Through diligent effort, Black Girl Sunscreen has achieved substantial earnings.
As AFROTECH™ previously mentioned, the company was launched by Shontay Lundy in 2016 through a personal investment totaling $33,000. She was inspired to venture into entrepreneurship after suggestions from friends to wear sunscreen while hiking in Los Angeles, CA, led her on a search for products — with few catering to Black skin.
Recognizing a gap in the market, she worked to create a hydrating product that would not leave behind the unfavorable white residue often listed as a complaint in the Black community.
“There is a little bit of Shontay in all of my products,” Lundy told AFROTECH™ at the time. “What was important for formulating these products was considering what is important for women of color and Black women. We don’t want anything to dry out our skin so while creating Black Girl sunscreen, this and no white residue were the most important factors.”
The company now carries several sunscreens and more recently launched a lip gloss made with Broad Spectrum SPF 50, hyaluronic acid, tripeptides, and jojoba.
Its products have proven to be a success in the market too. Black Girl Sunscreen became available in 250 Target stores in 2019 and later launched in Ulta, Walmart, Kohl’s, and more by 2023. Additionally, in 2020, $1 million in private funding was raised, bringing its valuation to $5 million at the time.
Now, the company is celebrating another million-dollar feat. Lundy reveals the company has earned $1.1 million in its first three months on Amazon. However, it followed after removing bad actors from the platform who were profiting from the company’s name, image, and likeness.
She acknowledged the milestone on Instagram and concluded with a call to action for exercising caution with your brand.
“So what’s new with Black Girl Sunscreen is that we hit $1.1 million today in about three months on Amazon.com… This is important because previous to us being on this platform, we had a lot of bad actors posing as Black Girl Sunscreen, literally using our images, our name, our likeness, and selling products as Black Girl Sunscreen,” Lundy said in a video shared on Instagram. “So we came on the platform and wiped them all out, and now we’re getting the money for us, for our business.”
She continued, “So Black Girl Sunscreen, the 2-ounce, has sold 20,000 units in one month. 20,000 units. And when I think about that, I think that that could be going to an unauthorized seller. So that’s why it’s important to see what’s going on with your brand on these other platforms.”
