In the same way that a platform’s “why” plays a part in its trajectory, its name also plays a key role in laying the foundation for what it aims to contribute to its members. In this case, FLOURYSH was named with pure intention by entrepreneurs Steve Canal and Enitan Bereola as the online marketplace works to help independent Black-owned brands expand toward success.
Consumers are naturally drawn to the heart of what businesses stand for, and the stories behind the brands hosted on the eCommerce platform are amplified through a unique partnership with both Black business owners and storytellers. Driven by community, the overall mission of FLOURYSH is to connect people with their target audience, ultimately putting more eyes on their work.
“A lot of brands exist in silos and you can literally get disbursed 20 Black brands by scouring the internet or scouring Instagram. And once you’ve learned them, you’ll realize they come with these whole communities. It’s like you’re late to the party. Once you discover them, it’s like, ‘Oh wow, there’s this whole subculture.’ And there’s so many of those types of brands out there that are incredible and making noise on their own, but it just doesn’t exist in one easy to discover place,” Bereola explained to AfroTech.
FLOURYSH's Support
Through the interview and onboarding process for the platform, the FLOURYSH team is supportive from the start.
To ensure that brands are representing themselves to the fullest, services such as photographer recommendations are offered for product shots, as well as feedback on business matters ranging from customer service to brand identity. Even if not initially selected, applicants are provided with constructive feedback to elevate their brands.
For featured storytellers, FLOURYSH selects those with a history of supporting Black-owned brands across their social channels.
Putting The Community First
While the platform helps drive traffic for businesses, the bigger picture is more than just products being sold — it’s about helping the Black community climb to the top.
FLOURYSH is on a mission to represent for Black culture as a whole by placing how it’s framed back into the hands of its creators through guidance.
A common setback for aspiring entrepreneurs is a lack of access to information that could propel their ideas. To change that, FLOURYSH is creating access to information through strategic partnerships, exclusive networking opportunities, and collaborative efforts.
There’s also a monthly newsletter that will aim to be a one-stop-shop for resources to help Black-owned businesses level up.
“With us, it’s really about building community commerce. If you talk to the brands, one thing they’ll tell you is they heard more from us before we even went live talking about what we have coming, how can we support, recommendations, suggestions, we’re doing all of that,” Canal shared. “We even built a community off of channel where all the brand founders get the space for potential collaboration and ideas.”
He continued: “From our communications and PR teams, creative team, sales and e-commerce team, anybody’s there to provide resources and help if needed. Even if we have a new product innovation coming, we’re here to collaborate with everything on our end to support that launch. So, whether it’s a feature on the site or an article through our flow blog and so forth — we’re 100% a community-based platform.”
