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- [00:08]
Brooke Devard
Hello? Hello, this is Brooke Devard and you're listening to the Naked Beauty Podcast and you all are in for a treat because I am speaking to Beatrice Dixon now. If you don't know the name, Beatrice Dixon is the visionary founder who transformed a deeply personal health crisis into a cultural and commercial revolution. After suffering from bacterial vaginosis for eight months, she had a dream recovered where an ancestor gave her the formula to heal herself. The divine moment sparked the creation of the Honeypot Company, the first black owned plant derived feminine care brand sold at major retailers nationwide. I didn't have the luxury of walking into a store and seeing a product that was made for me by someone who looked like me, dixon once said. So I made it. Launched in 2014 with a single wash, the Honeypot has grown into a multimillion dollar empire, available at Target or Whole Foods, Walmart and more. Its success didn't just change shelves, it changed the conversation. Beatrice boldly built a brand that centers Black women, speaks openly about vaginal health, and refuses to compromise on clean, accessible ingredients. Vaginas aren't dirty, she has said. They are sacred. They deserve care, not shame. And care is exactly what Dixon has championed. She's created a safe space for feminine wellness that's honest, inclusive and rooted in healing. With her recent $380 million deal, she didn't just sell a she cemented a legacy. I'm not here to play small, dixon told one interviewer. I'm here to shift the culture. I am so excited to have this conversation with Beatrice today on Naked Beauty.
- [01:39]
Beatrice Dixon
I never thought I would be this obsessed with the toilet, but here we are. We installed the Kohler Vail Smart toilet right before I gave birth. And for any postpartum moms listening, you know how those first few weeks can be. This toilet honestly made my recovery so much more comfortable. In the middle of the night, when you stumble into the bathroom, you don't want to turn on harsh lights that wake you up. The Vail nightlight glows this soft blue light, the seat automatically lifts and it's beautifully warm. You just sit down and do your thing and then the magic happens. The Vail Smart Toilet has this little remote with customizable cleansing features that wash you and even gently dry you with warm air. You literally don't need toilet paper. It sounds silly, but this toilet completely upgraded my day to day life.
- [02:25]
Laura Kim
It's luxury, but in the most fun, functional, practical way. And honestly, it's no surprise that Kohler partnered with Laura Kim, someone who knows great design, as the co creative Director of Oscar de la Renta and Mons. I love that Kohler partnered with someone like Laura to show how design can transform even the most unexpected objects, like a toilet. Discover the Kohler Vail Smart Toilet and go behind the scenes of their Laura Kim collaboration@kohler.com Beauty Bea I feel like.
- [02:53]
Brooke Devard
We'Re talking at a very interesting week for people listening. I don't know when this is coming out, but Road just got acquired for a billion dollars by Elf. And I feel like there's a lot of conversation amongst black founders specifically. And I'm just wondering, are you all on a group chat? Like, are you and Monique all talking about it? Is this something that is being talked about in your circles?
- [03:14]
Beatrice Dixon
I've talked to it about some people, but I'm happy for her, you know? You know, the thing you have to understand is they were doing like $200 million in sales, so.
- [03:24]
Brooke Devard
212 million in sales.
- [03:26]
Beatrice Dixon
Yeah. So. So $1 billion, Val.
- [03:31]
Brooke Devard
Yes.
- [03:31]
Beatrice Dixon
You know, it makes complete sense. And not only that, she had only made that online.
- [03:37]
Brooke Devard
Right.
- [03:38]
Beatrice Dixon
So when it comes to acquisitions and people acquiring your company, they need to be able to see what kind of meat is on the bone. Right. Clearly there's a lot of meat on the bone because she's only done that online. So I think when people hear not only that beauty multiples are different. Right. Like, I won't speak for Monique and Melvin, but I know in our space, you know, we're looking at a lot of different multiples. We're in menstrual care. You know, that multiple can be a 3-4x or, you know, just looking at your numbers. We're in cosmetic, you know, vulva care and body care and things like that. Our multiples don't go as high as beauty does. Right. Especially as tech beauty. Right. So I think people have to understand the relativity of how these things work. And that's hard to know. Like, if you've, if you've never done this, there's no way for you to know. But it makes sense that they got a billion dollars. It would have been weird, actually, if she didn't get a billion dollar valuation doing $212 million in sales in a couple years, you know.
- [04:48]
Brooke Devard
Right. I'm happy to know, though, that there is that camaraderie between black founders at your level because there are so few black founders who have done what you've been. So I like to know that you all talk and communicate.
- [05:01]
Beatrice Dixon
Thank you. No, I mean, we. I. I'm not, I'm not in A text conversation with Mo and Melvin. I have talked to a couple of my friends, you know, some of my PE friends and just some of my friends about it. But you know, at the end of the day, shit, I'm happy for her. You know what I mean? Anybody that can, anybody that can do a billion dollar sell. I'm also happy for Huda, you know, I mean, these women are killing it, you know, and it's good for us all.
- [05:31]
Brooke Devard
It is, it is.
