There are things we’re learning about American racial disparity right now: Things we didn’t know, things we should have known, and things we were told but didn’t listen to, like the fact that taking time to learn about, share, and shop at Black owned businesses could have a really big impact on both our society and our economy.
But with thousands of brands and products out there to try, where do you start?
Here is a list of 24 black-owned brands we’re loving:
(Remember, you can shop some of these brands with Giving Assistant and donate your free cash back to nonprofits, such as these civil rights organizations.)
24 Black Owned Brands You Can Support Today
1. Savage X Fenty
Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty celebrates fearlessness, confidence and inclusivity. In partnership with a team assembled from the industry’s elite, the label has disrupted and redefined the marketplace with its accessible price point and extensive assortment of lingerie.
Tip: Get $15 cash back from Savage X Fenty when you shop using Giving Assistant.
2. Bevel Hair Care
The Bevel Difference offers no more razor bumps, 100% softer and smoother skin after only 4 weeks of use. Bevel offers hair, shaving, skin and body products for men. Their products were specifically made to solve problems for people of color, by people of color.
3. Glory Foods
This ubiquitous canned fruit, veggie, and condiments brand was founded by restaurant-owner William F. “Bill” Williams in 1992. Today, it’s still owned and operated by his son Bill Jr. Sold in grocery stores and grocery retailers nationwide. For fans of: the simplicity of everyday canned goods. (And foods that are both delicious and good for you.)
4. McBride Sisters Wine
The largest Black-owned wine company in the U.S. boasts a wine club, special wine collections, a professional development fund for women in the wine industry, and a heartwarming history. Lead by founders (and sisters) Andreá and Robin McBride. Find it at Target, Walmart, Safeway, Ralph’s, and Kroger grocery stores; Wine.com and Drizly; or buy direct from their site, recipients’ state laws permitting. For fans of: Yes Way Rosé
5. Partake Cookies
Amazing cookies. We’re talking Gingerbread, Carrot Cake, Birthday Cake, Chocolate Chip, and Double Chocolate Chip. Top 8 allergen-free. Gluten-free. Nut-free. GMO-free. Vegan-certified. Gives excellent hugs. Doesn’t hog the covers. Founded by Denise Woodard. Buy them at Targets nationwide or have them shipped straight to you. Also, try this handy tool to find them near you. For fans of: Pepperidge Farm, Pillsbury, or Annie’s gluten-free products.
6. Me and the Bees
Founded by a little girl (after she got stung by a bee twice in one week), Mikaila Ulmer is now 15 and still rocking this entrepreneurial, world-saving thing. Her lemonade and other beverages can be found at Target, Whole Foods, World Market, The Fresh Market, Natural Grocers, and HEB. Or, buy them directly from their site, where you’ll also find Burt’s Bees-style lip balms and cute merch. For fans of: Minute Maid and Snapple.
7. Mischo nail polishes
No nasty fumes. No toxic chemicals. No headaches or nausea. Just pretty colors. This “10-free” (and recyclable!) nail polish definitely earned its luxury label at $20 a pop, but high-quality, fully non-toxic polish for the price of two drugstore OPI polishes is well worth it. Buy them online at Mischo’s website. For fans of: OPI nail polish (and not getting dizzy while painting your nails.)
8. The Honey Pot
The Honey Pot is a plant-based brand for people with vaginas to look after, periods to rein, and/or babies to birth—inspired by a dream. (Seriously.) If you fall into any of those categories, and you also don’t like icky chemicals or hurting animals, check them out. Founded by Bea Dixon. Buy their products at Targets nationwide or online at their site. For fans of: Always, Kotex, and Summer’s Eve.
9. Briogeo
Briogeo is an eco-friendly, natural hair care brand for people with all hair types founded by Nancy Twine. What makes them special? Their business isn’t driven by celebrity endorsements: instead, they’re performance-based. AKA, driven by you. That means in order to stay afloat, their products have to work. Use their store locator to see if Brigeo is sold near you, or just buy directly from their site. For fans of: Lush, but for hair.
