20 black-owned natural products brands to stock
Carrying these foods, beverages, supplements and personal care products is one way retailers can support black-owned natural products businesses.
June 18, 2020
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Rahim and Mohammed Diallo decided to bottle their family’s West African ginger drink recipe after realizing how few African products make it to the American market. Based in Harlem, New York, the company uses only USDA Organic ingredients in the proprietary blend of ginger, pineapple, vanilla, anise and cane sugar.
Quality and sustainability go hand in hand with diversity, inclusion, social and economic restoration and entrepreneurship for this coffee company, a Certified B Corporation that was founded by artist and food entrepreneur Keba Konte in 2014. This Bay Area company promotes unity and inclusion though diverse hiring practices and community involvement.
“Buy a Bottle…Save a Bee” is the motto of now-15-year-old entrepreneur Mikaila Ulmer, whose idea for this Texas-based lemonade company was sparked at the age of 4 after a run-in with some honeybees led to a passion for saving this important species. The recipe adds honey to a traditional family recipe for flaxseed lemonade, and a percentage of the profits go to local and global associations that fight to save the honeybees.
Founded by Ibraheem Basir, A Dozen Cousins was born out of the desire to share the delicious and nutritious flavors of Southern, Caribbean and Latin American food from Basir's childhood, from spiced Cuban black beans to chickpea curry. Its foods are rooted in wholesome ingredients and inspired by traditional black and Latino recipes that nourish the body and soul. A Dozen Cousins also recognizes how challenging it is for underserved communities in the U.S. to achieve a healthy lifestyle, so it provides a yearly grant to nonprofits working to eliminate socio-economic health disparities.
Owned by Jennifer Martin, Jeff Martin and Teresa Tsou, this company’s products are as delicious as they are highly addictive. Made with sustainably grown heirloom popcorn kernels, the products currently come in popcorn, cheese ball, corn dipper and cracker formats and ridiculously tasty flavor varieties such as Truffle, Cacio e Pepe, Broccoli Cheddar and Lime Zest. Cultivating heirloom seeds is not only more environmentally sustainable, but it also helps promote crop diversity while also lending a better nutrient profile and taste.
Magbè Savané grew up in Côte d’Ivoire before moving to Massachusetts, where she founded this drinks company based on family recipes for using superfood ingredients such as baoabab or moringa—ingredients that are sourced directly from West Africa, sustainably grown and harvested by hand. Part of the profits go to help fund the Makomas Foundation, which focuses on giving back to the women farmers and reinvesting in their communities.
CEO and founder Bea Dixon channeled her personal experience into this popular brand of plant-based feminine care products that are powered by botanical ingredients including lavender, coconut oil, aloe vera, tea tree oil, cocoa butter and more.
This brand was founded by corporate engineer-turned-Jamaican honey farmer Ivy Lawson. Honey is the building block for this brand’s product lines, which range from raw honeys with added ingredients such as ginger, hibiscus and sorrel, to raw honey-infused personal care products that promote hydration and nourishment for skin and hair.
Owners Kareem Cook and Claude Tellis bought nutritional company Naturade in 2012 as part of their ongoing goal to bring more health and wellness to more people—particularly school children and black communities. This mission also led to the creation of VeganSmart, a USDA Organic, plant-based protein powder that these two entrepreneurs launched with fitness trainer John Lewis in 2013 and distributed not only in health food stores, but also in stores that sold to low-income communities that are typically underserved.
Pernell Cezar and Rod Johnson launched this specialty coffee and tea company in 2017 out of Des Moines, Iowa, with a social impact mission at its core. Significantly, its mission is that of supporting at-risk youth through youth programming, workforce development and efforts to eradicate youth homelessness—goals that it furthers by donating 5% of all proceeds to these worthy initiatives. A nationally Certified Minority Business Enterprise, it is also Certified B Corp Pending.
Shakes with functional benefits is one way to describe the delicious and nutrient-packed Keto, Protein and Coffee lines from this company, which uses plant-based ingredients such as chicory root fiber, MCT oil, along with brown rice, chickpea and pea protein to fuel its RTD beverages. The idea was the brainchild of Maya French—Koia’s co-founder along with Dustin Baker—who was frustrated by attempts to find a tasty, plant-based post-workout drink. The idea exploded, landing Koia in more than 5,000 stores nationwide since it was founded in 2013.