- [05:32]
Beatrice Dixon
You know, so, you know, congratulations to them.
- [05:36]
Brooke Devard
Yes. Well, I want to get into your, your early story. I know you are from Atlanta and I feel like growing up in Atlanta, Georgia is just different. There's such a unique culture, such so much community. What were you like growing up?
- [05:49]
Beatrice Dixon
So, okay, so I did, I grew up as an adult in Atlanta.
- [05:52]
Brooke Devard
Okay. Where were you as a young, young girl?
- [05:55]
Beatrice Dixon
As a Young girl Before 10, I lived in the DMV.
- [05:59]
Brooke Devard
Okay.
- [06:00]
Beatrice Dixon
And then after 10, we moved to Phoenix, Arizona.
- [06:04]
Brooke Devard
Oh, wow.
- [06:05]
Beatrice Dixon
Which is wildly different.
- [06:06]
Brooke Devard
Very different.
- [06:07]
Beatrice Dixon
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was, it was interesting. I went to Greenway High School. I, I was an okay student. I really wasn't like a, you know, I really, I was like a C student, if I'm honest with you. Like, my mom was not. My mom was like, pass. You know, pass. And if you don't go to school, you gotta get a job, you know, like, that was her energy. Like, it was like you have. Cause she knew, she knew me and she knew that it's hard for me to do things if I'm not into it. You know, I've been that way since I was a kid. And so I don't know, I mean, it was cool. I lived in suburbia when we lived there, which, which I'm very much allergic to. I went to a predominantly white school. Nothing wrong with that. It's just that it's important, I think, as a young human being to be able to see yourself represented in the humans around you. I was in the Future Business Leaders of America and I excelled at that. I was in the debate club. I excelled at that. You know, like the things that I really was into. And it kind of makes sense that I excelled at those things because.
- [07:22]
Brooke Devard
Yeah, it makes sense now. Do you remember getting your first period?
- [07:27]
Beatrice Dixon
I don't, if I'm fully honest with you. I do know, like, I can't give you the full on details, but I do know that my mommy was excited for me.
- [07:39]
Brooke Devard
Okay.
- [07:40]
Beatrice Dixon
And she made it exciting, you know, like she made it, she made it a thing, you know?
- [07:46]
Brooke Devard
And Like a pad or a tampon. Like, do you remember learning how to use these things in the early years?
- [07:53]
Beatrice Dixon
No. I mean, definitely not a tampon. You know, I don't know. What did your mommy do? Tampons?
- [07:59]
Brooke Devard
No. No.
- [08:00]
Beatrice Dixon
Yeah, because, like.
- [08:01]
Brooke Devard
But I do remember because I was on the swim team. I remember very. I. I remember when I got my period, but I was on the swim team, and I think I was on swim team, too. Okay. So, you know, swim practice pretty soon after. I remember having to put a tampon in it and it being scary, like.
- [08:17]
Beatrice Dixon
Yeah.
- [08:18]
Brooke Devard
How do I do it? I don't understand now that you say.
- [08:21]
Beatrice Dixon
That, but I wasn't on the swim team till much later. I think I was like, I don't know, like 15, 16. You know, I entered into high school when I was. I want to say when I was 14. I entered into high school a little early.
- [08:35]
Brooke Devard
Okay.
- [08:36]
Beatrice Dixon
But when I first got my period, there was no way that my mom was letting me use a tampon. But I remember. I remember that she showed me how to put on a pad back then. You douched. So she. She told me, you know, after I get my period, kind of towards the last few days, you know, to do a douche, so I can just rinse everything out.
- [08:59]
Wow.
- [08:59]
You know, they didn't know no better. Then she introduced me to Norforms.
- [09:04]
Brooke Devard
What is that?
- [09:05]
Beatrice Dixon
So Norform is like a supply. It's like an herbal suppository. I don't want. I wonder if they're still around. But it's an herbal suppository that you put inside, and it basically kind of cleanses you, you know, or at least that's what we thought it did. But. Yeah, so. So she. So she told me those things. Those things I remember. But I can't tell you how old I was. Like, maybe one of my ancestors is telling me I was 12. So I get. Maybe I was 12. You know, I don't. I don't remember fully, you know, but yeah, she. She made it. She made it beautiful.
- [09:41]
Brooke Devard
I love that. In preparation for this interview, I was thinking about when I was learning to take care of my vulva. And I'm wondering what you learned from the adults around you growing up. So we heard about the dishes, even just. And also in my family, we used euphemism, so we said private parts. I can remember my grandmother would say, pocketbook. She'd say, clean your pocketbook. Use the washcloth and get into your pocketbook. What did you learn about taking care of your vulva? Growing Up.
- [10:09]
Beatrice Dixon
My mom called it, she called it the cootie or the pooty scooty. It was cute. And she, she told me the same thing, you know, just to make sure that I wash it good. She really leaned in with wiping. You know, I think, I think when I was a kid I had like certain types of vaginal issues. I was always really sensitive, so I had to be hyper vigilant about taking care of myself. But yeah, I mean, she taught me about the douching, she taught me about the norforms. I think there was a certain kind of soap, but I don't remember what it was. It definitely wasn't okay. So that. No wonder my coochie was acting up.
