Black-owned brand The Honey Pot Company has been a hot topic of discussion this week on social media. Rumors that founder Beatrice Dixon sold the brand sparked online after fans expressed their disappointment with the company’s rebranding. Dixon felt compelled to respond after a handful proposed the company was no longer Black-owned.
Since it was established in 2014, The Honey Pot Company has landed on shelves at Whole Foods, Target, Walmart and other major department stores. Forbes reported Dixon as one of the first 40 women of color to raise $1 million in venture capital. This was a milestone, considering startups led by Black women receive less than one percent of venture capital funding, which contributes to racial funding gaps, according to the media outlet.
In a video posted on Instagram, Dixon introduced herself and explained her role as CEO, chief innovation officer, and founder of The Honey Pot Company. She said she is “spiritually and professionally committed” to the feminine care brand that sells affordable natural washes, wipes, tampons, panty sprays, pads, lubricants and other herbal products.
The video was shared on the 40-year-old’s personal Instagram account and the company’s IG page, during which she read a letter explaining that the new formula was still safe and effective.
“I assure you the washes are still pH balanced, they’re dermatologist tested now, they’re hypoallergenic now, they’re safe for skin, they also do not have any added parabens, dioxide or sulfates, and this has always been the case,” she said.
The new formula still uses organic apple cider vinegar and purified water in the company’s standard manufacturing process. Many are particularly upset about the use of phenoxyethyl, which Dixon describes as “the alternative to parabens and is widely used within clean skincare products. A product has to be safe for years of use, and I assure you this is the root of the changes.”
She went on to denounce the hateful speech and threatening language she’s been receiving from users online. Despite investing “millions of dollars in clinical research,” to provide “safe, gentle” products, she said that the most significant changes were made to branding.
“We have not sold. We are the same brand that you lifted up and fought for two years ago,” she continued. “Honey Pot is a human-owned brand. I designed a brand and a product line that is revolutionary and owned by me, my brother, and our team. To negate the disruption this brand has created is to undermine everything our community, this brand, and I have achieved together.”
Dixon became teary-eyed toward the end of the video as she expressed her desire to be “the founder that wants to be the change in the world I live in.” Speaking directly to her supporters, she said, “I am making these products for all of us. Please know human race that I love you and I’m grateful for you.”
She promised to share educational content that explains how the new formula for the brand’s vaginal washes is similar to the old one in the following weeks. Experts will assist in explaining those changes and answer any additional concerns or questions.
Dixon may not be selling her multi-million dollar company but she reportedly does plan someday for a future “exit.” During a 2020 interview with The Helm, she mentioned wanting to use The Honey Pot to create wealth opportunities for others.
She said, “I absolutely do want to exit my company and I’m so vocal about that because culturally as a Black woman, getting investment dollars or exiting your company can be looked at as selling out, and what I want to regurgitate constantly to anybody, to any human that’s looking to The Honey Pot Company as a light, I want to be public that there’s no shame in exiting your business because that’s how you’re going to get to wealth. Once you can get to wealth financially, you’re able to really contribute to your community, to your family, to yourself. You’re able to see the fruits of your f–king labor.”