6 Women-of-Color-Owned Small Businesses to Support in 2022 – The Table of Spice
Whether it’s recognizing Small Business Appreciation Month in May or celebrating Small Business Saturday after Thanksgiving in November, there are tons of hard working small businesses out there that deserve to be supported year-round.
What’s really interesting is that if you look at U.S. government data, it shows that 50% of women-owned small businesses are owned by minorities. In other words, women of color are dominating their industries. We’re going for it and we’re succeeding, literally half of the time.
I know from experience that starting a brand is not an easy task. There is truly something to be said for all the women who have had a clear vision for themselves and their businesses – and went out to achieve it.
With that in mind, and as a South Asian myself, I wanted to share some of my favorite minority women-owned small businesses this year. I’ve rounded up four small businesses for you to support in 2022, ranging from art to cosmetics to fashion, and more. I’ve even partnered up with a few of them to get you an exclusive Table of Spice discount code as a thank-you for being a supporter of both of us.
Verve & Vogue is an online South Asian fashion boutique founded by Rina Patel. This small business curates a selection of pieces from both established and emerging designers. Its main goal is to make South Asian fashion more accessible to women throughout the U.S. and beyond.
Founder Rina Patel had always wanted to create a multi-designer boutique for women like her. From a young age, she had a great love of fashion and her culture. However, she always found it difficult and time-consuming to find contemporary clothing that also honored traditional South Asian culture.
If she did happen to find something, it was the result of hours of searching, and she usually still couldn’t get her hands on the item. Most designers of such pieces are located in India, leaving women abroad with few options for their desi wear.
It was with this mission in mind that Rina founded Verve & Vogue. Created by women for women, Verve & Vogue aims to “empower the contemporary woman by providing access to modern, unique fashion that enhances her confidence, honors her culture, and supports the artisanship of South Asian designers.”
Verve & Vogue focuses on high quality and fine craftsmanship. Their pieces feature unique embroidery, exclusive patterns, modern silhouettes, and more. In addition to providing increased exposure to designers local to India, they emphasize sustainability by implementing solutions to reduce waste and overproduction that exists in the fashion industry.
As someone who is incredibly passionate about my South Asian heritage, (as you may know well from my Indian Fusion Desserts and other traditional recipes) brands like this truly inspire me. Not only is Verve & Vogue built ethically, but it also is the picture of a new age of success, blending both Western and traditional South Asian cultures together.
Arjuna Designs, or Arjuna, is an online lifestyle and home decor boutique, focused on the South Asian aesthetic. It is a platform through which creatives come together from all around the world to celebrate and share in their artistry, design, curation, and culture.
The brand specializes in providing South Asian-inspired home decor, goods, and accessories that reflect classic patterns and designs but are reimagined in a modern way.
Founder and CEO, Sushmitha Pidatala built Arjuna from the ground up, with nearly no experience with e-commerce or brand-building. Fresh out of corporate America, she committed to her vision and now has an incredibly successful business.
Sushmitha went from being stuck behind a desk at the World Bank to now traveling the world trying to ink deals, improve sales, and troubleshoot operations for Arjuna Designs. When I spoke to her, she said, “It’s been a wild ride so far, but one that’s pushed me to reassess my own capabilities while growing something out of nothing.”
One of my personal favorite items from Arjuna is the Masala Dabba. I love that I can incorporate my culture into my home in such a chic and elegant way while sharing that deep heritage and rich culture directly from vendors in India.
I want you to be able to have the same experience in your homes (and kitchens!) as well. You can now use the code ‘TABLEOFSPICE10’ at checkout to get 10% off your entire purchase.
Creative Crafty Mom is a hand-crafted gift and decor collection founded by Nimisha Patel in 2016. Nimisha first started crafting as a hobby when she became a stay-at-home mom.
She made beautiful creations by hand, ultimately mastering string art. Soon, her friends and family were eager to get some pieces of their own, and from there Creative Crafty Mom quickly took off to become a business.
