Glossier Grant Initiative For Black-Owned Beauty Businesses
Out of 10,000 Applications, Glossier Selected 16 Businesses For Its Grant Initiative
UPDATE: Glossier has released the names of the selected participants for the Grant Initiative For Black-Owned Businesses. Out of nearly 10,000 applications, 16 companies were chosen. "These 16 businesses — ranging from a superfood-based beauty and wellness company to a soon-to-launch men's hair care brand — blew us away with their vision, ingenuity, and passion for changing the beauty industry for the better," wrote Kim Johnson, senior community manager at Glossier, in a press release.
The participants were divided into three categories: the growth-stage includes businesses launched over 12 months ago and were given the grant amount of $50,000 per business (approximately £37,700). The brands included in this stage are AbsoluteJOI, Alodia Hair Care, Golde Wellness, Hanahana Beauty, and Melanj Hair. The early-stage includes businesses that launched in the past 12 months and were given $30,000 per business (approximately £23,000). Included in this category are Brown Girl Jane, Epi.logic, Flaunt Body, Kanti, Luna Magic, Redoux, and The Most. Lastly, the prelaunch category includes businesses that have finalised business plan with hopes to launch within the next 12 months. Each business was given $10,000. This includes Deon Libra, Eadem, Pound Cake, and Wavy Blue.
This post was originally published on 12 June.
Amid the worldwide protests happening in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, many brands in the beauty industry have taken action. One brand at the forefront is Glossier, which announced on May 30 that it will be donating $1 million (approximately £800,000) to organisations focussed on combating racial injustice and grants for Black-owned beauty businesses. Now, more details regarding the latter have been revealed.
Founder and CEO Emily Weiss shared details of Glossier's Grant Initiative for Black-Owned Businesses on 11 June and officially started accepting applications. US-based Black beauty entrepreneurs can apply for a grant in the sum of $10K, $30K, or $50K, depending on need. If selected, Glossier will also provide advisory support on things like supply chain, packaging, and content strategy and use its network to promote the funded brands.
Beauty brands that make cosmetics, skin care, body care, and hair products as well as beauty tools are eligible to apply. Weiss explained that submissions will be evaluated based on three main factors: the message, the brand, and the plan. The application closes on July 3, and Glossier estimates roughly 15 businesses will be selected.
Weiss shared that she wanted to take action to address the inequity and lack of support that Black-women-led businesses get in the business world, citing statistics that in 2014 "only 3.1 percent of venture dollars raised by U.S.-based companies went to women" and "Black women have received only .0006 percent" of venture capital raised since 2009.
