With Anser, Tia Mowry aims to make the well business more inclusive.
Felisha Tolentino
When actress Tia Mowry started experiencing inflammatory pain, she sought her doctor’s guidance. After being referred from doctor to doctor, she still had no answers. Eventually, he was diagnosed with endometriosis, a disorder in which a tissue that normally lines the inside of your uterus grows outside the uterus, but getting the prognosis right tired.
As it turned out, the doctor who properly examined Mowry was a Black woman. “She showed me the right way,” says Mowry Forbes. “It was one of the main reasons [I started] my fitness journey. ”
Encouraged by the support of her doctor, Mowry was inspired to help other Black women – a group she believes have been largely left out of health conversations – receive similar guidance. “I wanted to encourage them to do the same; take control of their health and wellbeing. ”
She launched her Anser vitamin supplement and brand in January 2020 with three products: a women’s multivitamin, a prenatal vitamin and a beauty vitamin. Now, just over a year later, the industry boasts more than 20 products, including a line specifically for children and men. With a return futures rate of 45%, it is on track to increase its revenue three years last year.
The launch of a wellness brand just weeks before the pandemic, a time when consumers have prioritized health more than ever before, has certainly boosted the company’s growth. So the move of the well is, for the most part, driven by a wave of Black women demanding more production and reach in the $ 4.5 trillion industry. Along with Mowry, Golde founder and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree Trinity Mouzon Wofford, Honey Pot founder Bea Dixon, Movita founder Tonya Lewis Lee and BLK + GRN founder Kristian Edwards are among others leading this charge.
“[Black women] they are trends, ”says Candace Barber, director of customer relations and consumer communications at NielsenIQ. And according to Nielsen 2020 data, black people are 56% more likely to attend health and wellness expos than the average American. They are also more likely to skip products with natural ingredients. “When you talk about African Americans going more towards natural, natural products, the general market is going to follow. ”
But that’s not all Mowry does in his favor: Black consumers are more likely to endorse brands that have ownership or support from celebrities than brands that don’t.
Mowry admits her big platform – and she uses it to her advantage. “People know me, they know me very well, they grew up with me, that’s been beneficial,” Mowry said. “As a Black woman, [I’m saying], ‘I hear you, I understand you, I went through it and I’m going through the same thing. ‘And I’m willing to put my time and effort into changing this story. ”
But she doesn’t want to rely too heavily on her celebrity and she wants Anser to be a community, as well as a product line. As well as highlighting botanists, chiropractors and other women of color in wellbeing on her company’s blog, she has been promoting other Black-owned businesses – bringing her includes coffee company BLK & Bold and hair and skin care brand OBIA Naturals – in partnership with Amazon as part of its Black Small Business store counter.
As the industry grows – Mowry is pushing for updates to come in the spring – she wants to make it clear just because Anser caters to Black women, that doesn’t mean it can’t be part of the health governments of those belonging to other demographics. .
“It is a misnomer to suggest that targeting and attracting black people in some way detracts from the ‘universal’ appeal and credibility of the Anser brand,” Mowry said. “For generations, black businesses have been marginalized by the health and fitness industries, and black people and BIPOC should be told that they deserve to be healthy to appeal to everyone there. in 2021. ”