Beauty
The Lip Bar Is Now The Largest Black-Owned Cosmetics Company In Target
Founder Melissa Butler is now taking up major space in 1,000 stores across the country.
Melissa Butler has just made Black beauty history. The beauty boss announced that her groundbreaking vegan lippie and makeup brand, The Lip Bar, is now the largest Black-owned makeup company on Target shelves.
[SEE ALSO: 7 Black-Owned Matte Lippies To Perfect Your Pout]
The Detroit native announced on Instagram that The Lip Bar and her new cosmetics brand, Thread Beauty, are now taking up “six shelves of space” in select locations. “We are the first Black-owned makeup company to take up this much space,” wrote Butler. “I just love making Black History during Black History Month.”
In addition, the brands can now be found in 1,000 stores across the country. And, of course, with the increased shelf space, comes more in-store offerings, including new skincare, eye shadow, and liquid mattes.
The Lip Bar first made its retail debut in 2018, three years after she was laughed out of a “Shark Tank” pitch. She launched online with one SKU, bootstrapping collection of nude lippies designed for women of color. Since then, she has expanded the brand to serve up everything for a full face beat and skincare while pushing the narrative on inclusive beauty.
In 2019, she opened up her flagship retail store in Detroit. Last year, she expanded her cosmetics reach with Thread Beauty, a beauty brand centering Gen Z an dBIPOC beauty needs. She also took out billboards across five cities, including her native Detroit, calling out “Shark Tank” investors for doubting her. “Shark Tank told me to quit. 10 years and 2 million units sold. Thanks, Mr. Wonderful.”
“When you see a lot of brands with the big space, it’s [the] conglomerates. It’s not like little Black girls from Detroit taking up this much space,” said on Instagram. “This is f*cking crazy.”
