WOC to launch #SimplyHolidays Beauty Box highlighting minority owned brands
Following its annual brunch event, WOC to launch 2024 Holiday Campaign
WOC Worldwide is launching a NEW! #SimplyHolidays Beauty Box highlighting minority owned brands, in conjunction with our next WOC Brunch to be held in Washington, DC on December 7th.
Women of Color (WOC) Worldwide, a digital community connecting retail professionals, brand founders and product enthusiasts, has kicked off its newest campaign to highlight women-owned and minority-owned brands. Following its successful Annual Women of Color Brunch in partnership with Simply, WOC Worldwide has launched its 2024 WOC Beauty Box to celebrate, uplift and amplify minority founders at a time when funding has reached an all-time low and DEI initiatives are being rolled back.
“As women, and especially black women, of course we are disappointed to see the pendulum swing so far so fast on the issue of DEI but we want founders focused on providing superior products at the right price, increasing brand awareness and building relationships that help them scale. The support these beauty brands enjoyed in the COVID and George Floyd investment era was short-lived, despite what the data says about minority women doing more with less. So, we are not just a community for founders, we connect them with retail partners, resources and consumers through campaigns and initiatives like this one, that increase their visibility and ultimately create value for the entire industry.” said founder and CEO, Brittany Hicks.
Since its inception, in 2018, WOC Worldwide has partnered with several organizations including Nordstrom, Amazon and Pinterest to lead qualitative research, digital campaigns and fundraising efforts that alleviate issues relevant to WOC, primarily in Retail, Cannabis, Beauty, Health and Wellness. As a result, the team has launched over a dozen brands in Nordstrom stores nationally, highlighted +150 women of color as experts in these industries, supported +100 community and advocacy partnerships, collected +50,000 data points supporting brand research and generated +100M impressions amplifying BIPOC founders.
The next WOC Annual Brunch, at Del Mar in Washington (DC), includes a conversation, moderated by news anchor and local media personality Megan Rivers, unpacking the impact of lawsuits against platforms like Hello Alice and The Fearless Fund on the WOC Worldwide community. Latoya Stirrup, Cofounder and CEO of Kazmaleje will share her experiences with funding over the last 5 years while building a national brand and expanding into retailers like Walmart and Target. Kazmaleje is exclusively self-funded through grants, including a $100,000 endowment from New Voices Foundation.
Simply is sponsoring the event as a part of its 2024 #SimplyHolidays Campaign with a focus on togetherness and simplicity through the holiday season. The event will include specialty cocktails with Simply Juices and a lavish gifting experience complete with 4 - 6 products from six minority-owned brands available in major retailers including Bolden Skincare, Rucker Root, Himistry Naturals, Keisha Elise Cosmetics, Kazmaleje and SPRBK. Simply will also provide swag and branded specialty glassware for guests to recreate their cocktail tasting experience at home!
In 2020, WOC hosted a small-format, COVID-safe event at Nordstrom’s NYC Flagship Store as a preview to its Inclusive Beauty Launch at a time when brand founders and tastemakers were being marginalized by campaigns and initiatives profiting from their creativity without being inclusive. After that event, Nordstrom Beauty announced the expansion of its product selection with a focus on Black-founded brands and the launch of an Inclusive Beauty category in store and online. WOC created a Black-Owned Beauty Box to celebrate that moment of inclusivity across retail with Nordstrom and Inde brands – including BeautyStat, Epara, Spraise, AJ Crimson Beauty, London Grant & Co and Auda B.
With the launch of the 2024 WOC Beauty Box, an homage to the first campaign, WOC is educating consumers on the best way to support founders and entrepreneurs. Building on the momentum from the event, WOC will share its 2025 events calendar with virtual events throughout the year and in-person events in Washington, DC, Raleigh, Charlotte and Atlanta. For more information contact hello@wocworldwide.com.