10. Golde
Golde is a superfood-based skincare and healthcare brand for anyone who’s ever made a face masque out of avocado and liked it. (Golde is better than avocado, though. And there are lattes.) Founded by Trinity Mouzon Wofford and Issey Kobori. Buy online. For fans of: Avocado face masques.
11. Tribe Beauty Box
For $35 per month, this subscription box gets you 5 beauty products valued at over $125. Founded by Bili Balogun. Subscribe on their site. For fans of: Ipsy, FabFitFun, and BirchBox.
12. Ollie’s Fizzies
These kid-made bath bombs are the brainchild of an actual child: Oliver, a New York kid who started making these bath fizzies when he was just 5. Now he’s 7, with a perfected recipe and a whole lot of drive. Buy online. For fans of: Lush
13. The Fit in Bed Stuy
Sellers of high-quality workout gear, from leggings to tops to health foods, every brand they carry is BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) owned. They even have fitness-on-demand videos. Shop on their site. For fans of: LuluLemon, Outdoor Voices, or Peloton
14. Sole Rebels
Casual, comfortable, canvas, earthy, handmade shoes. Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu founded the company to do more than just make great, sustainable shoes. Sole Rebel employs artisans in Ethiopia, giving them “full medical benefits and education funds for our employees and their families, and offering wages 3 times the industry average.” Shop on their site. For fans of: TOMS.
15. Scotch Porter
Natural hair, beard, and face care (in devilishly handsome packaging.) Calvin Quallis founded Scotch Porter to help customers solve their hair and skin problems without having to turn to harsh chemicals. Buy it in Target or at their site. For fans of: Harry’s.
16. Brain Lair Books
More than just a nice online bookstore, Kathy Burnette’s South Bend, Indiana bookstore also ships titles out on a subscription basis to adults, teens, and kids 8 to 14. (Brain Lair is an anagram for librarian, by the way.) Subscribe online. For fans of: Owl Crate
17. Brave and Kind Books
Kids books, plus gifts and goodies, all meant to inspire the next generation to be the best generation yet. They also have book subscription plans for both babies and school-aged kids. Founded and owned by Bunnie Hillard. Shop online. For fans of: Scholastic, Usborne Books, and Owl Crate
18. Brown Toybox
Brown Toybox ships more than just a box of exciting STEM activities to your kids. They also specialize in encouraging Black children and kids of color to pursue STEM interests, and in teaching all kids that world-changing brilliance can come from anyone, anywhere. Founded by Terri-Nichelle Bradley. Shop online. For fans of: Kiwi Crate.
19. Effie’s Paper
Cute and sassy stationary, journals, calendars, and gifts. Founded by former lawyer Kalyn Johnson Chandler, this brand is for anyone who ever really, really liked shopping for school supplies. Buy in small shops nationwide (find one near you), or online. For fans of: Rifle Paper Co. and the Paper Source
20. Unwrp
Eco-friendly, luxury wrapping paper and fabric that can be repurposed. Founder Ashley Fouyolle’s company is passionate about artists, and is currently running an artist relief fund to help support artists through the COVID-19 pandemic. For fans of: not feeling guilty when you throw away all that paper during the holidays.
21. Frerés Branchiaux
Candles, room sprays, and diffusers. Pronounced friar-bron-shee-oh, this brother-owned business (kids Collin, Ryan, and Austin Gill) make their luxe-looking candles right at home, and are currently working to expand their business by raising money for a candle truck. Buy online. For fans of: Yankee Candle, except if it were run by adorable kids.
22. Pur Home
Home-cleaning and laundry products that are good for the earth. (Their laundry detergent comes in a really cool, compostable cardboard package you gotta see.) Founded by Angela Richardson. Buy online. For fans of: Meyer’s Clean Day.
