22 Black-Owned Businesses that are Raising the Bar
We’ve curated a list of Black-owned businesses and brands across fashion, beauty, home, and food that are elevating their industries through innovation, craftsmanship, sustainability, and premium quality standards. Learn the compelling stories behind these BIPOC brands, and discover your next favorite product.
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Fashion
Yam Jewelry
It all began when founder Morgan Thomas was gifted a jewelry-making book from her mother as a young girl. Years later, the handcrafted jewelry brand Yam was born. The brand embraces vintage silhouettes and feel-good materials such as pearls and recycled metals. Classic and industrial hardware elements are complemented with charming nature motifs and pearl accents. Yam’s collections are versatile featuring delicate to bold pieces that can take you from the boardroom to your brunch date.
Zou Xou
Founded in NYC by Katherine Theobalds, Zou Xou is an ethically-made shoe brand that offers small-batch, handcrafted shoes made by artisans in Buenos Aires. The brand designs elegant and timeless mules, loafers, and flats with refined contours, subtle detailing, and exceptional quality perfect for everyday wear.
Victor Glemaud
Haitian-American designer Victor Glemaud worked as studio director for Paco Rabanne and style director for Tommy Hilfiger before launching his own eponymous label in 2006. Glemaud’s focus is on knits for all genders, races, and sizes with the ultimate mission of marrying comfort with style.
Brooklyn Circus
Founded by Ouigi Theodore, The Brooklyn Circus/BKc is a menswear brand that finds inspiration in the pages of history books. Every piece in the clothing line has a story, bringing each unique detail and element of construction into the piece’s narrative. From the construction of the brand’s varsity jackets to the looms where the denim is woven, these elements help cultivate the brand story.
Tree Fairfax
Tree Fairfax is a minimalist leather goods brand that offers timeless, handcrafted handbags, belts, totes, and waist bags in rich shades of mahogany, cognac, black, and russet. Each piece is hand-cut and stitched using locally sourced, high-quality leather. Tree Fairfax uses leather hides with natural imperfections and incorporates them into each bag, giving you a one-of-a-kind piece while also cutting back on waste.
Thrilling
Founded in 2018 by Shilla Kim-Parker and Brad Mallow, Thrilling is a vintage online marketplace that features vintage finds from the best boutiques across the United States. The platform makes shopping sustainably with small businesses effortless and fun, no matter what decade is calling you.
Sincerely, Tommy
The Brooklyn-based lifestyle shop founded by Kai Avent-deLeon focuses on jewelry, home goods, and womenswear by emerging designers. You can shop the lifestyle brand’s curated collections online or if you live in the New York area, snag a latte from their in-house coffee bar while browsing the latest collections.
Beauty
Undefined Beauty
Founded by Dorian Morris, Undefined beauty is an inclusive, clean beauty brand that is on a mission to “undefine” and democratize beauty and destigmatize plant-based solutions. With the power of adaptogenic herbs, Undefined Beauty’s products have all-natural ingredients rich with nourishing benefits. The brand’s impact goes beyond its beauty benefits with a focus on partnering with LGBTQ, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses throughout its supply chain.
UOMA Beauty
Founded by former beauty executive, Sharon Chuter, UOMA started with the mission to bring more diversity to the world of beauty. UOMA means beautiful with its name is rooted in the belief that beauty starts the moment you decide to be yourself. Challenging beauty industry norms and the “one formula for all” skincare, UOMA takes the needs of different skin shades into consideration when formulating its products.
Beneath Your Mask
In 2011, Dana Jackson was diagnosed with Lupus which completely transformed her approach to wellness and beauty. Due to symptoms of the disease, she followed an all-natural protocol that helped alleviate symptoms and brought to light the importance of using all-natural products in her daily self-care routine. With Beneath Your Mask, she sought to create products that were safe, non-irritating, and non-toxic for the skin to absorb. The result is a skincare line that heals your skin.
Beauty Stat Cosmetics
With over 20 years of experience as a cosmetic chemist for beauty brands like Clinique, Lancome, and Estee Lauder, Ron Robinson started Beauty Stat Cosmetics with its star product the Universal C Skin Refiner. It was the world’s first serum containing 20% stable and pure vitamin C that stays potent, never oxidizing or turning brown. Today, the brand has a full line of award-winning products and continues to seek out innovative new ingredients guided by the belief that everyone deserves to feel comfortable in their own skin.
