17 Black-Owned Brands You Should Be Paying Attention To

Furry friends are part of the family, which is why when Renaldo Webb saw the ingredients in his dog’s food, he was appalled. Ensuring your pet gets the right food and nutrition not only makes their meals more enjoyable, but it can lengthen a pet’s life, too. He works with a veterinary nutritionist to make delicious, nutritious human-grade food for all of our four-legged family members.

Wellness is a booming industry, but that doesn’t mean it’s accessible to everyone. Frustrated with some of the costs of taking your wellness into your own hands, Trinity Mouzon Wofford and her partner Issey Kobori created Golde in their one-bedroom Brooklyn apartment in 2017. What began as a mission to make self-care easy and accessible grew into a superfood-fueled company that creates delicious, vegan drink mixes and skincare for everyone and anyone.

The House of LR&C (short for love, respect, and care) is a fashion house created to democratize retail and redefine the fashion industry. Born from Ciara and Russell Wilson’s passion for design and fashion, the two teamed up with retail mogul Christine Day to create the house and support brands that embody love, care, and respect. Right now, they represent Ciara’s brand LITA by Ciara, Wilson’s Good Man Brand, and HUMAN NATION, a gender-neutral, eco-conscious clothing brand. Each brand gives three percent of net revenue to the Why Not You Foundation, “a nonprofit dedicated to education, children’s health, fighting poverty, and empowering marginalized youth to lead with a Why not you? attitude.”

Health and flavor are not mutually exclusive, but as he grew up, Ibraheem Basir found it difficult to make nutritious and easy food that also incorporated his Creole, Caribbean, and Latin American roots. Wanting to create food that’s convenient, tasty, and healthy, A Dozen Cousins was born. The brand’s name comes from Basir’s daughter and her 11 cousins, all of whom often enjoy family dinners together.

While conducting research for a book, Fawn Weaver interviewed descendants of Nathan “Nearest” Green and learned about the history of the Jack Daniels Distillery. Green was the first master distiller at Jack Daniels Distillery, and he was a mentor to Jack Daniels himself. In 2017, Weaver founded and launched the Nearest Green Distillery and Uncle Nearest brand, inspired by Green himself.

Today, the whiskey brand is the best selling African American-owned spirit ever, and it was named Most Awarded American Whiskey or Bourbon in 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Brothers Collin, Ryan, and Austin Gill launched their candle and scents company in 2017 to earn video game money, and their business quickly took off. Right from the start, they decided to donate 10 percent of their profits to Washington, D.C.-area homeless shelters as their way of giving back. The brothers develop the fragrances and hand-pour each of their soy wax candles. This month, try their Black History Maker Series of four candles honoring Black trailblazers in STEM fields.

Shea butter seems to be in every other body lotion on the shelf, but most of those moisturizers are packed with petroleum jelly, chemicals, harmful fragrances, and other ingredients that don’t do our skin any favors. Enter Eu’Genia Shea, an all-natural shea butter company owned by mother-daughter duo Eugenia and Naa-Sakle that supports women farmers in Ghana. Eu’Genia Shea’s minimally processed, 90 percent-plus shea butter formulations are true skin savers, and work for hair and lips as well. Buy the signature bundle to use as gifts or just for yourself.

Denise Woodard is a mom on a mission. After her and her husband’s daughter, Vivienne, was diagnosed with severe food allergies, she founded Partake to help families like her own find allergen-free snacks they’d actually enjoy. Partake’s free-from list is impressive: no peanuts, eggs, tree nuts, soy, dairy, gluten, or artificial flavors, and the list continues from there. We’re fans of Partake’s Baking Mix for pancakes, muffins, cakes, and more, but we also love their Crunchy Variety Pack.

Tracee Ellis Ross has made it official: It’s time to embrace your curls. Her company Pattern Beauty is dedicated to celebrating curly, coily, and textured hair with products that do natural hair justice, rather than “taming” or “controlling” it. Pattern has something for every step and uses safe ingredients to make hydrating, effective products at an affordable price point. Check out the Curl Guide to help you narrow down which products will best serve your hair.

Dee Charlemagne and her co-founder Alex Doman started Avec to fill a gap in the market for delicious, non-sugary mixers and mocktails, and they hit it out of the park. Avec’s refreshing drinks are made with real juice, little or no sugar, and natural botanicals. Their name is the French word for “with,” and that’s how they’re meant to be enjoyed: With alcohol, with friends, with family, with a good book. Our favorite is the Jalapeño Blood Orange, which makes a truly delicious tequila cocktail that isn’t as acidic as a homemade margarita and is much lower in sugar than something you’d buy at the store. But if you can’t decide, go with Avec’s Sampler to get a taste of everything.

