Steve Canal and Enitan Bereola empower Black-owned brands with new venture FLOURYSH
Steve Canal and Enitan Bereola have both worked with large corporate entities and small brands at different points in their careers. As a result, they both have a keen understanding of what it takes for independent companies to scale and achieve success. To help Black-owned businesses become more visible and reach their full potential, Canal and Bereola created the eCommerce platform, FLOURYSH.
“Culturally, supporting Black-owned businesses has been ingrained in our DNA,” Canal told the Atlanta Daily World. “Anytime we were on a tour, or we did events, Enitan would always bring light to the amount of Black-owned brands that are out there doing it right with quality and great customer service. I’ve always admired Black-owned businesses. They speak to culture and who we are as people. And it was an opportunity for us to put a platform together that can support the community as a whole more than just selling products on a website.”
While working with corporate brands, Canal and Bereola also realized how much storytelling played a major role in marketing products. So storytelling is a key component for FLOURYSH, an Atlanta-based company, and the brands that are featured on the platform.
“Enitan and I are both best-selling authors,” Canal shared. “So we’re focused on storytelling. We realized how hard it was to shop and discover Black-owned brands. There was nothing that offered that outside of just lists. So we wanted to put something together that can make it easier for people to support. Any culture, any race, can support and easily find Black-owned brands. So we’re taking away the excuse and creating a platform for people to be able to discover the community.”
Black culture moves the needle globally, but it’s important for Black-owned brands to have access and reach. A lack of opportunities for business owners can negatively impact the potential for growth.
“Within the Black community, we tend to work off of pure talent,” Canal says. “We haven’t been fortunate enough across the board to have parents that worked for a corporate brand, or live next door to the CEO of Netflix, or have that structural foundation in regards to business. We’re usually the first generation to experience a high level of success. So for us, it’s an opportunity to apply what we’ve learned within those spaces to create a platform to allow
and help Black-owned brands.”
Overall, FLOURYSH—a company that uses technology tools such as Klaviyo, Klevu, and Settle—seeks to provide a boost to independent businesses and put the genius of Black creativity on display.
“Everything that we (as Black people) have ever put our hands on always rises to the top,” Bereola says. “I believe that when we put our thumbprint on something, it’s always more saucy. It becomes more unique. The ideas are ingenious. It’s a joy to be able to present a platform and provide a space for everybody to shop and discover dope brands created by beautiful Black people.”
