n the world, other than my mother [singer Diana Ross] who wore their natural hair texture.” This experience helped Ross realise just how large the market was for consumers like herself and prompted her to start Pattern Beauty, a hair-care brand designed for curly, coily and tight-textured hair patterns that is now doing eight figures in revenue.  New paradigm in marketing to Black consumers During her conversation with Butler-Young, Ross emphasised two main points of the brand’s purpose: catering to all consumers, regardless of gender or race, with curly, kinky or coily hair texture; and changing the standard for how Black-owned hair-care brands are represented in stores and how they are marketed to consumers, especially Black customers. “I wanted to change the [way] Black people were marketed to,” Ross recalled. “I am a shopper and I am somebody who loves beauty products. I understood that the way marketing [traditionally targeted Black consumers] didn’t work,” she elaborated. “Telling Black customers that their hair was a problem and that they needed this [product] to fix it absolutely did not work to me, for me. “My idea was, ‘How can we celebrate our hair, meet people where they are, and create a space of joy where people can enjoy what they have, who they are, and feel empowered while also having effective products that are not going to hurt them?’ [Because] hair is not a problem to fix or change.” For as long as Ross could remember, when she went into stores to find products for natural hair, they were tucked away in the back of stores, in areas with poor lighting and unappealing displays.  Ross strongly believed that displaying her products in a way that would appeal to herself as a consumer, would also connect with a broader consumer base.  Another issue she felt passionate about changing was the racial profiling of Black shoppers in stores. Ross called Mary Dillon, who was then-CEO of big-box beauty retailer Ulta Beauty, to discuss the issue of racial profiling, which eventually led to a conversation about working together.  “I brought to the table some very clear markers of things that I needed answers to and they brought to the table the things they were concerned about, looking at how they were going to address those things… And we came together, and it offered us an opportunity to really learn about the customer together,” Ross said.  “It was one of my first business opportunities to actually step up to the plate and realise that although we are not a celebrity brand, I have a name and I have access at certain tables that it is my responsibility to use, for more than just me and more than just Pattern Beauty.”  The business of authenticity   When Butler-Young asked Ross why she thinks her brand stands out in a sea of celebrity-founded companies, the beauty entrepreneur responded that it is because Pattern Beauty “is not a celebrity brand, it is a beauty brand”. At the end of the day, Pattern Beauty is built for and guided by the needs of Black consumers, and for all consumers with curly, kinky or coily hair, regardless of race and gender.  It is through this deep understanding of how consumers want to be marketed to and the power of storytelling that Ross has achieved success in a hypercompetitive hair-care market. In addition to a thriving direct-to-consumer business, Pattern Beauty has developed a roster of retail partners that includes Ulta Beauty, Sephora, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Target and more. Inside Retail’s coverage of the 2025 Big Show is brought to you by Adobe.