We were lucky to catch up with Temilola Adedipe recently and have shared our conversation below.
Temilola, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
The inspiration behind ÀWA Marketplace was born from a personal struggle I had with my oily, acne-prone skin around the age of 17. I knew that whatever I was doing clearly wasn’t working so I started researching ways that I may be unknowingly contributing to my flare-ups. This led me to dive deeper into the world of gut-health, holistic wellness but most importantly, I discovered that many products that are found in big-name stores today contain irritants and toxic ingredients such as phthalates, mineral oil, and sulfates, that may have been irritating my skin and contributing to my acne flare ups. The moment of truth for me was when I took my favorite products, flipped them over and saw that a good number of the ingredients I should be avoiding were in these products. I couldn’t help but feel devastated. At the time, I would get my skincare products from the neighborhood Walmart or Target near my house so I knew that if I wanted to clear up my skin, I had to change my approach and look beyond what was near me.
The switch to plant-based, sustainable products didn’t occur overnight. I knew that I couldn’t just throw out my current products but at the same time, anytime I put those products on my face or body, I felt this internal battle knowing that what I was used to using may have been harming me in ways that go deeper than my skin. I began doing research, looking for plant-based alternatives with non-toxic ingredients. I knew that putting my skin health in the hands of large corporations that could care less about my melanin and more about making a profit, was probably not the best idea. I remember one day, I was scrolling through Twitter and stumbled across Bahi Cosmetics, now Ayele and Co. and fell in love with their brand, mission and values. I purchased my very first plant-based product, the sunflower sweets serum and after 1 month of using the product, I knew I was on the right track.
After extensive research trying to find the best in plant-based alternatives, I slowly began to replace my personal care products one by one. Before I knew it, my entire personal care routine was filled with plant-based products. At that point, I was even using plant-based deodorant and non-toxic candles. It was such a relief knowing that there were Black-owned brands that made it their mission to provide our communities with plant-based products that protect our melanin and overall health. When people started asking about my skin, I knew that I had to share what I found. I started introducing these products to my family and friends and immediately knew that we needed a space where people could come to shop for plant-based, sustainable personal care, beauty, and wellness products from brands that don’t cut corners. That is when the idea for ÀWA Marketplace came to me. I had a passion to build an online community that could, number one, support Black-owned businesses that make it their mission to provide the community with plant-based products, and number two, help those that are trying to make the switch to plant-based, sustainable products an easier journey. By 2020, I was ready to embark on this journey and start building that community that I was so passionate about.
Thus, in January 2021, ÀWA Marketplace was born. I began creating the community that I had once wished for, a community celebrating our shopping experience as melanin-rich individuals. I found that even a good number of big brands that marketed themselves as “vegan”, “natural”, “organic”, and “plant-based”, would still have irritating, toxic ingredients in them such as ambiguously sourced fragrances, parabens and so much more. I decided to do my own research, referring to scientific journals, and even engaged with a Black-owned cosmetic chemistry lab to come up with the ÀWA definition of plant-based so that our Tribe could trust that the curation of products at ÀWA Marketplace were indeed plant-based, non-toxic and ethically sourced,
Since 2021, we have had the opportunity to partner with a talented web developer to build our own website and even hold a brand photoshoot. We are proud to announce that we have launched our website to our Tribe members, and we are continuously onboarding brands and growing our community day by day. Our mission has always been to create a shopping experience that celebrates melanin-rich skin and support businesses that prioritize our health and well-being and we are proud to show up every day and do just that.
Temilola, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Temilola Adedipe and I am the founder and CEO of ÀWA Marketplace, an online platform dedicated to providing a careful curation of plant-based, sustainable personal care, beauty and wellness products from Black-owned brands. My passion for this industry began when I was teenager and struggling with oily, acne-prone skin. I discovered that many products in big-name stores would brand themselves as plant-based even though they contained toxic ingredients that were harmful to my body and likely contributing to my flare-ups.
After doing extensive research and finding plant-based alternatives that helped me regain my confidence, I knew that I had to share my knowledge with others. That’s when the idea for ÀWA Marketplace was born – a space where people could shop for high-quality, plant-based products from Black-owned businesses that prioritize our health and well-being.
