We are well aware that ownership is one way for the Black community to improve our socio-economic standing and help bridge the wealth gap. The wellness industry has a history of ignoring Black women when launching products. In the wellness space, in particular, we are seeing Black female entrepreneurs exploring creative business ventures, from creating healing spaces for Black women to products that help improve our health and quality of life. This is a lucrative industry considering it was valued at $4.4 trillion in 2020 and is forecasted to be worth $7.0 trillion in 2025. Fortunately, there’s a rise in Black women-founded wellness brands that are making self-care more accessible to people of color of all ages. Here are a few fast-growing and well-established Black woman-owned businesses you can support to keep our wealth-building efforts growing.
LaLa Milan of Fit Girl Bod
Lala Milan, made famous for her gut-busting comedy videos on social media, ventured into the world of health and wellness industry with her platform, Fit Girl Bod. She launched Fit Girl Bod to help slim women gain weight in all the right places. She sells a range of products including resistance bands, protein powders, and appetite booster gummies to help women achieve a healthy weight gain. Milan is furthering her reach in the health industry by releasing a line of menstrual products under the name Vagitaminz. Originally slated for release in the summer of 2021, consumers will have to wait for more information on the line which will include probiotics, suppositories and vaginal wash.
Lauren Ash of Black Girl in Om
Lauren Ash is a visionary, spiritual teacher, engaging speaker and writer, and founder and CEO of the culture-shifting lifestyle brand synonymous with Black women’s wellbeing—Black Girl In Om. Ash founded Black Girl in Om in 2014. From hosting the Black Girl In Om podcast — which has reached more than two million listeners within its four-season run — to touring the globe guiding meditations, yoga, and transformational conversations for thousands of Black women and women of color, Lauren has been affirmed for “fostering a community of healing” by The New York Times. She has been named “a master practitioner of #blackgirlmagic” and “a leading voice in the healthy-living world” by Well+Good.
Naj Austin of Ethel’s Club
When Naj Austin first launched Ethel’s Club, a subscription-based social and wellness platform for people of color, in 2019, her mission was to create a place where she, and other Black creatives, could meet in person and connect. Four years, 1,500 members, and one global pandemic later, Ethel’s Club has transformed into a digital clubhouse for all things wellness, offering everything from live-streamed yoga classes to online discussions with mental health practitioners, career coaches, and more, for just $16.99 a month. By building virtual spaces that encourage personal healing and wellness, Austin was named one of Inc’s 100 Female Founders transforming America and a woman making New York better.
Malaika Jones, Nia Jones, and Tai Beauchamp of BROWN GIRL Jane
Sisters Malaika and Nia Jones and wellness expert Tai Beauchamp created plant-based CBD wellness products specifically made for women of color. BROWN GIRL Jane sells wellness drops, fragrances, and CBD gumdrops. The women believe that it’s important to not only offer products with a super-popular, trending ingredient like CBD but provide a holistic, authentic platform for women to address the many facets of what wellness means to them. “
Necole Kane of My Happy Flo
Kane owns a brand that makes women’s health vitamins aiming to help improve hormones and minimize PMS symptoms. She suffered from gruesome periods, which led her on a journey to find a solution to that problem and inspired this brand. My Happy Flo is a plant-based supplement made from a blend of all-natural ingredients including DIM (Diindolylmethane) and Indole-3-Carbinol found in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and cabbage. It also features essential vitamins and minerals like Vitamin D3, B12, Iron, and Magnesium. “As a period wellness brand, it is very important for us to educate women on their menstrual cycle more so than selling a vitamin,” said Kane in an interview. “It’s very important for us to teach women the importance of knowing their menstrual cycle, the different phases of it, and also signs of what’s abnormal so that they can be diagnosed with conditions like fibroids, PCOS, endometriosis, earlier than they are now.
Dalychia Saah And Rafaella Smith-Fiallo of Afrosexology
When Dalychia Saah and Rafaella Fiallo first met one another at grad school in St. Louis, their similar interest in Black empowerment and sex positivity spurred an instant connection. After their first encounter, they birthed Afrosexology, a company dedicated to providing a comprehensive, pleasure-based education centered around the narratives and liberation of Black people. The duo covers taboo topics to promote healthy dialogue around sex, especially within the Black community. Afrosexology offers resources such as workshops, courses, and workbooks to guide people through their sexual exploration.
Taylor Lindsay-Noel of Cup of Té
After suffering a devastating fall from a high bar during practice, Taylor Lindsay-Noel, a then-14-year-old gymnast training to represent Canada in the 2012 Olympics, was rendered a quadriplegic and wheelchair-bound for life. In 2018, she launched Cup of Té, a luxury tea company, to bring the wellness benefits of loose-leaf tea to the masses. In addition to 19 blends of organic and ethically-sourced teas, the brand offers a gorgeous array of high-end tea accessories, including gold-finished infusers and cast-iron kettles, ensuring that Cup of Té is a one-stop shop for all your tea-related self-care needs.
Alechia Reese and Dr. Sanaa Jaman of Tru3 Yoga Agency
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, entrepreneurs Alechia Reese, a brand marketing strategist, and Dr. Sanaa Jaman, an internationally renowned yoga instructor, saw an opportunity. They found themselves in an unlikely position as business partners. They founded Tru3 Yoga Agency and launched the #BrandtoBusiness Accelerator Program which equips wellness leaders with the essential tools they need to transform their brands into profitable businesses. Their goal — help 10,000 women of color maximize and monetize their passion for wellness through a proven blueprint designed to help establish, launch, and scale their wellness businesses. By offering a comprehensive 12-week online course led by Jaman for $1,697 – which covers subjects ranging from accounting to management to trademarking rights – the duo is playing key roles in the success of Black women wellness leaders, which is resulting in a significant transformation of the predominately White, 4.5 trillion-dollar wellness industry.
Boitumelo Masihleho is a South African digital content creator. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Rhodes University in Journalism and Media Studies and Politics and International Studies. She’s an experienced multimedia journalist who is committed to writing balanced, informative and interesting stories on a number of topics. Boitumelo has her own YouTube channel where she shares her love for affordable beauty and lifestyle content.
