WRITTEN BY: KATE MACCABE
For our July Founder’s Series, Orion Brown brings inspiration and ambition to her thriving business, BlackTravelBox. From her deep expertise in the Consumer Product Goods (CPG) space, Orion saw a direct gap in the marketplace on one of her many international trips, to Japan. Read below to hear how she navigates both the opportunities and challenges that come with charted a path through uncharted territories.
RAPID FIRE Q&A WITH ORION BROWN: BLACKTRAVELBOX FOUNDER SERIES
Q: Can you share a little bit about your background?
A: Well, professionally I am CPG trained brand strategist with over seventeen years experience (I know, I don’t look a day over 30) and in 2020 I started an independent strategy consultancy that brings my coaching and advisory skills to companies and community organizations.
I’ve had a pretty eclectic career. Before launching BlackTravelBox, I led brand strategy for Oracle‘s ad tech business where I facilitated Fortune 100 client engagements that delivered data driven consumer insights and customer journey analysis across multiple industry verticals.
Prior to ad tech, I led consumer marketing efforts for the Transformers and My Little Pony digital brands at Hasbro‘s mobile gaming business, BackFlip Studios.
And I spent the bulk of my brand career at Kraft Foods where I led brand marketing, management, and operations initiatives across several global brands including Capri Sun, Maxwell House, A.1., Grey Poupon, and Cool Whip.
Before brand management, I was a cross-functional team leader and internal consultant at JPMorgan Chase, focused on project management, process re-engineering, and process improvement.
I’m a first generation “office” worker and college graduate. I received a Bachelor of Arts from The University of Chicago and a MBA from Duke University. I’m a massive lover of travel and food, spending most of my free time outside of my career pursuing the best of both. I’ve been to 22 countries and 5 continents including Antarctica! Most of which I’ve taken a culinary trek through or at the very least a cooking class. I volunteer in the community and focus on mobilizing the value generated by for profit businesses within the nonprofit sector. Notable affiliations include Downtown Denver Partnership, Social Venture Circle (now ASBN), Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), the Minority Advisory Board at Fuqua School of Business, the American Red Cross (Delmarva), and Urban Leadership Foundation of Colorado.
Q: What inspired you to launch BlackTravelBox?
A: They say that necessity is the mother of invention. Well, there’s no greater necessity than not having your personal care essentials when you’re far from home. Back in 2017 I was on a trip to Japan, I found myself thousands of miles from home with a major miscalculation of weather and a head full of hair with no hope. I didn’t have enough product to get me through the trip and there was nowhere locally I could find anything that would work for my curly textured hair, not even at the Ritz Carlton. Dejected, I avoided the selfies and made the best of it. But upon reflection, I could only hope that someone had already made a company to serve travelers like me. I searched and found there were none. Whether it’s Toledo Ohio or Toledo Spain, Black women are woefully underrepresented in the beauty industry. Without access to products that work for our unique hair and skincare needs, we’re left to spend more and make do with subpar essentials. Black travelers like me spend over $129 Billion annually on leisure travel and 9x other ethnicities on beauty and personal care. Yet there are no products on the market made for us as avid beauty consumers and avid travelers. So I started BlackTravelBox® to give women of color a brand they could trust for their hair and skin care needs on the go.
Q: What makes BlackTravelBox unique?
A: Besides being on the forefront of inclusivity in hair and skin care, BlackTravelBox stands out in the travel and beauty market by fundamentally rethinking how personal care products are designed for travel. Unlike many competitors who simply retrofit existing products into smaller sizes, we’re disrupting the market by creating clean, cruelty free, and sustainable hair and skin care products specifically for travel and out of home use. Rather than squeezing existing products into smaller bottles, we manufacture and sell TSA friendly products made for life on the go, with travel friendly packaging and formulations that make packing, carrying (on), and using them simple and easy.
1. Purpose-Built Products: Our anhydrous (water-free) balms and bars are crafted to last longer, travel better, and actually meet travel requirements (shout out #teamcarryon!). These formulations eliminate the common issues of spills, leaks, and headaches at TSA. This means our customers can pack light and still have all the essentials they need for their trips without worrying about the tiny bottles, confiscated jars, and full size checked items that spill, stain, and suck for travel.
2. Targeted Formulations: BlackTravelBox products are specifically designed to cater to the unique hair and skin care needs of melanin-rich skin and textured hair. This focus ensures that our customers receive products that truly work for them, providing effective care and maintenance without compromise.
3. Sustainability and Convenience: Our commitment to sustainability is reflected in our product design and packaging. By opting for concentrated formulations, we reduce the need for plastic bottles and the overall environmental footprint of our products. This eco-friendly approach resonates with consumers and allows us to reduce the packaging waste
4. Cultural Representation: BlackTravelBox is more than just a product line; it’s a brand that champions representation in the beauty and travel industries. Our products and brand message celebrate and affirm the beauty and authenticity of the Black travel experience, filling a significant gap in the market.
Q: What has been the most challenging part of bringing BlackTravelBox to life so far?
A: Launching BlackTravelBox has been a journey through unprecedented personal and professional challenges that would have sent anyone running for the hills. But ironically, the more I work on the business, the clearer it has become that I was born to create this brand. Through it all, the texts, emails, and DMs from Black women around the globe saying “thank you, you see me, keep going” have held me up. The beauty industry is still broken for Black women. And there are some great new brands out there clearing a path – particularly in cosmetics. But for personal care, we’ve still got a long way to go industry-wise and I’m really excited to see BlackTravelBox be a part of that.
Q: Best advice you’ve ever received or advice you would like to share with aspiring founders and entrepreneurs?
A: Use your gut and be relentless. There is something you uniquely bring to the world and to what you do. The only way to leverage that is to be true to yourself and learn to honor it.
Q: Can you share a little about any exciting launches coming up for BlackTravelBox?
A: Sadly my launch game just isn’t there – so no big announcements for now.
Q: What trends are on your radar in the ecommerce space, to help drive BlackTravelBox‘s growth?
A: It’s really interesting that affiliate marketing has made a comeback in many ways. It’s one of the oldest ways to scale a sales team and really make customer acquisition a cash flow friendly endeavor (because you pay after the customer has). But in recent years it was really more so about paying influencers to promote rather than utilizing them as essentially a commission based sales force. So as a solopreneur this is something that I’m slightly obsessed with now. I have already started to build our affiliate program and I’m really excited to see where it can take us.
Q: Where can consumers learn more about you and BlackTravelBox?
A: Find us online at blacktravelbox.com and amazon.com. Join us live every week for Wine Down Wednesday on instagram.
Interested in partnering with Orion and supporting founders as they bring their vision to life? Contact Flywheel Strategy to start the conversation.
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