Cultural appropriation: How to not lose your loyal audience
The case of Shea Moisture
When Shea Moisture decided to create a series of hair product videos with women of various races and hair textures, they weren’t prepared for the backlash they received. Founded in 1912 with homemade hair and skin preparation tips from the founder’s grandmother, Sofi Tucker, this was a company that African and African-American women could count on to sell products that directly catered to our hair types. Their products weren’t just the same mainstream hair products found in retail stores with a black woman slapped on the bottle cover.
Women, especially African-American women, are serious about the ethnic beauty market. According to Essence, the black haircare industry pulled in approximately $2.51 billion in 2018. Additionally, a Nielsen report confirmed that, in 2017, African-Americans accounted for $54 million of the $63 million spent in the ethnic beauty market. Grooming aids and skincare weren’t short-stopping in profits either, accounting for $127 million in grooming aids and $465 million in skincare.
Recommended Read: “From childhood to adulthood: Simplest way to stop cultural appropriation ~ When imitation is more offensive than flattering”
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So anytime a group is spending this much money on hair and beauty, they definitely want to be represented. This is one of the reasons it rubbed so many of their consumers the wrong way when Shea Moisture commercials started showing new faces.