23. Natty Garden
Cute plants, sold online. Brooklyn-based founder Joel Mahfood has made it possible for anyone, anywhere, to bring the outside in, dress it up, and keep it healthy. Buy online or at their Brooklyn location. For fans of: The Sill
24. Clare
Super trendy, interior-designer approved paint colors for everyone from beginners to experienced painters. Decorated designer and founder (get it?) Nicole Gibbons didn’t like that it wasn’t easier to shop for paint and painting supplies online, so she fixed it. Buy online. For fans of: Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Wiliams
Tips for Finding and Shopping Black-Owned Brands
To start, think about some of the brands you shop at now. What kind of products do you buy often? Consider everything from groceries and household goods to fashion and beauty brands.
Next, peruse these search engines, and get ready to bookmark brands and products you want to try, brands you know, or any that stand out to you that you want to revisit (or share!)
- Buyitblack.co
- Webuyblack.com
- Officialblackwallstreet.com
- Thenilelist.com
- Eatokra.com (Black-owned restaurants)
One you start shopping, don’t forget to do this one extremely important thing:
Write reviews and leave ratings. Writing a review of a brand, product, or restaurant after you’ve had a great experience can make an enormous difference for any business, and it only takes a few minutes of your day.
Why Support Black Owned Businesses?
Anyone and everyone can help to support black owned businesses. And when you do, you are helping to make the American dream equally accessible to all people. You can also find out more by learning about and supporting these brands that support important causes like Black Lives Matter and Civil Rights.
Over the decades, American Black-owned business owners have faced disproportionately more challenges than their white counterparts. Research suggests this pattern of challenges is cyclical, with one challenge leading to another challenge, and so on.
But this is a cycle we can help break together.
It begins with acknowledging the massive, unfair wealth gap between Black and white Americans, which (in addition to blatant discriminiation and unequal treatment in banks) leads to Black entrepreneurs having less access to business capital to start or grow their businesses. Without the ability to grow, they also cannot create jobs, and without being able to create jobs, the wealth gap can’t close.
But when we choose to seek out and shop at Black-owned brands, we’re voting with our dollar and helping to close that wealth gap. These brands can use their profits to reinvest in their businesses, market, qualify for capital, and employ.
In fact, it’s estimated that if Black-owned businesses and start-ups received the same attention and support that non-minority-owned businesses received, over $55 billion in revenue could be added to our economy, on top of an additional 500,000 new jobs.
And of that $55 billion, $22 billion would come from Black small business owners gaining the financial means to hire just one employee.*
Yes. Racial injustice holds back everyone.
Here are a few other shocking stats:
- One report found that white business-loan seekers across 32 banks received better customer service than Black loan-seekers, and that bank staff were 18% more likely to introduce themselves to white borrowers.**
- On the wealth gap: The median net worth of a white American family is $171,000, compared to $17,600 for a Black family.*
- One study that looked at Black entrepreneurs’ experiences applying for business loans found that 30% of Black applicants received less than the amount requested (compared to 12% of white applicants).
- That same study found that 28% of minority borrowers will be approved for a loan compared to 67% for white borrowers.
- As of 2017, only .0006% of the $427.7 billion in total tech funding raised since 2009 has gone to Black women-led startups.
What is Giving Assistant?
Giving Assistant helps online shoppers turn their everyday shopping into donations for any nonprofit.
Members get exclusive coupons and savings at over 3,000 top online brands, plus earn cash back they can donate easily to any 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in the U.S.
Our browser extension makes the whole thing even easier: just download it for free, then shop, save, and automate your cash back donations.
Giving Assistant is committed to helping amplify the voices of Black Americans, and to participating in the fight against racial injustice and discrimination.
Learn more about Nonprofits that Support Civil Rights and Black Lives Matter.
We’re excited to help you shop and give. We also encourage all our shoppers to take advantage of any opportunity available to them to help aid in this fight, whether that’s marching in protests, donating directly to nonprofits and personal fundraising campaigns, or simply standing alongside those at work within the Black Lives Matter movement.
**”5 Ways to Support Black-Owned Businesses.” Market Watch, 2020.