Thanks to Chris Montana, Du Nord Social Spirits is the first Black-owned distillery in the United States.
Chris Montana is making history with the nation's first Black-owned distillery. Montana, who had a rough childhood, is also using the establishment to give back to his Minneapolis community. @KathyParkNBC has the details on the incredible story behind "Du Nord Social Spirit." pic.twitter.com/6IuWLiDoDA
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) April 23, 2022
It's the day after Thanksgiving and online shopping is booming. Here is a list of African American online retailers that you may wish to support.
Milions will be spent between now and Cyber Monday, let's do our part to #BuyBlack during that time and spread the wealth around.
If you know of any more Black owned companies just drop the link in the comments section.
CultureFit
Shop CultureFit Here: https://www.culturefitclothing.com/
Bevel
Shop Bevel Here: https://getbevel.com/shave-kit
Becki Oakley
Shop Becki Oakley Here: https://www.beckicoakley.com/
PerryCo
Shop PerryCo Here: https://perrycoshoes.com/
Agnes Badoo
Shop Agnes Badoo Here: https://www.agnesbaddoo.com/
Mahogany Books
Shop Mahogany Books Here: https://www.mahoganybooks.com/
Talley & Twine
Shop Talley & Twine Here: https://talleyandtwine.com/
Third Crown (Jewelery)
Shop Third Crown Here: https://www.thirdcrown.com/
BLAC Minerals (make up)
Shop Blac Minerals Here: https://www.blacminerals.com/
The Lip Bar (make up)
Shop The Lip Bar Here: https://thelipbar.com/
Uhai Hair (hair care)
Shop Uhair Hair Here: https://uhaihair.com/ /a>
Flawless by Gabrielle Union (hair care)
Shop Flawless by Gabrielle Union Here: https://www.amazon.com/flawlessbygabrielleunion?tag=1258948-shoppingblackownedbiz-20
Brown Butter Beauty (skin care)
Shop Brown Butter Beauty Shop Here: https://www.brownbutterbeautyshop.com/
Hanahana Beauty (skin care)
Shop Hanahana Beauty Here: https://hanahanabeauty.com/
Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, the most award-winning American whiskey - including Bourbon - brand of 2019 and 2020, announces it has now become the best-selling African American owned and founded spirit brand in history, selling nearly 1.5 million bottles of its sought after super premium whiskey. The company's whiskey portfolio, available in more than 21,000 locations, is currently made up of its small batch whiskey (SRP $49.99), its rare single barrel whiskey (SRP $119), and its core aged whiskey offering (SRP $59.99).
"The spirits industry has never seen anything like this in all the years that data has been tracked through the three major data collection agencies for the industry," said Donn Bichsel, founder of 3 Tier Beverages, a spirits data collection and analyzation company. "No African American founded and led spirit brand has ever come close to what the Uncle Nearest brand and team have done. We analyzed every piece of credible data and Uncle Nearest is undoubtedly the top seller of all time, with the rest of the top 10 being so far behind, that they barely registered."
Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey debuted in July 2017 and expanded into all 50 states in less than two years. Built on its knack for sourcing the best of Tennessee Whiskeys and Bourbons, the whiskey is made using a non- temperature-controlled aging process and a unique post-aging double filtration method, which is then blended to perfection by fifth generation Nearest Green descendant and Uncle Nearest's master blender, Victoria Eady Butler. This process, in part, has led to the whiskey garnering more than 160 awards in its first three years, including Double Gold at the 2020 San Francisco World Spirit Competition and back-to-back honors of "World's Best" at Whisky Magazine's World Whiskies Awards, who last month presented Butler with their coveted Icons of Whisky award for Master Blender of the Year. Additionally, the groundbreaking company was a 2020 Inc. Magazine Best in Business honoree, and earlier today was named one of the top ten Most Innovative Companies in the North America category on Fast Company's prestigious annual list of the Most Innovative Companies for 2021.
In the fourth quarter of last year, Uncle Nearest was forced to throttle its growth, according to Fawn Weaver, CEO and founder of the brand. "Our bottling and distilling partner did an incredible job of ensuring every area of the distillery was socially distanced and followed the strictest COVID-19 guidelines, which meant we could only move so quickly and had to cap our third full year at 120,000 cases sold," said Weaver. In spite of that, the company recently announced to investors its ninth quarter in a row of more than 100% growth over the same time the previous year, and is on track to make that ten.
This month, Uncle Nearest greatly increased its shipping and bottling capabilities at its Nearest Green Distillery in Shelbyville, Tenn., with the company on track to sell 250,000 cases this year, only its fourth full year since their debut.
"I couldn't be more excited that this announcement is coming on the heels of International Women's Day, given that we are the only major spirit brand with an all-female executive team," said Victoria Eady Butler. "Reaching this achievement at this moment in time is important as it reminds folks that whiskey is the great equalizer. The support this brand has received has been across every race and gender. As it turns out, people just care that it's a damn good whiskey, only matched by the remarkable legacy of my ancestor."
Learn more about Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey at its website.
When Terina McKinney displays her leather bags and belts at events attended primarily by black women, they are often interested in her designs, and in her experience as an African-American business owner. But she seldom makes sales.
“They all ooh and ahh and ask a ton of questions, but don’t necessarily make purchases,” says McKinney, whose Jypsea Leathergoods products range from $20 to $325. Instead, her customers tend to be white or Asian women. While calls have been increasing for black consumers to support black-owned businesses with their buying power estimated at more than $1.2 trillion a year, social media campaigns with momentum like (hash)buyblack are relatively new. And McKinney’s frustration is shared by some other black business owners who say they can find it hard to sell to black consumers.
The factors can be logistical or practical, such as being located farther away or having higher prices than big chain stories, retail experts and civic leaders say. Scarcity can be a reason: It can be hard to find businesses owned by African-Americans. But other considerations might be emotional, like wanting a trendy design everyone is wearing, or the perception that national brands are better.
“There’s a myth that’s been placed on our communities for many generations: White people’s ice is colder. White businesses are superior to black businesses,” says Ron Busby, president of the U.S. Black Chambers, a national business organization for black-owned companies. “We have to change that mentality. We have to be better, conscientious consumers.”
Read More: Some black business owners strain to sell to black consumers
