50 Black-Owned Businesses

Black-Owned Businesses

We want to continue to uplift and empower our community by showcasing other black-owned businesses. This is by no means an exhaustive list of all businesses, instead, it's a list of entrepreneurs and owners who sell beauty products, clothing, food and beverages, and much more. 

Here is our list of black-owned businesses that uphold a standard of excellence. Please consider supporting these brands by shopping their products #buyblack.

Beauty/Health

1. Black Girl Sunscreen

Founded by Shontay Lundy in 2016, this much-needed brand has quickly become a household staple among black women. Lundy wanted to create a natural non-white reside sunscreen brand for women of color. The sunscreen uses no parabens, or other harmful chemicals while infusing its ingredients to shield and moisturize skin.

2. Inherited Beauty

Say “HELLO” to your NEW Favorite Online Beauty Supply Store! We feature Black-Owned Hair Care Products and other beauty essentials. Our mission is to encourage and empower women of color to embrace their Inherited Beauty.

3. Beauty Bakerie

Founded by a single mother and breast cancer survivor, Cashmere Nicole shows that anything is possible. She started Beauty Bakerie in 2011 as a lipstick brand that was vegan, non-toxic, and cruelty-free. Her company’s following has surpassed 1 million followers and is continuing to grow.  

 

4. Uoma Beauty

UOMA Beauty is one of the most inclusive black-owned beauty brands. Pronounced (uh-mah), UOMA means beautiful and their mission is to rewrite the rules of inclusivity and diversity to create a world of beauty for everyone. Founded by Nigerian born, Sharon Chuter, the brand continues to break down barriers for all.

5. Coloured Raine Cosmetics

Founder Loraine R. Dowdy left her job in finance in 2013 and launched Coloured Raine Cosmetics. Her dream was the create bright-colored, high-quality products for every regardless of skin type and that’s exactly what the brand offers.

6. The Lip Bar

Born out of frustration with the beauty industry, Melissa Butler, a Detroit native, founded The Lip Bar. The beauty brand has grown into a national phenomenon with many praising it for being dedicated to creating beauty products that come in a large range of colors and use less harmful chemicals.

7. Mented Cosmetics

Harvard graduates, Kristen (KJ) Miller and Amanda Johnson created a line of makeup that is suited for WOC. Typically women of color had fewer options in terms of shades for beauty supplies but Mented rejects that reality with their inclusive products.

8. Epara Skincare

Founder Ozohu Adoh grew up in Nigeria and earned her MBA at Oxford University. In the Nigerian dialect of Ebira, “epara” means to “cocoon oneself”. She founded her brand Epara Skincare to created luxury skin-care products that cater to the underserved needs of women of color.

Accessories

9. Talley and Twine

Talley and Twine was created by Randy D Williams once he realized that most watch companies are simply emulating each other. His unique watches are detailed and attention-grabbing pieces that their customers love. They offer a range of watches including metal, leather, and canvas. The brand also sells watches for women.

10. Monrowe’s

The style emanating from Monrowe’s hats takes its cues from the ’40s and ’50s jazz, combining it with classic Western shapes. With timeless fashion at the forefront of its philosophy, there’s an understated boldness seen in the nuanced brims that are intricately woven together.

11. L’ENCHANTEUR

The durag is a standard-bearer in any black household. And L’ENCHANTEUR provides one of the more luxurious options for this traditional article of clothing. L’ENCHANTEUR is owned by two sisters, Dynasty and Soul Ogun, who’ve spent years honing their skills with textiles and jewelry. They applied their intricate skillset to producing some of the most high-end, eye-catching durags you’ll ever see. The sisters use lavish materials such as silk, velvet, and denim to add sophistication to the traditional garb.   

12. Love Cortnie

Cortnie Elizabeth took her passion and created a handbag and accessories company. Love Cortine began as an Etsy shop in 2011 with only 3 bags available. Now she has an online store for her bags and has branched out from only clutches to totes, bucket bags, waist bags, backpacks, and accessories.

13. Third Crown

Third Crown is the brainchild of Kristin and Kofi Essel, a wife-and-husband team who glean inspiration from their architectural surroundings to create gender-neutral pieces. Based in New York, this duo wanted a brand that translated their unique ideas into beautiful jewelry.

14. The Wrap Life

Founder Nnenna Stella started her company, The Wrap Life, back in 2014 after being dissatisfied with her job as a waitress. She wanted to work in fashion and found her calling in headwraps that represented her personal style. The Brooklyn-based brand sells many affordable headwraps that vary in design and style.

Clothing

15. D'IYANU

At D’IYANU, we offer trendy African inspired fashion at great prices for Men, Women and Kids. You’ll find a wide variety of ready-to-wear bold print clothing line for the entire family. Every single garment is designed in-house and carefully crafted with the utmost attention to detail and quality.