- [10:52]
Brooke Devard
But yeah, well, I would, I would love to get to. I know you speak about this dream that you had hearing from your ancestors to create this product. Could you tell us that story?
- [11:02]
Beatrice Dixon
Yeah. So I had bacterial vaginosis for almost a year and it was reoccurring and it would come every single month right after my period. And nothing that I did worked. I lived on metronidazole or flagyl clindamycin. The doctors would go back and forth between those because they didn't want my body to get used to any one of them, even though my body totally did. I lived on Google consistently, just trying different remedies and recipes and, you know, like things like putting yogurt in a tampon applicator and freezing it, or, you know, wrapping a piece of garlic with cheesecloth and then sewing a string on it. I mean, it was wild. I was doing all kinds of stuff. Hydrogen peroxide douches, herbal blend douches. And not like the douche you get at the store, but like the old school douchebag. You know what I'm talking about?
- [12:02]
Brooke Devard
Right?
- [12:02]
Beatrice Dixon
You know, I was taking all kinds of herbs, I was doing everything. Nothing worked. Nothing. The only thing that worked, and I'm not saying this recommending it, by the way, but I remember one of the main things that gave me relief was the hydrogen peroxide douche. And it was a very tiny amount of hydrogen peroxide. The rest was water. And partly the reason for that, when you think about it, it makes sense, is because the vagina makes hydrogen peroxide. Like, and that's one of the things that helps you to create the good bacteria. And so, you know, so I was trying everything again. Do not recommend any of those things. Please don't do that stuff. Please, please, please. And, you know, and it was just really rough because the BV I had Was. It stunk really bad. I was the person in the bathroom that stuck up the bathroom. I was the person getting in a car. You could smell me in the car, you know, I just. I didn't know what to do, you know, and there was a lot of shame associated with it because I knew that people could smell me or I. You know, and even if they couldn't, I was. I felt like they could, you know, because you can always smell yourself, you.
- [13:16]
Brooke Devard
Know, I'm sure it made you very self conscious.
- [13:19]
Beatrice Dixon
It made me so self conscious. And so one morning, my grandmother came to me. It wasn't a dream. I don't know what you would call it, but we were in a space together. Everything was white. Table was white. She was wearing white. I was wearing white. The light was white. It was beautiful. And she told me that she had been walking with me and she had been seeing me struggle, and she knew what to do. And so she handed me this piece of paper, and it had. All it had on it was a list of ingredients. It looked like a grocery list, you know, and she told me I needed to memorize what was on the paper. Well, I'm trying to talk to her because I've never met her before, because she's transitioned. When my mother was very young, you know, and she was like, babe, I'm not here for that. Like, and I can't be here long. Right. Can't imagine what she had to do to get there. You know, for us to be able to see our ancestors don't have to do much for us to hear them. If you're really tapped in.
- [14:17]
Brooke Devard
So I was going to ask you about that, and I want to hear the rest of this, but just how do you in tune with hearing these voices from the other side, from our ancestors?
- [14:29]
Beatrice Dixon
That runs in my family.
- [14:30]
Brooke Devard
Okay. You've always had this intuition, this. This ability to receive these messages.
- [14:35]
Beatrice Dixon
Since I was 12.
- [14:37]
Brooke Devard
Wow.
- [14:38]
Beatrice Dixon
Yeah, since I was 12. I think we all have it, but I think. I think some of us are just more attuned to it and are open to. First of all, you have to be open to it. Right. Second of all, you know, I think you need to be tapped into yourself, you know, but it's still not an easy thing to do because sometimes you think you're crazy. Like, am I really hearing that? Or you understand, like. Or am I making that up? Because sometimes it sounds like your own voice, you know, or sometimes it sounds like somebody's whispering in your ear, or sometimes it feels like a telepathic message. Where you can just hear it, you know, or see it. It's hard to explain, but yeah. And so she told me to start repeating the ingredients. And so that's what I did. I just kept repeating it. And then she would be like, again, again. And then finally she told me, wake up. Like, she yelled it, yelled it. And I popped up out of the bed. And as soon as I popped up, I woke up saying, apple cider vinegar, lavender rose, garlic, grapefruit seed. Like, I remember it like it was yesterday. It's wild coconut oil. Like, I remember it, you know.
- [15:49]
Brooke Devard
Wow.
- [15:50]
Beatrice Dixon
And I. So I wrote it down. I had just initiated into Santeria Lukumi at that time. And so my spirit was really open. I had, you know, I had. I mean, I was just back. I was wearing all the white. I had shaved off all my hair. Like I had done everything, you know. And so I kept. Because I'm a dreamer, I dream a lot. And so I wrote it down and I went to work that day. I worked at Whole Foods and Whole Body, and I bought this stuff. I had BV at the time, and I bought this stuff and I went home and I made myself a formula. And I didn't know what it was going to be, but I was open to figuring it out. And it turned out that it was a wash. She knew that I'd be able to figure it out because I had a background in pharmacy. I worked in IV rooms and chemo labs and all that kind of stuff. And so I started using it right away. Within a few days, the odor had completely gone and also the discharge. And the moment that I realized that I was like, this is what I do now. Wow.
