This month marks the end of our second class of Yotpo Grow, our year-long program designed to accelerate the growth of Black-owned brands we believe in. From 550 submissions, we chose eight growing brands to partner with Yotpo to drive growth and customer retention.
(Update: Yotpo Grow is now Yotpo RX!)
Brands in the program have not only had free access to Yotpo’s platform and products, but also dedicated customer support strategists to help them succeed, along with access to marketing opportunities, workshops, and mentors. In our second year of the program, we also brought partners along to provide additional support, including Searchspring, Justuno, and Curio.
These brands have accomplished so much since joining the program, and we are so proud to have played a part in that success. Here’s what the eight brands in the program have been up to, from grants to new products, and even a major acquisition!
Gwen Beloti Collection
Brooklyn native Gwen Beloti founded her namesake brand in 2019 because of her love of fashion and style. Her gold jewelry is accessible and inclusive, available in a variety of sizes and lengths.
Since joining the current Yotpo Grow class, Gwen Beloti Collection has made some amazing strides. The brand is now carried at Saks Fifth Avenue. In May of 2023, Gwen was named “Feature Artisan of the Month” at The Reboli Center for Art and History. And the biggest milestone the brand has achieved is being selected for the Emerging Designers Diamond Initiative (EDDI), a program that provides opportunities, removes barriers to entry, and offers unparalleled access to industry education and resources to Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) jewelry designers. Her natural diamond collection — Gwen Beloti Fine Jewelry — launches in Fall 2023. Using Yotpo’s platform has helped the brand achieve 18x ROI on Loyalty & Referrals, 240x ROI with the Yotpo SMS VIP tier flow and 190x ROI with the abandoned cart flow.
“Working with the Yotpo team has been absolutely amazing. As a small business with a tiny team, to be able to get support with an aspect of our business that we have been struggling with has been such a blessing. Getting our SMS marketing, loyalty, and UGC content in order and consistently working on it alongside a dedicated CSM has been game-changing, and really set us up for further success.” — Gwen Beloti
Dope Coffee
Michael and Michelle Lloyd founded Atlanta, Georgia-based Dope Coffee in 2019 after running two successful coffee shops in Wilmington, North Carolina. The brand’s mission is to bridge the worlds of coffee, hip-hop, and culture.
Earlier this year, the brand opened a 6,000-square-foot facility in Decatur, Georgia, which includes the company’s coffee bean roasting, manufacturing, and warehousing operations; a multimedia production facility; offices; a community event space, and the Dope Coffee Cafe. The brand has also expanded its retail footprint in North Carolina and launched a collaboration with Atlanta rapper GRIP. Leveraging Yotpo’s platform has increased the brand’s loyalty participation rate by 10%, and by launching Yotpo Subscriptions on all their coffees, Dope Coffee is driving higher repeat purchases across their products.
“Since joining Yotpo Grow, Dope has seen over $8k in revenue from Yotpo SMS with a 67x ROI.” — Bipan Sarker, Dope Coffee’s Customer Success Manager at Yotpo
Anne’s Apothecary
Anne Suinner-Lawoyin is a nurse turned natural beauty philosopher. She founded Anne’s Apothecary as a therapeutic outlet following the loss of her mother to cancer. The brand is on a mission to provide clean, budget-friendly skincare using cold-pressed, herb-infused oils, clays, and other natural ingredients.
In the spring of 2023, the brand was one of 50 chosen for She’s Next in Fashion, Empowered by Visa, a program to provide resources and amplification to women-owned small businesses in fashion and beauty. Selected brands receive cash grants and digital and social content to help their businesses thrive.
“Yotpo Grow helped kick start our loyalty program Feel Good Club, and simplified management of our multi-channel marketing. The team behind Yotpo Grow were equally invested in seeing each of us succeed and this meant a lot to me.” — Anne Suinner-Lawoyin
Moonshot Snacks
Julia Collins founded Moonshot Snacks out of a desire to create a better world with climate-friendly snacks and then taking it one step further by building a platform called Planet FWD that allows other food companies to do the same.
This was a huge year for Moonshot Snacks. Patagonia Provisions — the food and beverage division of Patagonia — acquired the brand. The acquisition was the first in more than 20 years for Patagonia, and was part of an effort to invest in businesses and products that support the company’s mission to save the planet.
Be Rooted
Jasmin Foster founded inclusive stationary brand Be Rooted to create a space for women of color to see themselves in a place they hadn’t been before. Weaving culture into every journal and planner design and message, the brand inspires customers to explore their inner muse and celebrate self.
Since joining the roster of Yotpo Grow brands, Jasmin has been profiled by Essence and the brand has expanded their presence at Target, growing from two SKUs to now being featured across three aisles after expanding their product lines. Jasmin also holds the distinction of being the first Black women-owned brand to launch in Target.
“Since launching with Yotpo, Jasmin has been able to exponentially grow her business and has officially leased her first office space to spearhead operations.” — Kian Khatami, Be Rooted’s Customer Success Manager at Yotpo
Goldmine & Coco
Stationary and lifestyle brand Goldmine & Coco was founded by Felicia Jarrell in 2017 with a mission to disrupt the stationery industry by creating a luxury brand that focuses on black women. Since then, the brand has grown from a tiny Etsy shop into a thriving community of like-minded women, each seeking to make their mark on the world while cherishing the journey.
Since joining the Yotpo Grow program, Goldmine & Coco was named an Inc. 5000 Honoree and expanded their retail offering in Target.
Rahyma
Rahyma is a luxury African-inspired clothing line and namesake brand of founder Rahyma Awanife, a Nigerian-born designer based in Canada. The brand specializes in eye-catching, one-of-a-kind apparel in bold prints, with fabrics locally sourced across Africa and produced in the southwest part of Nigeria by a small group of artisans paid living wages.
Over the past year, Rahyma has expanded to in-store retail at Nordstrom Canada and at Wolf & Badger in NYC.
YUUMA
“Yuuma” means “mother” in Nigerian, and Donnya Negera founded YUUMA to give moms sleek and stylish options for diaper bags through all stages of motherhood. The brand’s mission is to offer bags and accessories that are not only functional but designed to highlight each mother as an individual.
In April 2023, Donnya was chosen by Fearless Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Fearless Fund, the first venture capital fund built by women of color, for women of color, in partnership with Amazon’s Black Business Accelerator for a multi-phase grant program to bolster Black women-owned, consumer product-based business.
“It’s been very helpful to have the Yotpo Grow team be there to guide me and just be ready to help. It is refreshing to know that I’m not alone, because when you’re doing it by yourself, it really feels like, ’Wow! This is hard.’ But it’s nice that there’s people that’s willing to help small business owners like myself.” — Donnya Negera
Congratulations to all of the Yotpo Grow brands on these incredible achievements. We are excited to stay connected to these brands, now program alumni, and witness their continued success!
