By Aaron Kiel, World Tea News
BLK and Bold, a specialty tea and coffee company based in Des Moines, Iowa, is receiving some high-profile attention as a result of a new initiative from award-winning actress and producer, Gabrielle Union, co-founder of Flawless by Gabrielle Union, in partnership with celebrity hairstylist Larry Sims.
Union and Sim’s initiative is called “Lift As We Climb,” and it aims to support black-owned businesses – such as BLK and Bold – as well as community organizations.
According to the “Lift as We Climb” campaign announcement, it’s estimated that almost half of black-owned businesses will not survive the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. And as a majority black-owned business, Flawless by Gabrielle Union will lend its support to others by highlighting black-owned brands across its social channels and web pages to elevate visibility and opportunities for those entities. The idea is that consumers will learn more about each brand and then purchase products from them directly or via Gabrielle Union’s celebrity page on Amazon.com.
BLK & Bold – one of four companies receiving attention from the initiative at the moment – was founded in 2017 and sells tea and coffee products direct to consumers, as well as wholesale to independently-owned restaurants and coffeehouses across the United States.
Rod Johnson and Pernell Cezar, founders of BLK & Bold, said, “Our inclusion in the ‘Lift As We Climb’ initiative is validating to why BLK & Bold exists. As we hope to bring along for the ride a community and more specifically a demographic that we care deeply about by way of our social impact model, aligning with these types of initiatives amplifies those efforts.”
BLK & Bold’s tea offerings include: Chai Loose Leaf Green Tea, Hibiscus Citrus Loose Leaf Herbal Tea, Matcha Green Tea Powder, Roasted Yerba Mate Loose Leaf Herbal Tea and Moroccan Mint Loose Leaf Green Tea, among many others. Their products can be found at their website and on Amazon.com, Target.com and select Target and Whole Foods Markets across the United States.
Cezar and Johnson, who’ve been friends since childhood, founded BLK & Bold because they felt unfulfilled by legacy brands and opted to build one that represented their core values, the communities they identified with, and the opportunity to allow anyone to partake in realizing a greater shared societal purpose.
A Tea & Coffee Company with Purpose
In addition to being recognized by the “Lift as We Climb” campaign, BLK & Bold officially became a certified B Corp business this year, which means the company uses profits and growth to positively impact employees, communities and the environment to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. B Corps also meet high standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.
On supporting businesses like BLK & Bold and other companies through the “Lift as We Climb Initiative,” Union noted, “We fully intend to support black-owned entrepreneurs in meaningful ways that lead to growth while encouraging and recycling the Black dollar in our community.”
“Lift As We Climb” is a year-round effort that will continue to feature community organizations, small businesses, thought leaders, entrepreneurs and business mentorship opportunities as Flawless by Gabrielle Union expands.
For additional information about the participating brands and organizations, such as BLK & Bold, visit the Flawless by Gabrielle Union store on Amazon.com. You can also learn more about BLK & Bold at BLKandBold.com.