- [16:55]
Brooke Devard
Wow. And for you to take that and then scale it into the product it is today is really. I feel like you were born, you were meant to do the work that you're doing.
- [17:05]
Beatrice Dixon
I definitely was. This is my life's work. Part of it, anyway.
- [17:08]
Brooke Devard
Yes. Now, is it true that you sold your early products at the Dr. Bronner's Hair show in Atlanta?
- [17:15]
Beatrice Dixon
Yes, that was our first show.
- [17:17]
Brooke Devard
What was that like?
- [17:18]
Beatrice Dixon
That was wild. Cause it was a little nerve wracking because you don't know what to do or what to expect. Respect. You know, I kind of had. I had worked in the natural foods industry, so I did have an. A little bit of an idea of how to be and speak at a conference, you know, but it was crazy because when you do it, whenever you do a. Any kind of festival or hair show or any kind of event, you always Got to get into your flow, you know, like, what am I going to say? How am I going to greet people? And then based on the energy of the people is your pitch, you know, but you just refine it over time. But it was cool. We bought, like, a big banner. We were trying to figure out how to make the booth look nice, but on a budget. So we. We got, like, all the beautiful ingredients. Coconuts and roses and grapefruits and garlic and all these beautiful things, and we set it up on the table, you know, it was nice. It was nice.
- [18:15]
Brooke Devard
I love that. In the early years, as you're building this company and scaling, one of the things I've heard you talk about is how your, like, stress and cortisol can affect PH balance and. I know so.
- [18:28]
Beatrice Dixon
And hormones.
- [18:29]
Brooke Devard
And hormones, yes. Could you share more about that? Because I think a lot of people listening, you know, the work hard, a lot of us overwork ourselves, and we're not conscious of what impact that has on our vaginal.
- [18:40]
Beatrice Dixon
It has it on all of our health. Because the thing we have to remember is that I think sometimes as human beings, we compartmentalize a problem to a space on our body. So if we have a headache, we're thinking that. I think now people are more aware and awake and understand if you're having a headache, it's not just that you have a headache. You're probably dehydrated. Maybe you ate too much salt the day before you're going to start your period. There's a myriad of reasons why that may be happening, and that's directly connected to something else, you know? And so when you're thinking about cortisol levels and how that can affect your hormones and then how that can affect your blood sugar and then how that can affect your pancreas and your insulin levels, and it's one system, and it's like a domino effect, you know? And if you aren't aware of it and on top of it, it is so easy for everything to go out of balance. And we're all overworked. We're all over 5G EMF. You know, we're all. Our eyes are constantly looking at this blue light. We're in spaces with invisible WI fi. Like, none of this stuff is normal. You understand?
- [19:57]
Brooke Devard
Or how we've evolved. Right?
- [19:59]
Beatrice Dixon
Yeah.
- [20:00]
Brooke Devard
To take in all of this.
- [20:02]
Beatrice Dixon
Yeah, yeah. Like, our bodies are not set up because it's not just us, it's also all that stuff. It's the air we're breathing in our house. It's the Skin care products we're using on our skin. The, you know, the things that we're putting. The air fresheners that we're putting in our house to make the house smell good. You know what? It's like, all that stuff messes with us, you know? And when you consider how many things you encounter that are poisonous per day, it's astounding. It will blow your mind. And so I think how that relates to vaginal health is because it's one system. It's one thing. And some people can have all those things going on and be completely fine, and some people can have all those things going on and get reoccurring yeast infections, reoccurring UTIs, reoccurring BV. It just depends.
- [20:59]
Brooke Devard
Yes. And even I would love for you to talk about the cotton cover in pads, because not all pads are created equal. Not all tampons are created equal.
- [21:07]
Beatrice Dixon
They're not. Yeah. In fact, most conventional pads don't have any cotton in them at all, which is.
- [21:14]
Brooke Devard
And that's right up. You know, like, if you think about the skin contact.
- [21:19]
Beatrice Dixon
And the vagina. Yeah, yeah. And the vagina being a mucous membrane that is moisture all the time. So whatever is. Whatever chemicals are in that on whatever fabric, plastic, whatever you want to call it, whatever is on there is going into your body.
- [21:40]
Brooke Devard
Yes.
- [21:41]
Beatrice Dixon
Right. We may not be able to see it or smell it, but it's happening, you know? And so making sure that you're using organic cotton cover, you know, and I say cotton cover because pads aren't 100% cotton. Cotton. If they were, they wouldn't work that great. Right. They wouldn't absorb that great. There's. There's many layers to it. But the thing that's touching your skin should be organic cotton. It shouldn't have, like, titanium dioxide in it. It shouldn't have, you know, heavy chemicals in it. They still clean it with, like, a hydrogen peroxide solution because they. They need to clean it. Right. But, like, it's so important that we're using organic cotton on and around and in our vagina during our cy, because that's another place where we can be ingesting loads of chemicals.
