A Target ad for Honey Pot Company, an Atlanta-owned feminine hygiene product, sought to celebrate the black-owned brand during Black History Month. For some, the ad’s message of encouraging “black girls” to succeed was received as racist.
In a series of reviews on the consumer site Trustpilot, Honey Pot received negative feedback more for its Target promotion than the actual products, which include organic tampons, bath bombs and natural feminine washes.
In the advertisement for Target’s “Founders We Believe In” promotion, Honey Pot founder Bea Dixon talks about why her product matters.
“The reason why it’s so important for Honey Pot to do well is so the next black girl that comes up with a great idea — she can have a better opportunity,” Dixon said during the 30-second spot. “That means a lot to me.”
Some consumers took issue with Dixon pointing out that "black girls" would benefit from her product. Though the reviews have since been removed, Buzzfeed reports several reviewers panned Dixon for limiting the brand's reach to black people.
"I can't support a company in good faith that is openly racist about their customers," one review on Trustpilot read.
“Black girls are empowered using this product... I guess whites girls aren’t. I’ll be letting Target know about this racist company,” another review said.
The influx of bad reviews reached a benchmark that led Trustpilot to halt all comments on Honey Pot’s review page.
“The Honey Pot’s profile page on Trustpilot has been temporarily suspended while Trustpilot’s Content Integrity team investigates an unusual influx of reviews, some of which violate Trustpilot’s guidelines,” reads a message on the page. “The page will be reinstated after investigation of the reviews. Due to the high influx of reviews we cannot guarantee that reviews provide a genuine representation of the company.”
Though some gave feedback that revealed many of the negative reviewers had not tried the product, some of the now-unavailable reviews came from “avid” users of the products.
“I’ve used this brand for years now, and I’ve always been satisfied with the results,” one reviewer said. “If they really think that only black women should be empowered and white women should be left out then that’s a huge step backward from the open and friendly society we tried to create over the last decades. I can’t support a company in good faith that is openly racist about their customers.”
Dixon, whose business is based in Midtown Atlanta, told Buzzfeed the feedback about the commercial was unwarranted, stating that it’s “extremely apparent” her message was not racist. The brand, she said, seeks to include everyone, which is evidenced by the company’s tagline “made by humans with vaginas, for humans with vaginas.”
Fans of Honey Pot agreed, sharing positive reviews on Trustpilot and disputing the racist claims on Twitter.
“There is Nothing racist about commercial. At the end the owner simply said she wants product to do well so the next black girl can have an opportunity,” one reviewer wrote. “There was no mention of black men and you don’t hear any backlash in that regard. Some folks are very miserable and want to continue racism.”
Since the controversy began, Dixon said her product has seen more support, and sales are surging. She said after news about the reviews broke Monday, her company’s sales increased about 40% to 50%, compared with a typical Monday retail day.
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The product is currently sold at more than 1,800 Target stores and several Wegman and Whole Foods locations. Target released a statement in support of Dixon’s brand after the controversy.
"Target has a longstanding commitment to empowering and investing in diverse suppliers that create a broad variety of products for our guests," the statement said. "We’re proud to work with Bea Dixon and The Honey Pot team to highlight Bea’s journey to build her brand and bring her products to Target."
Dixon said she hopes the main gain from the backlash is that the public learns the uphill battle black, female entrepreneurs face.
“I can’t expect them to understand the plight of what it is to be a black woman co-founder in business,” she told Buzzfeed. “When things like this happen, things change,” Dixon said.
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