Sometimes, your calling will find you in the most unexpected ways.
Just ask Maekaeda Gibbons. As the founder of Brown Sugar Babe, she initially had no intentions of becoming a fragrance mogul (and is, as the kids say). She was just trying to smell good without going broke. And if she didn’t find this path, a lot of us would be less moisturized, and smell a little less fragranted.
Back in 2018, she was working at Bank of America, and like most of us, she loved expensive perfumes but hated expensive perfume prices. So she started making her own versions—body oils that captured the vibes of her favorite high-end scents. It was purely selfish, she admits. “My goal was to retire from Bank of America,” she tells me when we sit down at Nobu Hotel in Atlanta to celebrate the launch of their newest limited release, Sweet Honey Buckin’ to coincide with the Cowboy Carter tour touching down in the city.
Well, it’s safe to say that that retirement plan went out the window. After taking a bet on herself (while having her family hold her down), she’s built Brown Sugar Babe, a brand that started as her little side project, into an extremely profitable company that is about to hit $20 million in revenue this year.
And you’re probably thinking, $20 million from body oils?! Yes, you read that correctly, sis (though they’ve also got a few other products in their arsenal too, including fragrance oils, candles and home diffusers). Because if there’s one thing a Black woman is going to do, it’s take any product, add their secret sauce to it, and get other Black women to fall in love and support it too. After all, we do over index in the beauty category.
And even beyond her own personal success, Gibbons wanted to do more. That’s why she started the Black Fragrance Association, an organization committed to celebrating and amplifying Black creativity within the fragrance industry.
“I feel like we are so underrepresented,” she says. “Jackie Aina did not get nominated at the Fragrance Foundation Awards this year. Neither did Chris Collins. Both of them, I believe, submitted to be considered. And none of them did. And I think that’s criminal.”
The Black Fragrance Association focuses on education, scholarships, and grants. Funmi Monet, aka the Queen of #PerfumeTok was awarded the organization’s first scholarship, and there’s more on the horizon. Though, it’s not just about getting Black creators recognition (though, yes that’s important too). Gibbons overall goal is to create real opportunities in an industry that’s been ignoring us while we drive the conversation.
“This desire in me is to make sure that the girls that look like me feel seen,” Gibbons explains. “I don’t think that’s the case for regular fragrance brands. And I use the term regular, meaning their marketing strategy does not include Black women in a prominent way.”
And we do drive the conversation. Brown Sugar Babe’s customer base is 85% Black women, which isn’t surprising if you know anything about how we spend on beauty. We’re the ones making TikToks about layering scents, talking about which perfumes last longest, sharing our fragrance routines. But somehow the industry acts like we don’t exist when it comes to recognition.
But thankfully, Gibbons gets it. And she knows that for many of us, fragrance is ritual. We grew up watching our grandmothers layer oils and butters, understanding that smelling good is non-negotiable (the Black household is where the term “funky” came from, afterall). Gibbons tapped into that understanding and built a business around it.
Brown Sugar Babe takes popular fragrances and basically makes their own versions. Some people call it duping, and they’re not wrong. But Gibbons doesn’t care about the criticism. “For Brown Sugar Babe, we isolate the notes that the community loves and we amplify it. So it’s not identical to what the OG is,” she explains. “If I wanted to make a pound cake, I know people look at it as intellectual property, but it’s the same thing as recipes, like food recipes or there’s furniture dupes. Everything is an inspiration for everyone.”
And she’s got a fair point. Larger brands like Zara have been making designer dupes for decades, and shockingly, they don’t face the same level of criticism as an emerging Black owned brand.
“Building a legacy for my family is the most important thing to me.”
And she means it. All five of her siblings work full-time in the business now, with a total of 47 people employed by the company. Gibbons credits her success in building the brand to authenticity and consistency.
“I feel like, obviously the products are inspired by other popular fragrances, but me, the person, I’m very authentic. Believe it or not, I’m hilarious,” she laughs. “And I feel like showing that online, people gravitate towards that.”
It’s wild to think about where she started versus where she is now. “I legitimately did not expect myself to be here,” she reflects. But though she may not have planned to become a fragrance founder, this path found her anyway. And in the process, she’s helped thousands of us feel seen, scented, and centered.