Yesterday on Facebook we shared a post that asked you all to go leave a positive review for the Honey Pot brand because of the influx of negative reviews they received because of their feature in a Target ad for Black History Month and Woman’s History Month.
According to the HuffPost The Black History Month and Women’s History Month ad spot features company founder and CEO Beatrice Dixon, who reflects on the struggles she faced founding the plant-based feminine hygiene brand.
“The reason why it’s so important for Honey Pot to do well is so the next Black girl that comes up with a great idea, she could have a better opportunity. That means a lot to me,” Dixon says at the end of the ad.
“The whole reason I started The Honey Pot Co was because I was suffering from bacterial vaginosis for months and couldn’t get relief. One night, an ancestor visited me in a dream and gifted me with a vision to heal myself,” Dixon writes on the company’s website. “With her help, I created the Honey Pot Co to solve for what other brands wouldn’t, using the power of herbs.”
On Monday, Honey Pot trended on Twitter after people noted that the brand’s profile on business review site Trustpilot was being targeted with one-star ratings.
People who were apparently offended by the ad’s empowering message for young Black entrepreneurs bemoaned the ad as “racist” and “uninclusive.” Other trolls left fake bad reviews about the product.
So white people are upset because Honey Pot, a black owned company is advertising black products to black people? The only time y’all cry about inclusiveness is when something isn’t meant for you pic.twitter.com/81NPw3ytqe
— ˗ˏˋ???????ˊˎ˗ ? (@MOODIIBUNNII) March 2, 2020
Of course we all then jumped into action countering the nasty reviews and by Monday evening Trustpilot suspended Honey Pot’s profile because of the influx of comments. They shared with the HuffPost team that they had to sift through over 15000 reviews and were removing the ones that according to them are a violation of the platform’s guidelines. (according to its site, includes the use of hate speech or language that has a “sexist or racial character.”)
Hundreds of Twitter users shared support for the brand, highlighting the systemic obstacles faced by Black female entrepreneurs and the need for more messages like the one in the Target commercial, praising trailblazers like The Honey Pot’s founder. The brand’s rating was at five stars on Monday.
The outpouring of positive messages saw The Honey Pot’s sales double by almost 50% on Monday, Dixon told BuzzFeed. Following the backlash, sales across the brand’s retailers have increased 20 to 30%, she said.
“I said nothing about our product being only for black girls,” Dixon noted. She also highlighted the company’s tagline: “made by humans with vaginas, for humans with vaginas.”
In an interview with Essence, Dixon drew attention to the urgent need for funding to Black women-owned businesses. She highlighted the Project Diane study from Digital Undivided that found that only 0.06% of all tech venture funding issued between 2009 and 2017 had gone to Black women-led startups.
“Until the disparity isn’t a disparity, it has to be talked about. I don’t necessarily expect the people making the [negative] comments to know that,” Dixon told Essence.
Read some of the positive tweets:
I love everything about this commercial including the emphasis on helping the next black girl with her great idea-I’m officially a new loyal Honey Pot customer. Well done, @Target and Honey Pot! https://t.co/nO3pLdu6Rk
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) March 2, 2020
Hearing about @thehoneypotcomp drama. I must admit, I love the @target commercials. Representation matters and seeing young entrepreneurs who look like you is important and powerful. I’ll have to run to my local store tomorrow to support The Honey Pot.
— Logan Levkoff, Ph.D. (@LoganLevkoff) March 2, 2020
seeing Honey Pot being slandered for being “racist” towards whites women for their mission of empowering black women. absolutely ridiculous. y’all can stay mad while I/we stay fresh & balanced. thank you @thehoneypotcomp forever a consumer! ?✨ pic.twitter.com/ssMGNSLhGl
— Tara, THG♡ (@TheHealthGworl) March 2, 2020
What happened yesterday was nothing short of amazing, I hope their sales continue to rise!