BLK + GRN
BLK + GRN is a beauty and wellness marketplace featuring all-natural products made by black artisans. Every product is carefully chosen by Black health experts who vet the all-natural ingredients and ensure product integrity. The marketplace features high-quality, toxic-free brands that share in the BLK + GRN mission of health, wellness, and community cultivation.
Home
Claude Home
Founded by Maggie Holladay, Claude Home is an online gallery selling collectible vintage pieces and contemporary artworks from emerging artists. Claude Home was born out of a passion for vintage furniture and a love of classic designs. Holladay began her career in fashion working in NYC with notable stylists and editorial teams. After developing an eye for vintage furnishings and striking interiors, Holladay immersed herself into work as a designer, seller of vintage wares, original commissions, unique housewares, and furniture.
Bolé Road Textiles
New York-based designer Hana Getachew started Bolé Road Textiles out of a desire to merge her love of Ethiopian handwoven fabrics with her career in interior design. The brand name stems from Getachew’s love of her childhood family home in a beautiful and quaint neighborhood called Bolé and is an ode to her journeys throughout her life on the main thoroughfare Bolé Road. The brand offers hand-woven goods, including pillows, rugs, and other linens made by artisans in Ethiopia.
Marie Burgos Collection
Born and raised in Paris, Marie draws inspiration from both French design and her family’s native home of Martinique. Paired with a deep appreciation of mid-century modern furniture, Marie has taken the clean lines that defined the iconic designs of that movement and given them a luxurious new simplicity. Her collection offers design professionals and homeowners bold new contemporary lighting, furniture, and decorative accessories with a fresh perspective.
Alexandra Winbush
Founded by Brittney Alexandra Winbush, Alexandra Winbush is an eponymous tea and candle company dedicated to wellness and self-care. A truly experience-driven brand, you can shop bundled sets that include a scented candle, an accompanying tea, and a curated playlist to create the ultimate mood.
Malene Barnett
Artist, designer, and activist, Malene Barnett creates sculptural vessels, mixed-media paintings, and handwoven rugs. She has an exclusive furniture and wallpaper collection with Lulu & Georgia called “Kindred” and you can shop her artwork on her website.
Food and Drink
Maison Noir Wines
Founded by André Hueston Mack, the former head sommelier at Per Se, Maison Noir Wines features unique and distinctive garage wines, initially created for some of New York’s best restaurants. From chardonnay to pinot noir and unique red blends, the Oregon-grown wine ships to 31 different states. Maison Noir Wines also sells apparel inspired by the punk and hip-hop scenes of the 1990s.
Golde
A business with humble beginnings, Trinity Mouzon Wofford started Golde, a superfood self-care brand, with a single offering (the original turmeric latte blend) from a 1-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. Today, Golde offers everything from latte blends to all-natural superfood face masks. Golde even features wellness kits that bundle their products by intention with kits focused on stress relief, gut support, glowing skin, and more.
The Sip
Founded by Catherine Carter and Erica Davis, The Sip is a membership-based champagne company focused on bringing diversity into the world of champagne. You can become a member with up to $125 worth of sparkling wine delivered bi-monthly, starting at just $54.95 per box, including a Real-Talk Tasting Guide that leaves pretension at the door and virtual tastings. If you’re feeling non-commital, you can also shop their curated boxes of champagne.
Pipcorn
Founded in 2012, Pipcorn is a minority-owned, women-owned sustainable snack brand focused on creating snacks that are better for you and better for the environment. Pipcorn launched at Smorgasburg in Brooklyn, NY with small-batch popcorn popped in their mom’s spaghetti pot. Pipcorn uses heirloom seeds that are passed down for generations and open-pollinated packing more nutrients and flavor. The best part? Heirloom seeds are better for the environment for delicious, guilt-free snacking.
Blk & Bold
Founded in 2018 by Pernell Cezar and Rod Johnson, Blk & Bold is a premium coffee brand built with purpose. Committed to changing the lives of youth in need, BLK & Bold pledge 5% of its profits to initiatives aligned to sustaining youth programming, enhancing workforce development, and eradicating youth homelessness. The brand’s fair trade specialty coffees and teas include single-origin roasts from El Salvador and low-acidity Ethiopian beans.