16. Wax and Wonder

Wax & Wonder by Afropolitan has an identity immersed in a desire to share. Their aim is also to offer support to the skilled artisans of Liberia. Because – along with Monrovia – that’s where this organization’s products are authentically handcrafted. The apparel and lifestyle products you’ll find at Afropolitan embody the African culture’s unique beauty and diversity.

17. Chelsea Bravo

Brookly-born, London based designer Chelsea Bravo founded her eponymous menswear label and hasn’t stopped since. Her collections now feature womenswear and menswear that feature modern and simplistic clothing. She makes a point to use natural and sustainable materials when creating her designs.

18. House of Aama

Founded by mother-daughter design duo Rebecca Henry and Akua Shabaka in 2015, House of Aama has pieces that look like they come from a different era. The brand is described as a “spiritual expression” of the founders. The nostalgic garments are designed with the help of historical research, archival analysis, and storytelling.

19. RiotSwim

Looking for a unique swimwear piece to add to your summer wardrobe? Riot Swim is a brand designed by Monti Landers featuring minimalistic silhouettes and shades that blend in seamlessly with darker skin tones. The brand has many stunning swimwear designs featuring distinctive cut outs.

20. Cushnie

Join the likes of Ashley Graham, Jennifer Lopez, and Lupita Nyong’o, and shop designer Carly Cushnie’s brand Cushnie. The brand offers luxury clothing that are eye-catching. Look sleek and stylish in any of her designs. Cushnie was established in 2008 with the desire to serve the modern woman.

Hair Care Products

21. Melanin Haircare

You may already be familiar with the CEO of Melanin Haircare. Whitney White, aka Naptural85 on any social platform create this brand after finding wide success from her helpful YouTube videos. She describes her products as affordable luxury hair products featuring only the best ingredients.

22. Briogeo

In 2014, Nancy Twine launched her natural haircare brand, Briogeo, and by the end of 2018, her revenue reached $10 million. Her products, made with natural ingredients, are now sold in large retail stores such as Sephora internationally.

23. Curls

Mahisha Dellinger launched Curls in 2002, doing much of the grunt work herself. It was a labor of love that paid off once she landed a partnership with Target. Today, about 80% of the company’s revenue is generated from selling her products in stores. She has written a book about her journey, “from the projects to the penthouse” and had her own TV show on Oprah’s OWN Network – Mind Your Business with Mahisha.

24. Camille Rose

Camille Rose, like many similar brands was created out of personal need for hair products that used natural products and worked well for black women. It is an extensive brand boasting 30 product ranges and 6 collections. Customers rave about the quality of their products and this ties back to the company’s commitment to the quality in ingredients.

25. CurlMix

To get CurlMix started, CEO Kimberly Lewis came up with the idea to have her husband sign up for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire – and he won $100,000 which they invested into the company. What began as a subscription service grew to a profitable and popular hair care line.

 

26. Rucker Roots

Two sisters, Ellen and Ione Rucker were inspired by family recipes for homemade hair care products. Their mother used vegetables and fresh food ingredients to keep their hair strong and healthy. Rucker Roots believes that good hair starts at the room and many products are derived from ginger and carrot root.

27. Oyin Handmade

Founded in 2001 by Jamyla Bennu, Oyin Handmade focuses on creating good products for Afro-textured hair. The word, “oyin” means honey in the Yoruba language and it’s a staple ingredient in many of the brand’s products. Oyin also offers body-care products in addition to their haircare line.  

28. Naturalicious

Naturalicious launched in 2013. The founder, Gwen Jimmere, wanted to create a line of products that cut down on the amount she used on her hair. She created two three-step systems for wash days, with one focused on looser textures and the other on tight textures.

29. TPH by Taraji

One of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Taraji P. Henson, decided to create her own line of hair care after experiencing many stylists who didn’t know how to work with her Black hair. TPH includes scalp care, cleansers, treatments, natural hair, wigs, locs, and much more.

Tech

30. Noirbnb

A once Airbnb renter, Stefan Grant had the cops called on him by neighbors in an Atlanta neighborhood because they assumed he had broken into the property he was renting. He realized that many black Americans run into this issue and founded Noirbnb along with Ronnia Cherry and Jide Ehimika. Noirbnb is a home-sharing site that targets black homeowners and renters specifically.

31. Esusu

Nigerian-born entrepreneur, Abbey Wemimo, and his business partner, Samir Goel, co-founded Esusu in 2019. It’s a mobile platform that helps individuals mostly from marginalized communities save money, access capital, and build credit.

32. Innclusive

For similar reasons as Stefan Grant, Rohan Gilkes and Zakiyyah Myers founded Innclusive. Over 21,000 people signed up ahead of the website’s launch and many more followed once the site was live. The goal of the founders was to give people of color a site that ensured less discrimination and problematic situations due to race.

33. Calendly

Need a black-owned scheduling app? Look no further than Calendly. Founded by Tope Awotona in 2013 and headquartered in Atlanta, this popular app helps users increase their revenue by streamlining the scheduling process for meetings and appointments. It’s one of the highest-rated scheduling apps and they offer both a paid and free version.

