Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Shanahan

Hi Kate, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.

I consider myself a survivor, an advocate, and an aspiring entrepreneur. My journey through the fierce battle of breast cancer, multiple failed IVF attempts, and three miscarriages could have been a story of defeat and instead, it is one of triumph and empowerment. Inspired by the adoption of my daughter in 2019, I found myself frustrated by the overwhelming online process of finding natural, high-quality hair and skin products suitable for her Black heritage. This realization led me to create Sweet Peach Tree, an online marketplace dedicated to providing a joyful, helpful and easy shopping experience for diverse families like my own.

This struggle quickly illuminated a broader issue affecting families with children of all ages as the search to find suitable products extends beyond infancy. Recognizing this significant gap in the market for one spot to find natural beauty products that would be effective for my Black daughter and family, I wanted to create more than just a business. Sweet Peach Tree is more than just an online store, it’s a community – offering a celebration of heritage, identity, inclusivity – values that are deeply woven into the fabric of every family’s journey, and particularly important for transracial, multi-racial diverse families.

As my story is one of many, being a mom that suddenly found myself in a steep learning curve for how to best care for my adopted daughter’s hair and skin, today I aim to support not transracial adoption families, but all diverse families. I understand the discomfort and uncertainty that can come with caring for a child with different hair or skin type. At Sweet Peach Tree, we alleviate these challenges by offering a curated selection of natural and effective products with guidance, making it easier for families to navigate the world of hair and skin care. Our goal is to create a shared experience where caregivers and children can feel connected, proud, and excited about their unique beauty needs. With Sweet Peach Tree, we empower families to embrace their cultural heritage and celebrate their beauty, one product and social media post at a time.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

Grit and determination have come to define my experience as I have faced some challenging obstacles – from a cancer diagnosis and treatment to infertility. And starting a business is no exception. Creating Sweet Peach Tree involved navigating the complexities of the beauty industry while sourcing and curating effective, natural products and continually seeking to better understand the unique needs of Black children in diverse families with a parent of a race different than their own. My determination to make a meaningful impact in the lives of adoptive and diverse families has driven every decision.

I commit myself to do everything to ensure my daughter never feels disjointed or disconnected from the beauty and cultural significance of her radiant hair and skin. I am determined to aid adoptive parents of Black children in fostering their children’s confidence by reaffirming their cultural heritage through beauty care products and routines that keep hair and skin healthy and radiant. Continual, active engagement with the multi and transracial, adoption and foster communities allow us to understand their evolving needs and advocate for diversity and representation in the beauty industry.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?

More than just an e-commerce ‘store’ that sells natural and effective hair and skin products, we see the beauty care industry as a valuable resource for education and support for caretakers in diverse families. As a caretaker, admitting uncertainty about the best care practices for your child can be uncomfortable. We remove the guesswork associated with caring for hair and skin when parents and children have different needs, ultimately empowering caretakers to embrace their child’s identity with confidence.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?

When the world shut down, our daughter was six months old. While a challenging time for all, this also allowed us to fully immerse ourselves embracing her hair and skin journey. Diving into online courses, hands on practice, ‘masked up’ hair sessions, searching and seeking eczema relief all while being frustrated by how cumbersome and complicated the online experience was for me. I’ll never know if the pandemic helped spur the idea to start Sweet Peach Tree but it certainly allowed me to truly investigate the problem and find a solution.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sweetpeachtree.com
• Instagram: @sweetpeachtreemarket
• Facebook: Sweet Peach Tree Marketplace
• Other: TikTok: sweetpeachtreemarket