In February 2023, High Wide & Handsome launched Project Boost—a search for an independent, Black-owned business in Los Angeles that would benefit from a year of our strategy and creative services for free. Within weeks, we received more than 60 inspiring and deserving submissions from businesses across a wide swath of categories: fashion, cosmetics, food, beverages, catering, home accessories and more. Choosing a winner wasn’t easy, but in the end, we selected Josephine & Billie’s—a woman-owned cannabis dispensary with a 1920s speakeasy vibe. After a year of working with J&B’s founder, Whitney Beatty, on everything from social media strategy and content to branding and signage, the store is enjoying more traffic and sales than ever (owed entirely to Whitney’s category expertise and entrepreneurial acumen). So for year two, we’re welcoming a new Project Boost client: Mela Vitamins, the first multivitamin for melanated women. Founded by Ashley Harmon, Mela was the runner-up for Project Boost 2023. We thought so highly of Ashley’s original submission that we just had to find an opportunity to support her business. And with year two of Project Boost, that opportunity is now.
Welcome, Ashley and Mela Vitamins. We’re excited to be working with you.
