Yeleen Beauty Makerspace in Northeast celebrated the official ribbon cutting of the District’s first shared manufacturing hub for independent beauty brands on Sept. 8.

The standing-room-only event brought together city leaders, including D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, small-business champions, and local entrepreneurs to mark an important step toward greater access to beauty manufacturing.

A 2022 McKinsey & Company report found that while the beauty industry is worth $60 billion, only $2.5 billion goes to Black-owned businesses — even though Black consumers spend $6.6 billion each year on beauty products.

Yeleen Beauty Makerspace is a 3,000-square-foot co-manufacturing and tech hub designed to reduce time-to-market and upfront capital needs for small and indie brands, made possible with ge

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