Minorities have fought for inclusion in the media and entertainment industry for years. The content we’ve become accustomed to seeing has been plain and uninspired, but in recent years we’ve begun to see a shift in the landscape. Media platforms are becoming more personalized and purposeful in the content they deliver for and about minorities.
Actress and producer Tika Sumpter took notice of this shift and wanted to contribute in her own way for her community. Now she’s teaming up with media executive Thai Randolph, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud digital comedy brand, to form a new lifestyle brand called Sugaberry.
On Monday, Sumpter and Randolph launched The Suga podcast in partnership with Stitcher, and a part of Sugaberry, their media startup centered around motherhood for women of color. According to Variety, the idea grew from Sumpter’s frustration with the lack of online content and sense of community for Black moms.
During her pregnancy in 2016, Sumpter could only come across negative information about moms of color.
“Everything was about the death, doom and destruction about black moms,” she explained.
Forbes reported that Netflix’s strategy to create and personalize multicultural content has been successfully-proven by delivering what consumers want. Since the launch of its Strong Black Lead campaign, highlighting old and new Black movies, TV shows, and documentaries every month, Netflix has seen a surge in viewer engagement.
Sugaberry plans to replicate Netflix’s strategy by including a mix of curated mommy content ranging from editorial, original audio, and video programming to interviews, newsletters, celebrity guest contributors, a live event series, and product recommendations.
“Black women don’t usually get to delight in mommyhood, which is why I wanted to build a safe and sweet destination for modern moms of color, regardless of what stage they are in,” Sumpter said.
