hen Target released their commercial for The Honey Pot, a line of feminine hygiene products, during Black History Month – they didn’t expect to receive backlash.
Beatrice Dixon, the company founder was excited that her products would be welcomed for sale inside the retail giant. In the commercial Dixon states, “The reason why it’s so important for Honey Pot to do well is so the next Black girl that comes up with a great idea, she can have a better opportunity.”
Dixon did her best to inspire the next generation, and soon after hating commenced. Racist’s comments trolled the reviews of her company on trustpilot.com; so much so that TrustPilot suspended The Honey Pots product page for review. The site noted that some of the reviews violate commenting guidelines.
“It is unfortunate that she wants the next Black girl to do better,” a hateful comment read, “This is racist and exactly why I will not buy this product,” another posted about the feminine care line.
Despite the vicious lies and attacks on her company, Dixon has been able to keep a good heart about everything. She initially launched The Honey Pot back in 2012; in response to battling a year-long fight against bacterial vaginosis. Since then, Honey Pot has landed on shelves at CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and of course Target – whose controversy has led to products being sold out across the country.
The same day news hit about the influx of haters – past fans and those soon to be converted, took to the stores in defense of the company.
“So many people who were our fans, and even those that hadn’t even used the product, went to bat for us,” Dixon says. “So we didn’t have to do much conflict management. There was a turnaround within hours that took us from 2.5 stars to like 4.9 stars. It has been a beautiful experience.”
The initial negative feedback proved to be a good thing. The brands current yearly sales report shows that sales have skyrocketed – surpassing year-end 2019 altogether.
As of March 16, the shelves have been restocked, so check out The Honey Pot soon.