Siblings Jeff and Jen Martin found the inspiration for Pipcorn by chance. They started snacking on heirloom popcorn while moving Jen into a new apartment, and were immediately hooked: The heirloom corn kernels were smaller, more tender, and more flavorful than your average popcorn, and it was the first popcorn that Jen, who grew up with food allergies, could eat without feeling ill. The pair roped in Jeff’s then-girlfriend, now-wife Teresa and started popping and bagging the kernels by hand, and the rest is history. Though the Truffle Popcorn is pretty perfect, we’re also fans of the Cheddar Cheese Balls for a healthier version of the fluorescent-orange snacks we ate as kids.

It’s no secret that women’s shaving products leave a lot to be desired: They’re expensive, don’t work all that well, and are full of ingredients that shouldn’t be anywhere near the sensitive skin we’re shaving. Karen Young founded OUI the People to not only provide women with high quality shaving products designed specifically for their needs, but to change the exacting and unrealistic beauty standards to which women are held. And the fact that the razors come in stunning metallics might make shaving an activity you look forward you. 

Meet Dr. Chaneve Jeanniton. She’s an oculofacial plastic surgeon who founded epi.logic after seeing how much her patients wanted a safe, simple, and effective daily skincare routine. Her products are made for nearly all skin types and are scientifically proven to improve skin in both the long and short term. Start with epi.logic’s Total Package Moisturizer — perfect for these dry winter days. 

This beautifully handmade clothing line was founded by supermodel Liya Kebede after she took a trip to her native Ethiopia and met a group of traditional weavers. The products are made entirely by women artisans across Africa. “By employing traditional weavers, we’re trying to break their cycle of poverty,” the founder said. “At the same time, we’re preserving the art of weaving while creating modern, casual, comfortable stuff that we really want to wear.”

Allison DeVane’s flavor-infused cubes make it easy to mix up a mean cocktail. The founder of Teaspressa sells her cocktail cubes on Uncommon Goods, and they make perfect gifts for friends, family…and yourself. We’re loving the Light & Refreshing Cocktail Trio for summer evenings, but Allison’s Beer Cocktail cubes are a great way to take your basic light beer to the next level. 

New York-based designer and architect Hana Getachew veered away from the corporate design world after ten years in the industry and dove into a career involving something she passionately knew and loved: Ethiopian textiles and interior design. Getachew launched Bolé with one thing in mind: “To be more connected to Ethiopia…to be more involved in the lives of its people and to contribute to its development.” Bolé sources its handmade textiles from weaving studios in Ethiopia that are owned and operated by women entrepreneurs. 

The Lip Bar, a Detroit-based beauty company, was founded by former Wall Street analyst Melissa Butler. Frustrated with how mainstream media and the beauty industry set the standard for beauty, she started her cosmetics company in her kitchen. She sought to make a brand that was diverse, inclusive, and without “excessive amounts of unnecessary chemicals.” Butler’s non-toxic lipsticks are vegan, paraben-free, and made to flatter a variety of skin tones. She was initially rejected by Shark Tank but now has over $2 million in funding and is sold in Target stores across the U.S. Even Shark Tank makes mistakes. 

To put it succinctly, Posterity Paper is “not your grandma’s stationery.” Founded by Tiffany Grimes in Georgia, this female entrepreneur, who was inspired by her own grandmother, was bored by generic birthday and greeting cards so she decided to create her own. Her mission is “to inspire a new generation of thoughtfulness by providing stationery that helps women show up for the people they love.” Her cards are perfect to send for a celebratory occasion or with a surprise treat in the mail!

Red Bay Coffee Roasters was founded in 2014 by renowned San Francisco Bay area artist and food entrepreneur Keba Konte, who is part of “the fourth wave of coffee.” This new wave aims to ethically source specialty coffee that is deeply rooted within their community and culture. Red Bay seeks to create unity by hiring and serving people of all backgrounds, especially people of color, the formerly incarcerated, women, and people with disabilities. Companies like Facebook source Red Bay as their primary coffee supplier for its Menlo Park HQ office.

What if paint shopping wasn’t such a hassle? Enter Clare, an interior paint company. Founded by interior designer Nicole Gibbons, Clare is reimagining the paint shopping experience, so you’re not stuck with 100 samples and too many choices to pick from. Each paint color is designer-curated, and the Clare Color Genius will help guide you to the perfect color.