The Honey Pot: Racism vs Black Empowerment

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I cannot believe that, in the year of our Lord, 2020, I need to come out and say this, but here goes: White People, specifically White Women, Black people are allowed to compliment, promote, and inspire other Black People without ever mentioning White People. Or the implication of insulting White People.

In February, Target, in celebration of Black History Month, released an ad discussing The Honey Pot, a black woman-owned company.

The Target ad highlighted Beatrice Dixon, founder of The Honey Pot, a plant-based feminine care line of products which launched in 2014, as an “inspirational entrepreneur and diverse business leader”. In the ad, Beatrice says, “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.”

This ad, which should have been at best inspirational, sparked a flood of not only negative but nasty online reviews, accusing both The Honey Pot and Target of being “racist” to white people.

Following the ad’s release, a flood or reviewers descended on the major review website, TrustPilot, so much so that they have now limited the reviews that can be left for The Honey Pot.

What was interesting is that many of these ratings left on TrustPilot made it VERY obvious that the people who were actually leaving review had never actually used the product. Remember, The Honey Pot produces feminine care products, meaning products for periods such as tampons and pads, but also wipes and washes for regular daily use.

But apparently, these reviewers thought it was shampoo: “horrible products, ruined my hair.”, “This really puts the poo in shampoo. What’s worse, it made my hair smell disgusting! I will never buy this brand again! Terrible!”, “Product left my fro smelling like pond water and rotting flesh. Don’t buy.”

But then there were reviews like this:
“I can’t support a company in good faith that is openly racist about their customers.”
“Black girls are empowered using this product… I guess whites girls aren’t. I’ll be letting Target know about this racist company.”

And reviews like this:
“Honey pot is a great product that I’ve been using for years. All the mad and bitter black women crying about lack of inclusivity are apart of the problem. This is a company that puts us, black women last since so MANY other brands and products don’t. How typical of y’all to whine and cry when y’all don’t get attention you think y’all deserved. Y’all are a continued cycle of embarrassment and entitlement, go spread that negative energy at something else, maybe towards the president Obama y’all voted for.”

And this:
“13% of the population commits 50% of murders and 80% of all crime. They should epower black women to get black men to stop raping 10–40 thousand white women per yesr in the US. Your entire race is a joke. You commit 25x more crime against white people than we do against you. 90% of all interracial crimes are black-on-white. Go back to Africa and feel “empowered” there. No one wants you here.”

It gets progressively worse (i.e. way more racist) from there.

Then there were comments left like this one:
“Excellent products!!!! 5 STARS but the way this bogus forum is set up you can only see the Racist reviews first…I am a White Woman and I am utterly disgusted by White people on this thread. You’re Insecurity and inferiority are so transparent it’s ugly. You’ve always had the whole damn pie and start shaking in your raggedy boots when Black entrepreneurs own a successful business. You need to pipe down!”

Needless to say one can easily see why TrustPilot suspended the reviews altogether. All of this chatter over a Black Woman-owned business being highlighted on Black History Month? One would think all of this “bad press” would destroy a small business.

But, these negative reviews have only served to boost the Honey Pot Company’s sales.

Beatrice said that sales across the company’s retailers have jumped 20% to 30%. But interestingly enough, the sales jumped since the backlash began over the Target commercial that was released Feb. 4, not just the Target Commercial itself.

After the earlier barrage of negative and, well, downright racist reviews were posted on Trustpilot, Dixon said The Honey Pot sales were up 40% to 50% higher than what they would normally be.

Beatrice did address the hateful comments left on the company’s TrustPilot page, saying that she was referring to the business’s success in the ad and that it was “extremely apparent” that she did not make a racist comment in the ad.

“I said nothing about our product being only for black girls,” she said, citing the company’s tagline, which says it is “made by humans with vaginas, for humans with vaginas.”

Target too is addressing the reviews. A spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that they were aware of “some negative comments about the campaign, which aren’t in line with the overwhelmingly positive feedback we’ve received from guests who love and have been inspired by Bea’s story.”
“Target has a longstanding commitment to empowering and investing in diverse suppliers that create a broad variety of products for our guests,” the statement said. “We’re proud to work with Bea Dixon and The Honey Pot team to highlight Bea’s journey to build her brand and bring her products to Target.”

Then, there is Twitter, where women, particularly Black Women began sharing screenshots of the negative reviews and urging others to not only rate the company highly but to go and buy its products.

As far as Bea Dixon, she says she’s not taking any of the negative comments personally: “I can’t expect them to understand the plight of what it is to be a black woman co-founder in business.”

Black-owned businesses do not get a lot of support from the venture capital world, she said. It's important for Bea, and Black entrepreneurs like her to discuss the success of their brands, like Honey Pot Company, as a way of inspiring and empowering Black folks to start their own businesses. When those inevitable difficult moments hit, Black women entrepreneurs could refer to Bea’s company when they’re raising money or selling and running their companies.

“When things like this happen, things change,” Beatrice said. I certainly agree.
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Comments

  1. Elise Von EMarch 3, 2020 at 3:38 PM

    Oh good Lord! I loved this commercial and am super excited to check Honey Pot out.
    I can't believe anyone has an issue with this ad, or that statement. What is wrong with people? Specifically white women? Ugh! Thank you for writing this.

    xx, Elise
    (an embarrassed white woman)

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