25 Black-Owned Brands You Should Be Paying Attention To

After working in the music industry for years, Gwen Quantin decided to shift gears and pursue his passion for design and fashion. The brand’s most popular bag, which blends Parisian elegance with rugged Americana, costs under $300, and claims WNBA player Caitlin Clark as a fan.

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Karen Young tapped into her Caribbean roots when approaching natural body care, and thus came OUI the People. The brand has been a favorite of Katie Couric Media editors for years, but there’s one product that especially stands out: the Featherweight body gloss. This hydrating oil instantly makes skin glow, all while soaking in quickly and not leaving any greasy residue behind. Commerce editor Katie P. swears by this during the winter months, and she loves that this version has a light citrus scent that doesn’t irritate her sensitive skin.

After receiving this set by Estelle Glassware as a gift, Katie couldn’t get enough of them. She’s been buying them for her friends for holidays and birthdays ever since, and they make an amazing present for anyone who loves to host or appreciates luxury. Founded by attorney-turned-serial entrepreneur Stephanie Hall, consider her brand a future antique.

Dry, itchy scalps are no match for this powerful shampoo by Brigeo, founded by Nancy Twine (who left her job at Goldman Sachs to start the company). We’ve all suffered from dandruff, but regularly exfoliating your scalp can help decrease pesky flakes and improve your overall hair health. This formula contains moisturizing coconut oil to help soothe irritated scalps, tea tree and peppermint oil to stimulate the skin and reduce redness and itchiness, and charcoal to help absorb excess oil and buildup.

Having a few staple pieces of jewelry can make accessorizing a breeze. We gravitate toward Abcrete & Co. for minimal yet still visually interesting gems. Right now, we’ve got our eyes on these twisted hoops, which would be a fit for everyday wear at less than $30. Fun fact: Founder NyShayla Williams is also a doula based in Washington, D.C.

Few celebrities have crossed over into entrepreneurship quite as well as billionaire Rihanna. Her makeup line consists of viral stars like a foundation, a shimmery highlighter, and this bestselling lip gloss. It won’t give you Rihanna’s pout, but consider it the next best thing.

Upgrade your specs with something fresh. After losing pairs of expensive glasses and looking to repace them with better-fitting, fashion-forward eyewear, Tracy Vontélle Green and Nancey Harris decided to make their own. Each pair of Vontélle frames pay homage to the founders’ African ancestry and showcase traditional colors and patterns that channel their African, Caribbean, and Latin heritage.

Chances are you’ve seen a celebrity carrying Brandon Blackwood’s bags (his clientele includes Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian, Halle Berry, and Zoe Kravitz, to name a few). Known for his modern spins on classic handbag silhouettes, the designer focuses on making bags both beautiful and functional. He’s perhaps best known for his “End Systemic Racism” bag that he debuted back in 2020. All profits from the bag are still donated to the Brandon Blackwood Foundation, which helps empower Black creatives through education, philanthropy, and activism. We also love this moon-shaped shoulder bag for the wide range of colors it comes in.

Designer Matthew Harris is an artist in the truest sense of the word. His line of beautiful fine jewelry belongs in a museum and is an investment that will create heirlooms for generations to come. So yes, this pair of earrings has a steep price tag, but the artistry, quality, and wow factor make it all worth it. He designs more affordable pieces, too, like this beautiful strand of lapis beads for $300.

Who knew elastic waist pants could be this chic? While Diarrablu is known for its stunning prints (which we fully endorse), this classic pair of black trousers stood out to us because of its infinite wearability. All of the brand’s pieces are handcrafted in Senegal, and Diarra Bousso, the founder, is a mathematician with a mission to “build an ethical fashion future through a conscious fusion of artisans, algorithms, and circular manufacturing.”

Tracee Ellis Ross set out on a mission to create haircare that not only worked, but embraced and celebrated curly, coily, tight, and textured hair. Each of her products is made to nourish strands with hydrating ingredients, like castor oil and marshmallow root, which add smoothness and shine to hair without weighing it down. Reviewers especially love this mousse, which they say adds volume and definition to curls without leaving them crunchy or saggy.

There’s a reason celebrities, magazines, and designers have trusted Pat McGrath with their makeup needs for years: She knows how to create a memorable look that lasts. According to Vogue, she’s the most influential makeup artist in the world, which is only part of the reason we trust products from her self-titled makeup line. Not only are they designed to be long-lasting, but they help nourish your skin so that your natural beauty isn’t hidden under a layer of thick makeup.

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 health 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.

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 and Bourbon in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

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 a gift or 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.

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 to 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, or with a good book. 

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.

Chaneve Jeanniton. MD, is 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 Double Feature serum — perfect for boosting collagen production.

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.”

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. 

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.