The beauty industry continues to struggle with an ongoing contradiction–it’s centered on skin, yet fails to acknowledge all skin tones. Black company founders receive only 1% of venture capital and women, despite accounting for trillions in consumer spending, less than 1%. Funding inequities directly contribute to less than 10% of shelf space being dedicated to Black beauty in natural & personal care spaces.

While Aveeno's always existed to care for all skin types, we can always do more to create a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable skincare industry. We sought to:

Establish Aveeno as a leader in addressing racial inequity by driving solutions for the representation gap across the broader skincare industry through direct financing and support efforts to Black female entrepreneurs.

Make a meaningful impact and strengthen relevance with Black women by providing educational and financial support to Black female entrepreneurs looking to start and

grow their businesses

The skin care industry at large has failed to reflect the diversity of our world. The lack of skin care products and technologies that meet the needs of Black individuals is unacceptable. While no single brand or platform can solve these deeply rooted inequities, we must take action in the changes we want to see in our industry.

Findings which inspired our campaign:

Less than 10% of shelf space is dedicated to Black beauty

Black founders only receive 1% of venture capital

Only 3% of dermatologists are black

Melanoma survival rate is 65% for Black consumers vs. 91% for White consumers

In partnership with ESSENCE, Aveeno established the Skin Health Startup Accelerator Program to support the entrepreneurs, who have systemically and historically been excluded from these spaces, and whose ideas and solutions have the power to profoundly impact the health and beauty of all skin

Aveeno sought to reach Black female entrepreneurs with an innovative product addressing Black consumer skincare needs and compel them to enter the Skin Health Startup Accelerator Pitch Competition. The program was designed to propel the business of an emerging entrepreneur by offering the winner a $100,000 grant, along with mentorship from Aveeno business leaders, industry experts, and ESSENCE.

To generate awareness, Aveeno partnered with ESSENCE, a top media platform for Black communities, and launched a multi-platform campaign, including a dedicated hub housing the pitch competition entry and materials, as well as resources (articles & videos) for current and aspiring entrepreneurs. The content covered topics including:

Just Start! How to Get Through That First Crucial Step in Building a Skin Health Brand

Tools for Success from Aveeno Leaders

10 Tips for Building a Winning Pitch -Do's & Don’ts

Identifying Sources of Capital

Use Social Media to Reach New Consumers

To launch, Aveeno sponsored ESSENCE’s Entrepreneur Summit, where we hosted a seminar providing entrepreneurs with strategies and advice on how to elevate their businesses. We also announced the Skin Health Startup Accelerator Pitch Competition, encouraging entrepreneurs to access additional resources, along with entry materials on our dedicated hub on essence.com.

To enter, entrepreneurs submitted written & video pitches, after which finalists were contacted to make their pitches before judges. These captured pitches were featured on our hub for visitors to learn more about the brands, raising brand awareness for multiple Black-women-owned businesses, and opening conversations around the beauty industry and issues in representation and access.

To drive scale of the competition & resources, we launched a multi-platform campaign including a hub on essence.com to house information and resources for current/aspiring entrepreneurs. Distribution included 25M+ impressions across ESSENCE’s O&O properties including: on-site co-branded display, mobile promotion, newsletter sends, social media units.

We inspired 100+ insightful, innovative, and determined entrepreneurs to apply for the grant and mentorship. We were so impressed by the entries that we awarded a secondary $100,000 prize to the first runner up on the spot to accelerate her business as well!

Our grand prize winner utilized her resources to double revenue year-over-year, bringing her biggest year yet, and our runner-up further supported the ecosystem of Black-women owned businesses.

In addition to supporting Black female entrepreneurs in our industry in an effort to close the racial beauty care gap, we also grew brand relevance among our key audience, Black Women 18-49, as seen through the following lifts:

+17% ‘Aveeno's committed to expanding diversity in the skin health industry’

+13% ‘Aveeno's efforts will have a meaningful, enduring impact’

+15% ‘Aveeno's efforts to promote diversity feel genuine’

+15% ‘I feel represented in Aveeno's marketing content’

+5% brand affinity

+7% purchase intent