If Grants for Black-Owned Businesses Are Eliminated, Your Favorite Beauty Brands Could Be Too

According to BrainTrust Founders Studio’s 2024 Economic Advancement Report, American residents of all races and ethnicities purchased new beauty and wellness products from Black-founded brands—over $142 million worth from national retailers in the past 12 months. In addition, it’s a myth that these companies create products fit for only Black consumers, who make up just over 14% of the population. In fact, many Black-owned brands offer products that can be used by nearly anyone, regardless of race.

But for the sake of argument, if we want to talk specifically about the power of the Black dollar, Nielsen reported Black consumer spending in the beauty space reached $9.4 billion in 2023, up $1.3 billion from April 2022. And in 2020, there were more than 3.7 million Black-owned firms in the US, with $226 billion in revenue generated by Black-owned businesses, and more than 1.3 million employees in the US.

But that 11th Circuit Court ruling will undoubtedly have a ripple effect that negatively impacts Black-owned businesses. Njuguna speculates that we could see more organizations that are currently focused on one community open up their grants to all applicants. “Leaders of color, and Black ones especially, already receive less funding to begin with,” she says. Getting rid of grants that are specifically targeted toward those founders “minimizes the ability to create an equitable economy, address racial bias, and target resources where they are most needed.”

On a larger scale, this could result in the closure of several Black-owned brands—and very few new companies getting established. But the good news is that the Black community has fought, and won, many of these types of battles before. “This is not a time to retreat and accept what is happening,” says Njuguna, “but to really galvanize calls for legal, legislative, economic, and other tools that foster an equitable economy, racial inclusion, and a just society.”

Consumers, who often feel helpless when these types of issues arise, also have remarkable power—and it’s not always about buying a physical product. In 2020, Young saw a big spike in interest for her brand, Oui the People. “We ended up with quite a lot of attention being paid to the brand. We sold out of products, more investors were interested in our business, and there was more visibility for us,” recalls Young, who recently shared a video on Instagram warning followers that “your favorite Black-owned brand may close this year.” “So, while dollars are important, the attention economy is what got us there. Don’t overlook likes, shares, engaging, comments—this all helps and makes a tremendous impact with volume.”

When it does come to spending, it has never been more vital to be a conscious shopper and support Black-owned brands. “[These brands] are experiencing a recession within a recession,” Young says in her video. “That is a recession of capital, that is a recession of ‘the flood of support,’ and that is a recession of visibility.” While there are undoubtedly systemic issues that need to be solved, it’s important that we, as consumers, don’t forget about the Black-owned brands we rushed to buy in 2020 so they can continue to exist, and so the US economy as a whole can become more equitable. Buying directly from Black-owned brands and supporting retailers who are committed to allocating space for these businesses sends a clear message: They are an essential part of the beauty landscape—now and in the future.