Monique and Melvin Rodriguez, CEO and COO of Mielle, a black-founded, female-led hair care brand for women … [+]
Mielle Organics, a women’s haircare company known and loved by millions within the textured haircare community, joins international consumer goods company Proctor and Gamble (P&G) . With this, Mielle joins her family of more than 60 popular brands at P&G, including household products such as Tide, Gillette, Febreze, Vicks and Pampers.
The partnership blossomed from the early beginnings of CEO and co-founder Monique Rodriquez, leveraging nearly a decade of experience as a registered nurse to become the first hair care industry to receive over $100 million in investment funding. created a brand. And since then, it has expanded into a household essential for consumers with textured hair, with distribution in countless national retailers in over 85 countries around the world.
The Mielle founding couple explains how their partnership with P&G expands access to hair product innovations for the Black and Brown community, additional philanthropic collaborations aimed at pushing things forward, and what’s next for the hair care industry. Read more about Words of Wisdom for a Generation of Entrepreneurs. .
Partnerships: Expanding Innovation
When the news broke, fans of Mielle’s products took to the internet to share their joy, but also their hope that the brand would remain loyal to its customer base. Monique Rodriguez confirmed this during the release, sharing: The move she sees allows brands to level up while staying true to their values.
Dynamic duo Monique Rodriquez and her husband, COO Melvin Rodriquez, look forward to continuing their focus on delivering natural ingredients, innovative technology-driven products, and inspiring educational content. increase. In addition, they will strategically work with her P&G Beauty team to increase product accessibility in the Black and Brown community and achieve her Mielle’s long-term goals of investing in research and innovation. We are planning to support her Mielle with a variety of tools.
In a memo confirming the collaboration, Lera Coffey, vice president of P&G’s multicultural hair care business, said: And we are thrilled to help them continue their success. P&G Beauty’s role is to provide what the Miel Organics team needs to achieve their vision and contribute to their success. It’s about making sure the core beliefs continue as they are today. ”
The founders of Mielle have seen P&G stay true to these values since the beginning of the partnership. Mielle’s CEO said he felt welcomed by a diverse team of leaders who are passionate about fostering innovation, education and community empowerment.
“This partnership gives Mielle the opportunity to bring the great products and formulas our community loves to consumers with more textured hair,” says Monique Rodriguez.
P&G x MIEL philanthropic collaboration
P&G and Mielle launched the Mielle Organics partnership while also working together to invest resources in the nonprofit Mielle Cares to advance initiatives important to the Black and Brown community. Similarly, by investing in her Mielle Cares, P&G is using the opportunity to expand its efforts on award-winning platforms such as Widen the Screen and My Black is Beautiful to expand gender and racial equality. I’m looking for a way to boost the
The Rodiguez duo are also looking forward to more opportunities to give back to the community that has contributed to Mielle’s success. In particular, they were able to break down barriers for black entrepreneurs.Monique Rodriguez attributed much of this success to supporting brands at a time when less than 1% of black women secured $1 million in funding. Team, New Voices Fund for Women of Color, and Berkshire Partners.
Mielle Organics co-founder and COO Melvin Rodriguez said: “Mielle remains committed to leading the industry with purpose and impact, and guiding historically underserved communities. Impact on Black and Brown Communities. Expanding will be an even bigger focus in the coming years.”
Wisdom for early-stage entrepreneurs
One aspect of this work that empowers the founders of Rodriquez is the legacy they’re building for the community, but more specifically, the work they do as they scale from kitchen/garage to retail shelves nationwide. For my daughters who witnessed it.
As she ponders what to share with her younger self, her children, or her former shoe-wearing entrepreneur, Monique Rodriquez shares:
- Lean into Faith: The co-founder of Mielle found that her spiritual practice led her into a highly intentional space. Rodriquez recommends relying on her exponential power.
- Be passionate about your tech: “Passion helps you stay committed even when you don’t see funding or feel like something is happening,” says Rodriguez. “It sharpens the tenacity to continue.”
- Get hooked on your customers: Rodriguez has found it vital for entrepreneurs to learn about their customer base and explore the depth of their needs. This can be achieved through testing prototypes, market research, attending major in-person and virtual industry events, community surveys, and more.
- Ask for help: Rodriquez describes his success by relying on experts in their respective fields. By relying on her experts, her team obtains the most insightful data in a timely manner and makes informed decisions while trusting the impact those decisions will have on the relevant markets. It is now possible.
These words of wisdom inspire the Mielle team, who look forward to partnering with P&G to promote the opportunity to present a solution-driven brand and give the community access to the best possible products. I keep doing it.