This craft chocolate company was founded by three brothers—Dominic, Nicholas and Daniel Maloney—in the South Bronx, New York, to make fair trade, USDA Organic chocolate bars with just two ingredients, like those they had grown up on in their native Trinidad and Tobago. These “bean-to-bar” chocolates are all single origin (Madagascar, Peru and Ecuador) and made with only ethically sourced cacao and raw cane sugar—making them vegan, dairy free and nut free. They are also as delicious as they are stunningly packaged.
Nailah Ellis-Brown founded the Ellis Infinity Beverage Company tea brand in Detroit, Michigan, in 2008. Both SKUs—Jamaican Herbal and Jamaican Sweet “tropical” tea—are based on a family recipe handed down by her great-grandfather. Brewed and bottled in Detroit, this antioxidant-rich tea contains hibiscus, rosehips and mint, and is sweetened with honey.
Led by co-presidents Paige and Ted Parker, this dietary supplement company has been committed to bringing consumers quality, trust and transparency for more than 25 years. Its wellness-promoting products stand out for the full-disclosure labeling and formulas free from proprietary blends.
This allergy-friendly snack company sprung from Denise Woodard’s search to find delicious and healthy foods that her daughter could enjoy. Its cookies are free from the “top eight allergens” which include peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, wheat, milk, soy, fish and shellfish. They are also mustard, sulfite and sesame free, as well as vegan, kosher, gluten free and non-GMO certified...and delicious. Furthermore, Partake partners with the non-profit Blessings in a Backpack to help provide food for school children across America.
Supporting ethical business practices and empowering women and communities in West Africa is the mission of this personal care product company, which was founded by husband and wife pair Olowo-n’djo Tchala and Prairie Rose Hyde in their Olympia, Washington, garage in 2003. Today the company employs more than 14,000 women in West Africa and holds the renowned “Fair for Life” certification from the Institute for Marketology, in addition to the 2018 Award for Corporate Excellence in Women’s Economic Empowerment from the U.S. Department of State.
Co-founded by Trinity Mouzon Wofford, Golde combines bright, beautiful packaging with simple, high-quality ingredients to create superfood-packed health and beauty products. The Brooklyn, New York, brand focuses on latte blends (Original Turmeric, Cacao Turmeric and Matcha Turmeric), pure matcha powder and face masks (Clean Greens and Lucuma Bright), all featuring organic ingredients.
Founder Azzizah Rahim struck snacking gold with her Herbal Green Popcorn, an organic popcorn mixed with nutritional yeast, spirulina, olive oil, herbs and spices. Vegan and gluten-free, the spirulina-based popcorn is a nutrient-dense snack you can feel good about munching on again and again, even if it means getting your fingers a little green.
Ethan Holmes founded Holmes Made Foods LLC at just 15 years old with his grandfather's applesauce recipe. Over eight years later, Holmes Applesauce is sold in stores across the Midwest and parts of the South. It's available in Original, Apple Pie Cinnamon and Strawberry Peach flavors and made using only natural ingredients: apples, pears, cider, strawberries and peaches.
Searching for a nutritious and soft snack option for his then teething son, Power Bites founder Sharif Rasheed created the early Power Bites batches by accident. Soon enough, the granola bar-like bites became a hit, and today, his line of nutrient-dense snacks include Almond Butter Crunch and Salted Peanut Butter Crunch, all made with organic, gluten-free and vegan ingredients. Power Bites was founded on the idea of "snacktivism"—fueling up with nutritious snacks so people can change the world.
Searching for a nutritious and soft snack option for his then teething son, Power Bites founder Sharif Rasheed created the early Power Bites batches by accident. Soon enough, the granola bar-like bites became a hit, and today, his line of nutrient-dense snacks include Almond Butter Crunch and Salted Peanut Butter Crunch, all made with organic, gluten-free and vegan ingredients. Power Bites was founded on the idea of "snacktivism"—fueling up with nutritious snacks so people can change the world.
In an effort to end systemic racism in the natural products industry, retailers and consumers are looking for actionable ways to support the Black Lives Matter movement.
Retailers can start with examining and changing business practices—hiring more diverse employees, educating staff or taking some or all of the steps outlined in this IdeaXchange piece by New Hope Network’s Senior Vice President of Content Carlotta Mast. As Mast points out, one important element involves thinking about where we are spending our dollars and how we can support the growth of black-owned businesses.
The 20 black-owned natural products companies featured in this gallery include a wide range of products, categories and missions, including supporting organics, giving back to underserved communities or offering more health and wellness to more people.
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