- [22:36]
Brooke Devard
Yes. And I think I know the answer to this, but I just want to run it by you. Those scented tampons, I'm assuming bad.
- [22:43]
Beatrice Dixon
Yeah. Mainly because they're artificial. You know, when it comes to any kind of tampon, you just want to be careful. It. You probably want that to be as clean as possible with nothing in it, you know, but also it's your vagina, so you can do what you want, you know?
- [23:03]
Brooke Devard
True.
- [23:03]
Beatrice Dixon
That is true.
- [23:04]
Brooke Devard
I mean, I, I, I think that you really speak about taking care of your whole self, your whole body. So I'm curious, what rituals do you do to stay in alignment?
- [23:16]
Beatrice Dixon
I do a lot. I don't know if I'm always in alignment, but I do a lot. I, I work out three to four days a week. I walk a lot.
- [23:25]
Brooke Devard
What type of working out are we doing? Strength training.
- [23:28]
Beatrice Dixon
I work out with a trainer and we do a lot of like, hiit, cardio strength training, weights. Not like crazy heavy weights, but like, you know, as, as humans with vaginas, we really need to be lifting weight, you know?
- [23:43]
Brooke Devard
Yeah. I also work out with a trainer and I always say it's the best money that I could spend.
- [23:48]
Beatrice Dixon
It is, it is. It honestly is. It has transformed my body. In the last year, I've lost over £40 and I'm, you know, I've got nearly 20 more to go, but I'm really happy with where, with where my body is and how it feels. I do hyperbaric oxygen treatments. Actually have one at my house.
- [24:08]
Brooke Devard
Okay. You have hyperbaric oxygen chamber.
- [24:11]
Beatrice Dixon
Yeah.
- [24:12]
Brooke Devard
Please hear more. How often do you use it? What effects do you feel so.
- [24:17]
Beatrice Dixon
Oh, my God, I miss it. It was broken down for a while, but when I'm like, really good, like, really good, I'll do it one to two times a week. And also we've been like, moving around and in between houses and all kinds of stuff. But when I'm really good, I do it once or twice a week. It's really great for after you work out because it helps with your recovery. It also helps with oxygenating your blood, which is necessary because it's hard for disease to live in oxygen in an oxygenated environment. I get chiropractic care. I get acupuncture, obviously, massages. I drink basically nothing but water. I don't really drink anymore. I don't smoke weed anymore unless I'm like on vacation or something.
- [25:02]
Brooke Devard
But what about. So I love a sweet. Do you sugar or no?
- [25:08]
Beatrice Dixon
Yeah, I mean, I'm not a person who's like, anti sugar.
- [25:11]
Brooke Devard
I'm happy to hear that because, you know, there are people like, nope, no sugar. I'm like, I'm with you on the alcohol, but the sugar, I need sugar.
- [25:19]
Beatrice Dixon
I mean, I don't eat a lot of sugar, but, you know, and normally I use like coconut sugar or agave or honey.
- [25:26]
Brooke Devard
Okay.
- [25:27]
Beatrice Dixon
You know, like, I'm like You're not going to find, like, regular sugar in my house.
- [25:31]
Brooke Devard
Right.
- [25:32]
Beatrice Dixon
But, like, I just try to do everything that I can do. I keep a. We have this thing called a qui fi in our room in our bedroom, and it helps to kind of get. It helps to emit the EMF in the room. The elect. You know, electromagnetic frequencies. You know, I keep, like, a little card with me in my wallet that does the same thing. I don't know, sister. I do a bunch of stuff.
- [25:55]
Brooke Devard
You know, your skin is so beautiful. I need to thank you so much. Thank you. But what are you using?
- [26:03]
Beatrice Dixon
You know what? I am so simple with my skin. I actually just made myself a turmeric face wash. Ooh. Actually is very easy to make.
- [26:15]
Brooke Devard
Tell us.
- [26:16]
Beatrice Dixon
It's like a third of clean water, a third of, like, a coconut castile soap. So, like, not. Not much, because you don't want to put in a big bottle. You want to put in a small bottle. I did a third of aloe vera gel.
- [26:31]
Brooke Devard
Love.
- [26:32]
Beatrice Dixon
And then a fourth of sesame seed oil. Love.
- [26:35]
Brooke Devard
Sesame seed oil.
- [26:37]
Beatrice Dixon
Yeah. And then I did, like, a teaspoon of just turmeric powder. And you just shake it up and use it, you know, but it's very easy to make, I think. Oh, and I also put honey in it.
- [26:50]
Brooke Devard
Wow. Wow.
- [26:50]
Beatrice Dixon
Yeah.
- [26:52]
Brooke Devard
Back to going to Whole Foods actually and Whole Body and buying all of this stuff. I used to make my own cleansing oils and serums.
- [26:59]
Beatrice Dixon
Yeah.
- [26:59]
Brooke Devard
I've fallen out of the habit because, you know, you get used to just using skin sent to you that. I need to get back into it.
