We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jasmin Foster a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jasmin , thanks for joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?
The name Be Rooted stems from wanting my community to feel rooted in culture, rooted in representation, and rooted in who the customer is. I launched Be Rooted because for far too long and in too many spaces, Black and Brown women have been left unseen and unspoken to. Be Rooted was created to flip that narrative and center Black and Brown women by making them feel loved, celebrated, and uplifted. The stationery industry is over $40 Billion and there is not one major Black-owned national brand. Black and Brown women deserve to feel seen, heard, and loved across all industries.
Jasmin , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I started my career in retail buying, working with emerging brands and innovative spaces to get the next best thing on shelf. I always knew inclusion and representation was my passion and my purpose so being at the forefront of bringing multicultural beauty in a bigger way to major retailers like Target was great for me. I was providing excellent options for amazing dope Black founders that were pushing the boundaries of this space in this category that often left Black and brown women without products and considerations that work for them.
By the beginning of 2020, I had this idea that stemmed from my previous jobs and my passion for new stationery as a young girl for the school year and decorating my locker. The home section in retail spaces lacked representation from the wall décor to the stationery. I often wondered, when will a brand move into this space to change the narrative of the existing designs that showcased images of Black women as a monolith? That’s when I decided instead of waiting for someone else to create this, I can do this. Having the experience of how to build a brand from the bottom up paired with taking a leap of faith, I left corporate America and launched Be Rooted to what grew to be the first Black-owned stationery and gifting brand to successfully launch in Target retailers nationwide. It’s rewarding to create a brand that uplifts and celebrates women of culture through inclusively designed stationery, while also putting positive messaging out into the space.
I am so proud every time a young girl comes up to me telling me how much it meant for them to see themselves in retail stores.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
We have been focused on organic social growth. My advice is to keep your blinders on and remember growth doesn’t just happen overnight. You have to stay consistent and be more worried about building a community than focused on the numbers.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I think my mission to close the gap in representation helped to build Be Rooted up and have a positive reputation since diverse stationery is not commonly seen in the places Black and brown women shop. Since launching, we’ve been able to expand our product range to home and gifting items that cater to women who have so many interests and can relate to. From the fitness girl, to the planner, the traveler, the intentional journal queen, and the gamer, seeing yourself in your everyday items is extremely affirming.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://berootedco.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/berootedco/
Image Credits
Be Rooted