We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Patrice Chappelle. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Patrice below.

Patrice, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

My son Bron Echols is the inspiration behind our company MelanBrand Skin, LLC. He is also the Co-founder and Co-CEO. When Bron was much younger, I struggled to find adequate skincare products for his skin; for children especially kids with melanated skin. I was using everything from my products to regular soap, water, and lotion. This idea was something that I had thought about over the years, but continued to sit on, until one day I was finally like I have to be the solution to this problem. The problem was, there was absolutely no skincare products for Black and brown kids on the market. Stores like Target, Walmart, Walgreens and everything in between did not have skincare products for kids, and still don’t! On Bron’s 12th birthday, I gifted him with $1200 towards starting his own company. At the time I did not have a name, only a few that I was playing around with in my head. I had the vision to make history with my son by founding a company that he and I would both be the founders and the CEOs, and a company that would be a solution to a lot of parent’s problems. Not only was I doing this, but I am also creating generational wealth for him.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

MelanBrand Skin, LLC proudly leads the skincare industry with innovation as a groundbreaking skincare company owned and operated by a mother-son duo. Our mission revolves around crafting safe and natural skincare solutions tailored for Black and brown children. With an unwavering dedication to quality and safety, we distinguish ourselves from other brands, emerging as the preferred choice for parents seeking trustworthy and effective skincare for their little ones. MelanBrand Skin caters to a wide range of skin concerns, from the most delicate to the challenging, including eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis, and acne-prone skin.

I am a serial entrepreneur and mother of one and a published author and freelance writer, my work has appeared in Black Enterprise, Huffington Post, Upscale, Essence, Sheen, Curly Nikki, and MadameNoire. I am an alumna of Fisk University and Trevecca Nazarene University, and an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Bron Echols is different from your typical 7th grader. He is now an advocate for healthy skin for BIPOC children. When not working on his new business or schoolwork, he enjoys swimming, playing video games, skating, and hanging out with friends and family.

Our new children’s book Wash Your “T” and Close Your Eyes: Skincare for BIPOC Children will be releasing soon.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

We are a mother and son duo! The best thing about this is that I get to teach my son all the things that I know about entrepreneurship. The good, the bad, and the ugly. He’s young enough to absorb what he sees me do and what I teach him, and since he’s Gen Z he can teach me some innovative things too. That generation is smart, and their future is bright. I think even more so than us millennials and we are the best. MelanBrand Skin is something that I want him to really help to grow and expand as he gets older. He will begin to take on more responsibility and begin to make more decisions within the business. We are the first Black mother and son team that has founded a skincare company for Black and brown kids, so we’ve made history. This is something that he does not fully understand, but one day he will.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Certainly. This journey is not easy. There are a lot of moving pieces to any business, especially a startup and because right now it’s just me and Bron, I have to take on the bulk of the responsibility while he is in school and of course because he’s a minor. I count it all joy because I know that I am building something that I can leave behind for him, a legacy. For instance, we co-wrote a children’s book together last year that we are releasing very soon. I’m a writer and have written and published books before, one novel and co-authored four others, two of which I put together myself and published, so I’m not new to this by far. However, we ran into some delays in getting the illustration completed, which significantly impacted our original publishing timeframe. Bron and I wrote the book in a day and a half believe it or not and the illustration took much longer than we had both expected. I could have given up or become upset, but I didn’t. Timing is everything and I feel when it’s the right time, everything will happen when it is supposed to, not when we want it to. We just have to always remain humble and keep the faith. Resiliency is when you can make shifts in our expectations and still come out on top.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.MelanBrandSkin.com
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/MelanBrandSkin
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/MelanBrandSkin
• Twitter: www.Twitter.com/MelanBrandSkin
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkx-sU6dD8e1Y-KKgZQBmNg
• Other: TikTok.com/@MelanBrandSkin

Image Credits
Nita Snaps