Would You like a feature Interview?
All Interviews are 100% FREE of Charge
It was 2012 and Beatrice Dixon was getting impatient. She was dealing with chronic bacterial vaginosis, which recurred almost monthly, and her doctor kept prescribing medications that were more immediate solutions than long-term solutions.
Dixon felt his voice was not being heard, so he began investigating himself, which in itself was overwhelming.
“I was on medication and in a constant state of going back to the doctor and getting another prescription,” Dixon says. I don’t want to join Google trying to figure out what’s going on with you. “
Dixon began alternating between drugs she looked up online and holistic treatments, but without significant results. Then, in a dream, my grandmother spoke to me.
She describes how her grandmother (whom she never met) sat across from her at a round table.
“I remember her telling me, ‘I’m not here for us to have a conversation. I’m not going to be here for long,'” recalls Dixon. You have to memorize what is written on paper, because this will solve the problem.”
Dixon awoke with a sense of urgency that he had never experienced before, and immediately began writing down the material that fell asleep. Dixon began collecting the aforementioned ingredients at Whole Foods, where he worked at the time, and a few days later created his own formula.
After five days of using the formula, Dixon was completely cured of her BV.
“It was literally gone,” she says. “It was crazy. That was the moment I realized this was what I was going to do in the near future.”
RELATED: This black founder stayed true to his triple ‘win’ strategy to build a billion dollar business
“It’s gotten to the point where people are saying, ‘Look, I can’t get this for free anymore.'”
After Dixon perfected the formula, she knew she had to share her findings. , could not afford a clinical trial.
Dixon asked for no money in exchange for homemade products. honeypot A normal wash from the best-selling The Honey Pot Co.
Her friends and family went crazy.
“We got to a point where people were like, ‘Look, we can’t get this for free anymore, so take the money,'” says Dixon.
That’s when Dixon knew she was onto something, so when news hit that the Bronner Brothers beauty show was coming to Atlanta, she saw it as an opportunity to expand her reach. I was.
“There were only humans with vaginas walking around, so it felt like the perfect place for us to start,” laughs Dixon. , sold 600 bottles. It was insane.”
Image Credit: Courtesy of Honey Pot
“I didn’t have a plan B, so this is shit had to work. “
This was in early 2014, just a year and a half after Dixon created his first honeypot product. The business began to grow, and despite increased demand, the honeypot company continued to operate in Dixon’s kitchen for two more years while Dixon continued to make ends meet with a full-time job at Whole Foods.
Throughout her 80-hour week and tireless work, Dixon never wavered from her mission. “It was really hard,” she recalls. had at work.
In Honey Pot’s early days, the team traveled to trade fairs and natural hair shows to distribute products to people interested in a plant-based approach to feminine care. One of those early recipients was her hairdresser, who was so impressed with the product she told her clients about it. That client was a target buyer — the rest is history.
RELATED: How LOLA’s Founder Learned to Talk About the Feminine Hygiene Market
By 2016, the retail giant had caught wind of the company and presented Dixon and her small team with an offer to sell products in stores. It was the expansion Dixon had always dreamed of – literally. By the time Target decided to sell the product in stores nationwide, the company had produced about 24,000 bottles and was making nearly $250,000.
From there, Honey Pot continued to grow not only as a business, but as a platform to empower other women of color to “reclaim their health.”
Dixon and The Honey Pot launched a Reclaiming Wellness campaign in 2020. The campaign, in partnership with Target, travels to historically black colleges and universities to host seminars and wellness talks to encourage women to “take back” their power when it comes to their bodies.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Honey Pot
“As we grow as a business, it’s important to understand where we are, but it’s also important to understand where we want to go when we have more resources.”
One of Dixon’s main initiatives is to address social stereotypes about being a woman of color in the United States. In particular, it combats the problematic belief that “black women are stronger.”
“That’s the mantra that creates an environment where black women are dying. [during] I want more than anyone else to have a baby,” she says. [they] You don’t have to keep dying “
The Reclaiming Wellness campaign is only in its third year, but the initiative has been Dixon’s goal since launching the brand in 2014. Prior to 2020, Dixon didn’t have the funds to launch his Reclaiming Wellness. An opportunity to finally do what her overarching mission has been from the beginning.
“As you grow as a business, it’s important to understand where you are, but it’s also important to understand where you’d like to go if you had more resources.
Now in its third annual campaign, Honey Pot has partnered with Target to visit Clark Atlanta, Howard, Prairie View A&M and North Carolina A&T to promote medicine and education to empower women to own their health. We are hosting a panel discussion with experts in both. be.
RELATED: When this couple opened MassageLuxe in an underserved Black community, they realized their business was about self-care in more ways than one.
Dixon hopes that the honeypot will continue to serve as a resource for women to understand their bodies and find the treatments they need, as well as a means of communicating information to future generations. .
“It’s a very tribal thing to be able to pass on information, and it’s literally built into the fabric of the honeypot. We can educate and empower women about what they need.” “From the beginning, our focus was on it being a generational thing. But where it’s grown now is about education, self-love and self-esteem.” It has to be generational because it is relevant.”