USA: BLM movement boost black-owned beauty brands

Rose Ingleton launched her own skincare line two years ago. At the time, she could not break into big brands.

And so she used her own funds and got financial help from family and friends.

The Black Lives Matter protests last year gave this Manhattan-based dermatologist the shine she needed.

"It's a bit more of a struggle, the door is not open widely for you to enter. You have to really prove yourself -- more proving of concept, proving that you are worthy of consideration. But after the happenings of 2020, there was a new interest in Black-owned brands. By that time, I had already launched. I was selling, just moderately though — limited population. But there was a very distinct difference. Suddenly, the introductions we tried to make previously took some footing", the founder of Rose Ingleton MD Skincare said.

With more than 2 decades of experience, Rose has now reconnected with beauty chain Sephora. Her products can be found on the retailer's website, and that of Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue in the United States.

"I went from zero retailers interested to having signed with seven of the most major retailers by the time we got to the end of 2020, so that's humongous", Dr. Rose Ingleton noted.

Corporations have come under pressure to promote diversity in the beauty industry.

Several giant retailers are now focusing on increasing their offerings of Black-owned brands.

Tiffany Gill is an Associate Professor of History at the Rutgers University. She said the ‘’changing racial climate is having an impact on what we see in stores’’.

"We've seen some major shifts when it comes to the marketing of beauty products. And much of it has to do with one, the pressure and activism that black women as consumers and as manufacturers have been putting on beauty companies as well as beauty distributors. And it also has to do with the changing racial climate as we see more activism around issues of race and racial inequality in the streets, that also is impacting what we see in stores", Gill said.

Over 20 companies including Sephora have signed onto a campaign called 15 Percent Pledge. The aim is to commit at least 15% of their on shelve-products to Black-owned businesses.