- [27:06]
Beatrice Dixon
Me, too. I said that, too, sister. I said that, too. I was like, let me make myself something. I saw something on. You know how you're, like, scrolling the Internet and it'll be like, I was on Pinterest and it'll serve you something. And it's something said like, DIY turmeric face soap. And I was like, this sounds cute. Exactly. And I ordered the stuff. I went on Instacart and ordered the stuff. But, yeah, I think another thing that's important to me is aesthetics. Like, at my house, it needs to smell how I need it to smell. I need to see plants. I need to see beautiful design. I need cleanliness and order. That's huge for me, you know, So I get my house cleaned a lot. Like, five days a week.
- [27:53]
Brooke Devard
You know, I like that you say you get it cleaned versus cleaning it yourself.
- [27:57]
Beatrice Dixon
Because, no, I couldn't do it. It would be impossible.
- [28:01]
Brooke Devard
Right, right.
- [28:02]
Beatrice Dixon
To invest in that. It's Worth it. It's a part of my wellness and I have a beautiful relationship with a beautiful man that I'm like best friends with, you know, and that's really nice.
- [28:14]
Brooke Devard
Do you all do things together, like do baths together?
- [28:19]
Beatrice Dixon
We do, we do. Oh, I do baths. I take a lot of baths.
- [28:22]
Brooke Devard
Okay.
- [28:23]
Beatrice Dixon
I take a lot of baths. But my, my bathing thing is, is a ritual. I have to like, shower, then take a bath, then take a shower again. Well, pee and then take a shower. But yeah, we do baths together. You know, he's, he's, he's in school to be an industrial designer. So he's pretty, he's an art and he's an artist. So he's pretty busy. We're both pretty busy. So whenever we get a chance, we do self care things together. But, but sometimes we don't. And that's okay. As long as we're doing it, that's what matters.
- [28:53]
Brooke Devard
Yes, yes. I want to go back to the moment where you, you know, Honeypot has grown. You have a lot of people that are interested in it. And I know you reportedly turned down a $450 million offer for a $380 million deal. I'm curious, what values guided that decision?
- [29:12]
Beatrice Dixon
I just think that had we taken that deal, like, it's no offense to the people behind, wouldn't have been a partnership. I don't want to focus on what it wouldn't have been. It just didn't. My intuition just told me that that wasn't it.
- [29:32]
Brooke Devard
Right.
- [29:32]
Beatrice Dixon
And that maybe I would have sold a little bit of my soul and Honey Pot soul. And, you know, I'm not really in the business of selling my soul. There's no value that can be put on that. So, you know, it just, it wasn't, it wasn't the right thing for us. That's just what it was.
- [29:52]
Brooke Devard
How do you maintain control as a founder? You know, you've scaled at what to 33,000 stores, but the brand still feels true to you and true to the initial mission. How do you maintain that control as a founder?
- [30:06]
Beatrice Dixon
I think that that has to come from within. One of our values is actually that we have like a human first mindset. We really, truly serve the humans that we serve. They come first, number one before everything. You know, it's like our customers, our team, you know, our retailers, and that's kind of the order that it goes in. You know, Honey Pot really has a soul. It has meaning. It was gifted to me from my ancestors. So it's like it's not Something that. It's not just a business. You know what I mean? And it is a business. It's through and through a business, but.
- [30:45]
Brooke Devard
It'S not just a business.
- [30:46]
Beatrice Dixon
It's not just a business. You know, we also make products for humans, vaginas. And that should not be done lightly. That should be. That should be done well and with intentionality and respect and responsibility and meaning. And going back to the question you had before, that's why who we partnered with was extremely important. I think that Compass really, Compass appreciated our leadership team. They appreciated our team overall. They wanted us to remain to grow the business because we didn't sell 100% of Honeypot. I'm still, you know, I only sold half of my equity. And so we are very lucky that we have the opportunity to go back out to market in the future, you know, to find the real, true home of Honeypot, you know, and to be able to be able to participate in that, in an additional wealth event, That's a powerful thing, you know, and so I just think that, like, who we're partnered with, who we serve, how we serve them, the products that we make, how we make them, the humans that work here, how we respect them and work with them, and they work. You know what I mean? Like, it's. It's. Everything goes together.
- [32:10]
Brooke Devard
Everything goes together. And I think what I hope, as someone that, you know, has been doing this for eight years and talking to so many different founders, is I always want black founders to find homes for their products and brands so that they can grow and also relax and enjoy the fruits of their labor. I'm interested in this discussion. It seems that a lot of people don't believe that black owned brands should ever sell.
- [32:33]
Beatrice Dixon
That's ridiculous. Because we have businesses. We are human beings. And it's very easy to say when you are a person who does not have a business, who has never run one, who has no idea what it takes. Right. We are in business, yes, to serve humanity, but we are also in business to create wealth.
- [32:57]
Brooke Devard
Yes.
- [32:57]
Beatrice Dixon
Business is commerce. Commerce is money. It's interesting, like what it takes, the 80 to 100 hour work weeks, the living on airplanes, the sleeping in hotels, the eating out, the being away from your family, people that are that. That. That don't believe that black businesses should sell, probably would not want to live a day in those types of shoes.
