February 15, 2023
Melissa Butler’s The Lip Bar is the Leading Black-Owned Brand in Target
This Shark Tank reject has raised the bar for entrepreneurs.
Melissa Butler, founder of vegan cosmetics brand, The Lip Bar, is reaching new heights in the beauty industry as the company has become the largest Black-owned company in Target.
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“For the uninhibited [woman] who wants to set it and forget it, The Lip Bar is the boundary-breaking beauty brand proudly founded and owned by self-made Women of Color,” The Lip Bar website reads.
According to Cliché Magazine, although The Lip Bar is sitting in its success presently, Butler encountered some rejection in the past as she worked to expand her company.
The Lip Bar CEO recalled her appearance on ABC’s Shark Tank in 2015, where she was discouraged from continuing her company.
“‘Shark Tank’ told me to quit. 10 years and 2 million units sold.” billboards featuring the company read, singling out one shark in particular. “Thanks, Mr. Wonderful.”
“I’m proud of them for taking the heat,” Kevin O’Leary, also known as “Mr. Wonderful,” said, celebrating the company during an appearance on The Breakfast Club last year. “I’m proud that they’re entrepreneurs and are successful. It’s a wonderful thing to see that happen. They were facing an almost impossible task because going into the cosmetics industry is so difficult to get market share. But they pulled it off, so you gotta applaud them — there’s no question about it. But that is a tough space because the margins are so high that the competition is just brutal.”
As previously reported by BLACK ENTERPRISE, The Lip Bar launched its partnership with Target in the spring of 2018, offering all-natural, vegan, gluten-free lipsticks. Butler created her line in 2012 out of her home in Brooklyn, NY, when she found a hole in the beauty market that lacked cosmetic products for women of color.
The Lip Bar is still standing strong on Target shelves for beauty lovers.
Presently, Target features Butler’s products that span beyond lipsticks, such as mascara, brow gel, skin conditioner, gloss, concealer, blush, eyeshadow, and eyeliner.