Detroit Evening Report: Detroit-based Lip Bar is the biggest Black-owned makeup brand at Target

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The Lip Bar lipstick next to a Target logo.

The Lip Bar is celebrating a milestone by becoming the largest Black-owned makeup brand sold at Target.


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Founder Melissa Butler shared the news on her Instagram account. In the video, Butler says her brand now occupies 6 ft. of shelf space inside Target stores, which is prime real estate in the retail world.

The Detroit native is overwhelmed with emotion when she visits a local Target to see her products prominently displayed.

“Y’all may not know how MAJOR this is. We are the first black owned makeup company to take up this much space. I just love making Black History during Black History Month,” Butler wrote in her IG post.

 

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A post shared by Mel B (@melissarbutler)

Butler and the Lip Bar have come a long way since she took her idea to the reality show Shark Tank and left without any investments.

After 10 years and more than 2 million units sold, the Lip Bar products are available at Target, Walmart, Meijer and at its flagship store at Parker’s Alley in downtown Detroit.

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Author

  • Sascha Raiyn is Education Reporter at 101.9 WDET. She is a native Detroiter who grew up listening to news and music programming on Detroit Public Radio.