- [33:24]
Brooke Devard
Absolutely.
- [33:25]
Beatrice Dixon
You know, because. Because it's not fair. Why is it okay for Dove to sell? Right? Why? Why is it okay for all these tech giants to sell? Why is it okay For Haley to sell. Why is it okay for Kylie Jenner to sell, but it's not okay for us to sell? That's ridiculous. That is ridiculous. We should be happy for each other. This is what happens with businesses, right? Either you're going to sell, you're going to ipo, or you're going to stay a private company forever. And when you have investors, here's the other thing. There is no choice. And it's really hard to get a business to scale and to get a business to be a nine figure business without having investors. And when you take venture capital money and private equity money and all these different types of money, how do you expand, expect for them to get their money back? All the early investors who, who were before the venture capital and the, and the private equity, how are they going to get their money back? What are they supposed to do? Just invest hundreds of thousands of dollars if not millions of dollars just because it's cuteness, fun? Because we're black? That's ridiculous.
- [34:34]
Brooke Devard
No, and, and I think some, some of the criticism comes from this idea that the formulas will change once acquired.
- [34:40]
Beatrice Dixon
Sister, formulas change all the time.
- [34:43]
Brooke Devard
Right? Right.
- [34:44]
Beatrice Dixon
Formulas change all the time. Holding each other to these standards that are absolutely ridiculous because they're not. They're not. Look at every skincare product that you, that you have in your, in your kitchen, in your house, in your bathroom, that you've had for years, that your mom had, your grandma had. Do you know how many times those formulas change?
- [35:06]
Brooke Devard
Sometimes every year the formulas change and.
- [35:09]
Beatrice Dixon
Nobody'S going after them. So for me, I don't mean any disrespect, but people can miss me with that shit. Because unless you're going to hold me to the same standard that you hold them, we're not having a conversation. And I'm sorry, I get really passionate about this, but we can't have a conversation because you don't have any respect for what it takes to do what we do every single day. And most of these companies that are conventional brands that have been doing this for many, many years, these companies are worth billions of dollars.
- [35:42]
Brooke Devard
Right?
- [35:43]
Beatrice Dixon
We, we turn, we turn something out of nothing and turn them into multi hundred million or multi or at least billion dollar brands. That's something to, to be excited about. That's something that helps our race in the business world. It does. And I hate race. Is just a construction. All these things are just a construction. Even those thoughts that we shouldn't do that is a construction. Nobody can tell me what I should do unless they walk In a day, in my damn shoes. Do not tell me what I should and shouldn't do because it's none of my business what you do in your life and with your business and with your work and it's nobody's business what I do with mine.
- [36:24]
Brooke Devard
Yes. I'm happy that you're saying it so plainly because I think unfortunately, people hold black businesses to a different standard than all of the other businesses that they are happy to be a patron of. So I'm happy that you said it so plainly.
- [36:38]
Beatrice Dixon
Yeah, it's a real thing. It is people's businesses. What happens with our formulations? Look, we're not in control of what happens once we find an acquirer, once we find a partner, a home. Right. But I would really hope that people can appreciate that what we've built, that we wouldn't just take Honey Pot to any place.
- [37:03]
Brooke Devard
Yes.
- [37:04]
Beatrice Dixon
We wouldn't just take it to any place. And if something has to change, because change is one of the gods, it's inevitable. It must happen. Change, death and taxes, those are not things that we are ever going to get away from. Ever.
- [37:18]
Brooke Devard
Yes.
- [37:18]
Beatrice Dixon
Right.
- [37:19]
Brooke Devard
No. Very well said.
- [37:21]
Beatrice Dixon
Things have to change. And things may change and they may not change, but if they do change, it's okay. And we should not be. We should not be villainized as if we did something wrong when sometimes you have to make a change because something, an ingredient isn't available anymore, or sometimes it's hard to get, or sometimes new information or new data comes out about it. So you need to change that. There's reasons why things change and people should. If you're not a business owner, if you're not in cpg, if you're not a formulator, it's really hard for you to wrap your mind around it. But don't walk in expecting negative intent.
- [38:03]
Brooke Devard
Right.
- [38:03]
Beatrice Dixon
And that's another thing we have to stop doing in our community is moving from a negative point of view. How about we try to think abundantly and positively until proven otherwise, but if you look at the receipts, which you should always look at the receipts that should communicate who we are and who these other businesses are, it's not good for us. It weakens us when. When we put that kind of energy towards these founders and meet me included, imagine how it feels for millions of people to be projecting negative energy based off of a lie because they heard it on the Internet.
- [38:45]
Brooke Devard
I can't even imagine imagine being an.
- [38:48]
Beatrice Dixon
Empath and an intuitive, which we are all empathic in one way or another. Sometimes you walk into a room, and you touch somebody and you feel a little off. That happens with all of us. Or you're just around certain people and the energy's weird, and you're like, you know, I think I'm a go, you know, or, this doesn't feel good. Imagine that times millions of people based off of something they read online, believing it.