What sets us apart from other online platforms is our commitment to providing only the best, clean, plant-based products that are ethically-sourced and curated by our favorite Black-owned brands. We’ve defined our own standard for what is considered “clean” and engaged with a Black-woman cosmetic chemist. We clearly showcase our Scratch It List, or list of ingredients that we simply do not allow, on our platform. Our customers know that they can trust the products they purchase from us because we will never sell them something that has the potential to be harmful to them in any way shape or form or does not meet the ÀWA clean standard.
We are most proud of the community we have built and the positive impact we have had on the lives of our customers. We’ve received testimonials from members of our Tribe that have found relief from skin issues and improved their overall wellness by switching to non-toxic products. We are also incredibly proud to support Black-owned businesses and provide them with a platform to reach a wider audience.
So if you are looking for high-quality, non-toxic personal care, beauty and wellness products that are curated specifically with your melanin in mind and sourced from Black-owned brands, ÀWA Marketplace is for you. We’re passionate about our community, mission and providing the best products and services to our customers.
How did you build your audience on social media?
This is actually one of my favorite things to talk about because our Tribe means the world to me. At the time when ÀWA Marketplace became a reality, I was 23 years old and I had a dream to create a community, a safe space for Black people that wanted transparency from their personal care and beauty products. I remember talking to my family and closest friends about my idea and receiving so much love and support. In fact, my first four Tribe members were my mom, my dad, my brother and my sister. Soon enough, I created an Instagram and our Tribe began to grow. We started off by talking about what we saw in this industry and how we were coming in to be a disruptor to the corruption that many melanin-rich people had fallen victim to in this industry.
Slowly but surely, people began joining our community, they could see our vision and thus our Tribe was born. When building a community in social media, here is what I suggest, #1, create that sense of community. Your community wants to know that you not only understand their pain-points but you are dedicated to solving it for them. Remember that you don’t have to have all the answers. Ask your community what they find helpful, trust me, they know what bothers them and what might help them! Engage with them and show them that you are dedicated to keeping them in mind as you are building your product, service or platform. #2, consistency is key. Remember that consistency doesn’t mean posting every day, but it does mean picking a posting schedule and sticking to it. We definitely struggled with consistency at first, especially because I was the one handling our social media with a full time job. I remember being so discouraged when we wouldn’t get that many views but remember that you aren’t doing this for the views, just keep showing up and your community will thank you. #3 Pick your favorite social media platforms and stick to it. Nowadays there are so many platforms but if you stick to your top 2 or 3, and run with it, you’ll see improvements and with consistency, the algorithm will learn you. #4 is to always be authentic. You don’t have to sound like you’re selling to someone all the time. Talk to your community like they are human beings, because they are. They have more than likely experienced some of the same things that you do. So be relatable. Remember that social media, as glamorous as it looks, is all about building relationships and connecting with like-minded people. Last but not least, #5 which is connect with like-minded brands! Having a community of other businesses that support one another is top-tier an such a great way to build a community of business owners that know what you are going through. Remember that you are your only competition so show some love to people that have similar missions and values as you.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
This is actually one of my favorite stories to tell because to me, it shows how much God was looking out for me when I had no idea how my dream would become reality. I had started my business in January 2021, but we were operating off of a plug and chug marketplace platform that I felt was not giving us the full functionality that we needed to really curate this community for our Tribe. So I began to do what I know best. I started doing some research and I looked for a web designer that could help take us to the next level.
I came across Liane Abgi, founder of Beautifuli Digital and fell in love with her take on user experience and curating unique website experiences for Black-owned businesses. I knew that she was the one so I scheduled the initial consultation. When I learned that the entire project would cost approximately $11,000, I was devastated. I wanted to create a community that we deserved; a platform that celebrated us and our shopping experience but I was not making nearly enough money to fund this project.
To God’s glory, less than 1 month after the initial consultation, I was let go from my job and given a hefty severance that covered more than how much I would need to really build out this community and work with Liane.
I decided to go forward with the project and have been bootstrapping my way around ever since. I’m going to be honest, I’ve had people look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them that story. But to me, it just shows me how much God looks out for me. I believe that when God knows that we are serious about investing in ourselves, He’ll show us just how serious things can get. I started this project and I haven’t looked back since.
Contact Info:
- Website: awarawa.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awamarketplace/?hl=am-et
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/Shop.Awamarketplace/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/%C3%A0wa-marketplace
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/awamarketplace
Image Credits
Jasmine Ryland