ESSENCE Communications Inc. has unveiled WeLoveUs.shop powered by ESSENCE, a new community commerce platform designed to help Black women-led and culturally rooted brands navigate what the organisation describes as one of the toughest labour and economic markets in decades. The platform, launched on 3 December, aims to provide stronger cash flow, improved visibility, and direct access to consumers, particularly during peak shopping periods.
The new digital retail destination features a curated range of Black-owned brands spanning beauty, wellness, home, lifestyle and gifting. ESSENCE says each brand has been carefully selected through its editorial lens, ensuring a trusted and cohesive customer experience while enabling consumers to invest directly in the work of Black founders.
According to ESSENCE, the initiative comes at a crucial time. Despite Black women creating businesses at some of the highest rates nationally, many face challenges including restricted access to capital, delayed payment cycles and fewer opportunities to scale. WeLoveUs.shop powered by ESSENCE aims to tackle these barriers through bi-weekly payouts, real-time inventory syncing via Shopify Collective, centralised customer service and a transparent 30–35% commission model. ESSENCE believes this structure replaces the long wait times associated with traditional retail and offers founders the operational flexibility they need to grow.
The launch collection for Cyber Week reflects categories where Black women are driving both cultural influence and consumer demand. Brands such as SAREP + ROSE, LAMIK Beauty, Abeille Creations, KAZMALEJE, F&W Style, SOKO, Alodia Haircare, Pecandy, RVL Wellness Co and Maneuver Men’s Grooming are among those featured. More than 100 Black-owned brands, offering over 1,000 products, have already signed on to join upcoming curated collections tied to key retail moments including Black History Month, Mother’s Day, ESSENCE Festival of Culture®, and Father’s Day.
Demand is expected to grow further as the platform expands to include accessories, leather goods, home fragrance, specialist foods, kid care and emerging lifestyle categories. ESSENCE says each product drop will align with moments when shoppers are more intentional about where their money goes.
“Black women are building businesses in the midst of economic uncertainty, and they often do it without access to the retail infrastructure their peers rely on,” said Michele Ghee, Chief Content Officer, ESSENCE Communications Inc. “The WeLoveUs.shop platform was designed to offer stability and a real pathway to scale in a moment where that support is needed most.”
WeLoveUs.shop is part of the broader Sundial Media & Technology Group ecosystem, which focuses on supporting small businesses by closing gaps in visibility, discovery, credibility and demand. All participating brands benefit from exposure across ESSENCE, Refinery29, Beautycon™, Unbothered, NaturallyCurly and SOKO MRKT™, as well as year-round access to New Voices Foundation programmes including coaching, peer learning and entrepreneurial networks.
“WeLoveUs.shop is more than a marketplace; it is an economic engine designed to restore opportunity, dignity, and ownership to communities that have been systematically excluded from growth,” said Richelieu Dennis, Executive Chairman of Sundial Group of Companies. “Through our Community Commerce model, we’re using the full strength of our platforms to redirect capital, visibility, and long-term economic value back into the hands of our entrepreneurs, our creators, and our consumers. This is about building an ecosystem where our communities don’t just participate in the economy—they shape it, they benefit from it, and they own their future within it.”
