FERNDALE – Gwen Jimmere of Naturalicious is the first African American woman in history to hold a U.S. patent for a natural hair care product – and Naturalicious in just three years has topped $1 million in annual sales. You can find her products at select Whole Foods stores and on Amazon.
Jimmere developed her own hair care product formula because she could not find a hair straightening product that was made with natural ingredients. She developed the original formula in her kitchen and has been mixing Naturalicious in her basement.
But this month she is moving her operations into Ponyride, a colocation space in Corktown, where her two employees and 14 contractors will work continue to help her build the company.
At the urging of her mother, Jimmere self-patented her formula, a process that took about 15 months and saved her nearly $20,000 in attorney fees.
To hear Jimmere’s remarkable entrepreneurial story, click on https://soundcloud.com/podcastdetroit/m2-34-inforum-naturalicious?in=podcastdetroit/sets/m2techcast-on-podcastdetroit