34. LISNR Inc.

LISNR Inc. was founded in 2012 and is the creator of Smart Tones, a new ultrasonic communication protocol for sending data over audio. The company was founded by Rodney Williams, CEO.

Food & Beverage

35. McBride Sisters Collection

The story of the McBride sisters is interesting, to say the least. For nearly half their lives, Robin McBride and Andrea McBride-John didn’t know the other existed. The half-sisters who were raised separately in California and New Zealand met in 1999. Six years after their meeting they launched their wine business. Their winery ranks in the top 3% of the nation’s wineries and 90% of their staff are women and more than half are people of color.

36. Chicago French Press

Kris Christian, a former Wall Street Analyst, was inspired after grinding her coffee with dried fruits, chocolate, and nuts. She wanted a sweeter coffee on the market instead of the typical strong coffee that is sold at most stores. Chicago French Press is now an online coffee store that sells a variety of blends. The coffee is certified organic, fair-trade and non- GMO.

37. Crowns and Hops

This company started with a Tinder match and a date at a brewery. The personal relationship fizzled out, but they saw the benefit in a business relationship. In 2019, they launched Crowns & Hops focused on inclusivity in the brewing community. Their bestseller is “BPLB,” or “Black & Brown People Love Beer.”

38. Partake Foods

Born in 2017, Denise Woodward founded Partake Foods, a startup that specializes in allergen-free cookies. She quit her corporate job to focus on the company, often selling the items out of the trunk of her car. In 2019, Jay-Z’s investment firm, Marcy Venture Partners invested $1 million into her company. Partake Foods now sells cookies in Target stores and is looking to expand into Sprouts, The Fresh Market, and Whole Foods.

39. Golde

Trinity Mouzon Wofford and Issey Kobori cofounded Golde, a Brooklyn-based superfood health and beauty brand, when they were both 23 years old. This young brand was launched in 2017 and as of 2019 can be found in stores like Sephora and Urban Outfitters. Mouzon Wofford became the youngest woman of color to ever launch a brand at Sephora.

40. Red Bay Coffee

Keba Konte founded Red Bay in 2014 and while its five Bay Area cafes are closed, the company is still selling wholesale and retail online. The brand sells many different prepackaged coffee bags with a detailed description of how that blend of coffee should taste and affect your body.

Finance

41. OneUnited Bank

OneUnited Bank is America’s largest Black-owned bank. They are dedicated to helping develop urban communities across the nation. The bank invests in financial literacy for the youth and other educational services.

42. Advent Capital Management

Founded by Tracy Maitland in 1995, the investment firm has grown tremendously. Valued at $9 billion, they specialize in defensive investment strategies involving convertible bonds, designed to protect against downside while capturing most of the stock market’s gains. They are dedicated to uplifting underrepresented communities and 55% of the Advent’s staff are women and minorities

43. Brown Capital Management

Eddie Brown started the business in 1983 and although now fully owned by employees, he created one of the top-performing investment firms in the world. Brown Capital Management’s flagship Small Company Fun has generated an average annual return of 12% plus since 1992.

44. Ariel Investments

The United States’ largest minority-run mutual fund was founded in 1983 by John W. Rogers Jr. He founded Ariel Investments to focus on patient, value investing with small and medium-sized companies.

45. Industrial Bank

Some may already know of this bank, which was founded in 1934 by Jesse H. Mitchell. Since then, the bank has delivered essential banking and financial services to the Washington, DC community. Industrial Bank offers a range of services including cash management, host of checking, savings, and investment accounts, corporate online banking, debit cards, and many other things.

 

Wellness

46. BLK + GRN

Need a place to shop for all things non-toxic by Black artisans? BLK + GRN has you covered. This online marketplace is filled with wonderful natural products created by black people. Their categories include grocery, home, hair, beauty, menstrual care, and more.

47. The Honey Pot

The first-ever plant-based feminine care system was created by Beatrice Dixon. This innovative woman founded The Honey Pot as a solution for women who were tired of menstrual products created with toxic ingredients. The brand offers many products including natural cleansers, wipes, pads, tampons, creams, and bath bombs.

48. Vibrant Health

Vibrant Health currently ranks 81 on the Black Enterprise List of the nation’s largest black-owned businesses. Founder Mark Timon started this dietary supplement company to help people feel better with using natural hand-sourced ingredients.

49. Black Girl in Om

Established in 2014, Lauren Ash started Black Girl In Om is a community for women of color to heal. The brand offers meditations designed with women of color in mind. They have also introduced The Circle, which is meant to “cultivate a nourishing experience promoting personal growth, spiritual awakening, and community support.”

50. Heal Haus

From their Brooklyn-based storefront café, the HealHaus team offers holistic wellness through meditations and yoga. Classes can be booked online, but due to COVID-19, they are offering new online programs with live streaming opportunities for yoga, meditation, workshops, and more.