Spelman sisters Malaika Jones, Tai BeauchampAnd Nia Jones make it their mission to put black women at the center of wellness and self-care with their luxury fragrance company Brown Girl Jane.
Launched in 2020, Brown Girl Jane is a high-end fragrance brand created by Spelmcolor women for women of color. Drawing on their collective experiences, the co-founders envisioned a brand that would redefine and reintroduce wellness through the authentic experiences of Black femininity.
“There’s a certain level of exclusivity and luxury that comes with wellness because of the heightened awareness and conversations we’re beginning to openly and enthusiastically have about burnout and mental health. Even some of the sub-celebratory elements that black women have is that we are the most educated demographic in the country. The fact that we start businesses more often than any other demographic means we do more, but may not have as much access to the things that would support and promote our overall well-being and well-being, so there’s more to do… Brown Girl Jane, you know them as the three Spelman sisters, all with very different lifestyles and life experiences, marriage, children you know, leadership in finance, leadership in insurance and philanthropy, leadership in the media, and knowing that our girlfriends who are all have similar stories, but still unique stories, [we had to think] How do we support their needs to make them feel healthier, more motivated, happier, more inspired, [and] better equipped,” Beauchamp told Black Enterprise.
From Spelman College to business associates, these women developed a friendship that would provide the blueprint for their successful business. The journey back to each other, however, began beyond the Spelman Gates.
“So we met in Spelman, Tai and I are a year apart but we’re both tall. And so we would do the big girl way. And we had a lot of mutual friends, so we didn’t know each other well when we were at Spelman, but we definitely saw each other, you know, and then we were both in New York at the same time, in very different industries. And so it was more of a friendly pass when we saw each other. And of course my birth sister Nia also went to Spelman, but that was a few years ago and her best friend is close friends with Tai. So we had all these connections…it was really 10 years later when we started another level of sorority through Brown Girl Jane. Again, you know, I came up with the concept of the store and spoke to Tai about her unique experiences, which were very different from my own in many ways, but the needs and solutions were so similar, right? And while I was on Wall Street, I think you [Tai] have hosted a traveling show around the world and worked in production and all sorts of things. We were still looking for the same end-of-day solutions in wellness when it mattered most, and together we wanted to address what this brand and community could look like if we took a holistic approach, very purposeful and solution-oriented,” said Malaika to Black Enterprise.
Ultimately built with love at a time when the world was reinventing a new normal, these founders embraced the new normal and found ways to prioritize what personal care would look like in the future.
“When we first launched the collection, we looked at supplements and what they could do internally. As we turned to the scent [we wanted to] also to change the way fragrances have traditionally been used and to innovate in this area. Not just because there’s fragrance technology that we [have] used, which has been proven in more than 25 years of studies [that] show that the way our frequencies are designed instantly improves your mood. But beyond that, we want to remind Black women and all women, especially Black women, that this experience is for you… so for us we just wanted to be really innovative and change the way we think about wellness, change the solutions They know that in a way we experience wellness and obviously we can build a community around it and remind our wives of that it is for them… The focus is on realizing that we are at a very intended and central point where awareness exists. There is talk and excitement from black women specifically about what it is like for us on our own terms. And that’s why Brown Girl Jane is here,” Tai told Black Enterprise.
The brand is preparing to launch its second fragrance collection this year. It continues to support its efforts to support small businesses owned by black women through its initiative with SheaMoisture called #Browngirlswap.