Lorna Hawthorne, a member of the family that founded Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery, Inc., the revolutionary Jamaican food company in the United States, is ready to launch LLHOMD Beauty Care. The new skin and hair care products brand has been developed specifically to meet the needs of Black women.
Hawthorne has always made her own beauty products in her home kitchen when she was unable to find what she needed on store shelves on with online retail outlets. In an interview with insider.com, she said her experiments with oils and scents prompted her to consider starting a new company to create products that would help people “feel beautiful on the outside.” As an experienced entrepreneur who helped in creating the million-dollar Golden Krust food company but moving into the new area of skincare was a new business for her, and she brought her sons in with her to start the firm.
After being refused a bank loan, Hawthorne’s husband, Lowell, attained funding from his local community in the Bronx, New York, to open the first Golden Krust restaurant. Since its establishment, the original New York restaurant has expanded into a chain of over 100 restaurants in several states. After Lowell’s death by suicide in 2017, however, the devastated family took several years away from the business to grieve his passing. Now, the Hawthornes are prepared to launch their new endeavor.
The new firm’s name, LLHOMD Beauty Care, comprises the initial of each family member’s first name: Lowell, Lorna, Haywood, Omar, Monique, and Daren. According to Daren Hawthorne, the new brand is about their immediate family as well as about filling in gaps experienced by Black women looking for beauty products. Headed by Lorna Hawthorne’s lived experience and business expertise, LLHOMD Beauty Care seeks to focus its offerings on Black women, who have traditionally been underserved by the beauty industry. Recently, there has been more inclusion, with firms such as singer Rihanna’s Fenty enterprise, but women of color still have only limited choices in beauty products made specifically for them.
LLHOMD launched in January of 2022 as a chiefly skin and haircare brand. Its offerings are described as multicultural, luxury-oriented, and affordable, with choices of body butters, shampoos, and hair oils. Omar Hawthorne noted that the firm wants to be a “one-stop-shop” where Black women can get everything they need. Starting the company during the pandemic was challenging in terms of obtaining the ingredients needed, and there were long waits for obtaining the required materials.
Lowell Hawthorne died before LLHOMD was created, but his spirit of entrepreneurialism and the power of education is a major part of the brand, according to his family. In addition to prioritizing beauty products for Black women, the company also wants to encourage other Black entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. A portion of LLHOMD’s sales is donated to the Lowell F. Hawthorne Foundation, which funds high school and college students in the Caribbean and the United States in pursuit of entrepreneurial endeavors.