Nimisha featured her art at local craft shows and opened up an Etsy shop to sell her crafts. Now, her business has grown to offer holiday items, string art, rakhis, personalized gifts, and more.
When I spoke with her, Nimisha said, “Over the years my children have been my biggest motivators in helping me design products to helping me test the products. My goal has always been to be able to offer unique but useful gifting options and décor pieces.”
You can use the coupon code ‘SWETA’ for 10% off any purchase, excluding string art Ganesha.
Basic Beauty is a Black woman-owned indie cosmetics brand that creates cruelty-free, long-lasting cosmetics with high-quality, paraben-free ingredients. Its founder Nicole Gujral is also the CEO of Saint Luxe and Basic Skin, two other cosmetic and skincare lines that empower women of all skin tones.
Nicole is a former makeup artist and hairstylist. As a Black woman, she wanted to create products with every shade in mind. When I spoke with Nicole, she told me, “Growing up with an African American mother, I used to see the struggles of the lack of inclusion when purchasing makeup. My mother and I could never really share products and that saddened me. I knew one day I could make a difference. Fast forward to when I married into a Punjabi family, my mother-in-law and I were always on the hunt for the perfect maroon lip colors. Those two women have played such a vital part of my inspiration when I am creating products.”
Nicole also prioritizes giving back as much as she can across all her brands. Basic Beauty partners with several charitable organizations, including The Rise of Broken Women in NYC, the Center of Great Expectations, and the TIS Foundation, among many others.
She said, “Being that I always have wanted to help, philanthropy tied in with helping women to feel beautiful is a dream come true that I live daily. We try to always give back to foundations that are founded by African American women. Our goal is to select foundations that are dedicated to helping homeless women and children uplift and support them.”
You can shop across all brands – Basic Beauty, Saint Luxe, and Basic Skin – and get 20% off with the code “tableofspice” at checkout.
Be Kind Fitness is an online accessory retailer founded during the pandemic by Karishma Patel. Her main goal in starting Be Kind was to spread kindness through her products. They sell tumblers with metal straws to reduce the impact of plastic on the Earth, unisex tees and hats that cater to all genders, and more.
When I spoke to her, she said, “We are so hard on ourselves, and I wanted our products to remind people to be kind to themselves and others.”
As a reminder that everyone fights their own, silent battles, Karishma wanted to be able to encourage acts of kindness and positive self-talk through everyday items and accessories.
Which neutral styles and classy items, I think Be Kind’s shop has something for everyone! You can shop their Black Friday sale this holiday season for 25% off everything by using the code ‘THANKFUL25’ at checkout.
Every Girl Dolls is a South Asian doll company founded by Snehali LASTNAME and Payal LASTNAME in 2020 to normalize and embrace South Asian beauty for the next generation.
Growing up, neither of these women ever had a South Asian doll, even in India. In fact, finding a doll with brown skin anywhere was difficult! The two co-founders decided to solve this problem and bring more representation by designing an 18-inch South Asian doll with beautiful, brown skin, fully decked out in cultural wear.
The doll comes dressed in a lehenga and accessorized with bindis to give young children a toy that represents their South Asian identity.
When I spoke with Snehali, she said, “Our mission is to create dolls that represent our children, so they can see themselves in their play, celebrate their uniqueness, and share their culture with family, friends, and classmates. We’ve created the doll that we wish we had growing up.”
If you’re shopping for young kids in your family this holiday season, use the code ‘Spice2022’ to get a discount on your Every Girl Doll purchase.
There is so much data on the impact of investing in women-owned small businesses. Not only do women give back to their communities more, but 62% of female entrepreneurs claim their businesses as their primary income source.
In other words, supporting women-owned businesses means directly supporting communities and families. Whether you’re holiday shopping, looking for birthday gifts or housewarming presents, or just want to splurge on yourself, support these small businesses to do more with your dollar.
Take it from someone who has built their own brand from scratch – it means a lot to us.
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