LOS ANGELES — Black-owned brands only account for a small portion of the beauty industry, but Black consumers are spending more than ever on beauty products, particularly hair care.
New entrepreneurs are launching their own brands to cater to the underserved market. One such entrepreneur is Ranay Orton, founder of Glow By Daye, who sought to create products to help with textured hair health after facing difficulties as a new mom.
“I just remember looking over and looking at my box braids at the time falling out of my satin bonnet and just thinking I need to upgrade. It’s time to upgrade,” Orton said. “I really did not think of it as like a brand and it became more because of the feedback that I got from our customers, and that’s where I saw that it was a need for more versatile intentionally designed products for natural curly hair.”
The brand evolved to include satin bonnets, shower caps, thermal heat caps, scarves and other products to help textured hair health.
Data from McKinsey shows that Black Beauty brands capture only 2.4% of revenue in the overall beauty market, lagging behind the 11.1% of Black consumer spend.
“Being in this space means so much because I’m able to shine light and give access to not only a certain standard of quality product, but also an experience,” Orton said.
Growing her business has not been without its challenges, Orton said, but credits continued progress to “being a part of different programs and masterminds that have helped us to get in the right spaces and gain access, such as the Amazon Black Business Accelerator,” Orton said.
Amazon’s Black Business Accelerator is dedicated to helping build sustainable growth for Black-owned businesses, backed by a $150 million commitment over four years.
As Black-owned brands continue to grow, there is excitement and advocacy for increased ownership and visibility. Emmy award-winning hair stylist and author Kiyah Wright is excited to see more textured hair care pros coming out with their own products.
“It’s really time that we get together and own our own market. It’s so important. So, I’m excited about all of these new brands like coming out with shampoos, conditioners, styling products, all of these hair growth products, all of the things that you know, we really invest in. Because our hair is a direct connection to our self-esteem, so it’s a necessity,” Wright said.
Representation in the industry is key, and brands like Glow By Daye are bringing much-needed diversity to the beauty industry.
"What makes this so fulfilling for me is to be able to bring value to so many peoples' healthy hair care journey, which is so important because it's such a major part of their personal life," Orton said.
You can find Glow By Daye online at www.glowbydaye.com and learn more about Kiyah Wright's 'From Beauty to Business' at www.kiyahwright.com.