Outpost Natural Foods in Wisconsin Sells a Growing Number of Black-Owned Products
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When an entrepreneur’s product can be purchased from a brick and mortar store, increased brand recognition is often an accomplishment that leads to more open doors and a manifestation of hard work. This is why Outpost Natural Foods’s effort to be inclusive in its product offerings is particularly significant for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) business owners.
According to WUWM, the Wisconsin-based co-operative recognized that COVID-19 exposed many disparities in non-White ethnic groups. Additionally, racial justice issues has been on the company’s radar. These factors led Outpost Natural Foods to take inclusive steps to feature more minority-owned businesses as vendors.
WUWM One of Outpost Co-ops four locations in Milwaukee located near North 1st Street and West Capitol Drive.
Minority-owned small businesses have struggled to stay afloat throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than half of Black-owned business owners say the pandemic has had a negative effect on their business. Fifty-seven percent of Latino and 63% of Asian American & Pacific Islander business owners say the same. This is according to Small Business Majority, a national small business organization that empowers diverse entrepreneurs to build a thriving and equitable economy.
COVID-19 exposed many disparities in non-white ethnic groups. But the pandemic’s disparate impact on Black folks did not stop them from leading social justice movements nationwide in the wake of police killings of Black and brown people.