts. Handmade and without harsh chemicals, what more could you want? If you want to support black-owned businesses by purchasing some new natural skincare, they are your go to!
Ruby Tuesday’s Soul Food
If you want to support black owned businesses by chomping down on some delicious food, Ruby Tuesday’s Soul Food is the place to go. Based in Dublin, they serve scrumptious soul food! They are not physically open right now due to covid-19, however, if you want to give them a go, they are still operating for deliveries! The owner came up with the idea to open this restaurant because when she arrived in Dublin, there was nothing that mimicked her Caribbean food from her home. She began her business serving jerk chicken wings (said to be a must try!) at festivals and now her business has boomed!
Lmk Customs
This brand is based in Ireland and they take footwear and upcycle them in the most creative ways you could imagine. For example, a Gucci bag with Rick and Morty running out of their portal with their portal gun to shoot the Gucci snake. They take orders and will customise your shoes to exactly what you want. This is also great in regards to sustainable fashion as upcycling a piece of clothing will most likely make you hold onto it for a bit longer! It is a great way to give clothing a new life. If your ideal way to support black-owned businesses is by getting your old kicks looking snazzy, check them out on Instagram @customslmk. They are mind-blowingly creative!
Photo Credit: Lmk Customs Instagram
M.I.O Prints
M.I.O Prints is a lifestyle brand that specialise and take interest in offering people colourful prints. Their passion is having clothing and accessories that represent their afro-centric vibes. They chose African prints that are commonly known as Ankara and Kente in many different patterns and colours. They selling lots of different items such as head wraps, pyjama sets, robes, aprons and much more. If you are fashion forward, this is a great brand to shop from. Their clothing patterns and designs are just beautiful!
H-Appeal
If your ideal way for supporting black owned businesses is by buying yourself some new snazzy gymwear, we got you. H-Appeal is a gymwear brand based in Dublin. If you are not in Dublin, they do have a website where they ship clothing (under construction atm, but will be back soon!). The brand was founded in May 2019 by Naomie Nkula & Hassan Iriafen. They were inspired to create the brand because of their love of fitness. However, in saying that, they wanted to create a brand that would not only appeal to the fitness lovers and gym fanatics but also to other people looking into having a healthier lifestyle. If you are interested in checking them out, have a look at their Instagram @h_appeal_ and their Facebook page H-Appeal.
Black-Owned Businesses You Can Support
There you have it, some black-owned businesses you can support! Unfortunately, we cannot list every black-owned brand out there, this is just a small list of some that hopefully fit all the categories you are looking for. Black people have made some big contributions to many industries out there! With all that is going on in the world, some want to support black-owned businesses to show that they support the black lives matter movement. We hope this list will help you in discovering some really cool black-owned businesses. In addition, we can guarantee they will just love your support!