- [39:15]
Brooke Devard
So how do you handle that?
- [39:17]
Beatrice Dixon
It's hard to handle, but I think you really have to just stay grounded in your truth. And you can't get. You can't listen. You have to process how you feel. You have to process that energy, because energy is a real thing. It happens to us all the time where we're thinking about somebody and then they call. Or you're thinking you thought about somebody a week ago, and then you randomly run into them and you haven't seen them in 10 years. Right. It happens to all of us.
- [39:46]
Brooke Devard
Yes.
- [39:47]
Beatrice Dixon
So that's the same type of energy that's happening when you're emitting that negative energy towards people who are literally just trying to live their lives, trying to run their companies, trying to be successful, trying to take care of their families for generations to come. Right. What is wrong with that? There's nothing wrong with that. Yeah. You know, and so, you know, I don't mean to belabor the point, but we have to do better. We have to be better to each other. We have to be.
- [40:20]
Brooke Devard
What do you want this next generation of beauty and wellness founders to learn.
- [40:25]
Beatrice Dixon
From your path, to be steadfast, to be strong? And that sounds crazy, especially as just being a human with a vagina and then also being a human of color. Me saying to be strong is wild, but you have to be strong. Being a founder, you just have to be. You have to believe in yourself in a very religious way, even when you're not doing well, even if you got all kinds of stuff going on, you can't waver from your belief in yourself and your belief in your team and your belief in your company and the products or services that you put out into the world. Also, to really work at it and take the time, you don't have to be in a rush.
- [41:11]
Brooke Devard
I love that message. So many people are in a rush and comparing themselves to other people's success. They did it this quickly and they got this press already or they sold this much already. You really have to run your own.
- [41:23]
Beatrice Dixon
You have to. You got to stay in your own pocket, mind your business, drink your water, put your head down. Because most, most really successful businesses have been around for 10 plus years.
- [41:35]
Brooke Devard
That is very true.
- [41:36]
Beatrice Dixon
Yeah. So we just. We just have to give ourselves grace. And not all of that is just coming from me and what I've learned. These are just lessons that I've learned in general over time.
- [41:48]
Brooke Devard
Yeah. Bea, I could talk to you all day. I'm going to ask you one final question, which is, when do you feel most beautiful?
- [41:55]
Beatrice Dixon
Oh, that's a good. That's a nice question. I feel most beautiful now. You know, I've been through a lot of stuff just in life, as we all have, and I haven't always felt beautiful. I haven't always. I'm very confident when it comes to work, but I haven't always been very confident as it. When it comes to me.
- [42:16]
Brooke Devard
Which is very interesting to hear because you're so beautiful.
- [42:21]
Beatrice Dixon
No, I appreciate that. You know, but that only matters if.
- [42:24]
Brooke Devard
You see it true.
- [42:26]
Beatrice Dixon
You know what I mean? And it wasn't that I saw myself and thought negative things, that I was ugly or what, not beautiful or anything like that, but I just didn't really think anything. And if I'm honest with you, I'm still working on that. I'm always working on that, you know, But I feel the most confident that I've ever felt in myself in that way. My confidence varies in different parts of my life. Yeah. I feel the most beautiful now because I'm really invested in my body and how it feels and my mind and rest and, you know, all that stuff.
- [43:07]
Brooke Devard
All the good things, all the things I'm going to be doing this summer. I need to get a hyperbaric chamber at home to get on your level.
- [43:14]
Beatrice Dixon
Look into it, sister. There's a company called Oxy Flow.
- [43:19]
Brooke Devard
Okay.
- [43:19]
Beatrice Dixon
And they're expensive. They can range anywhere from like 9 to $14,000. So they're expensive, but there's companies that you can get payment plans with.
- [43:32]
Brooke Devard
Okay. Okay. I am going to look into this. You dropped a lot of knowledge in a very short hour together, but I'm so grateful for your time. Thank you so much on Naked Beauty. And I'm sure our paths will cross again soon.
- [43:43]
Beatrice Dixon
I'm sure they will. Thank you so much.
- [43:55]
Unknown
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- [44:12]
Beatrice Dixon
I never thought I would be this obsessed with the toilet. But here we are. We installed the Kohler Vail Smart Toilet right before I gave birth. And for any postpartum moms listening, you know how those first few weeks can be. This toilet honestly made my recovery so much more comfortable. In the middle of the night when you stumble into the bathroom, you don't want to turn on harsh lights that wake you up. The Vail nightlight glows the soft blue light. The seat automatically lifts the and it's beautifully warm. You just sit down and do your thing and then the magic happens. The Vail Smart Toilet has this little remote with customizable cleansing features that wash you and even gently dry you with warm air. You literally don't need toilet paper. It sounds silly, but this toilet completely upgraded my day to day life.
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- [45:29]
Beatrice Dixon
Acast powers the world's Best Podcasts Here's a show that we recommend.
- [45:36]
Indomin
What'S up everybody? I'm Indomin, super bowl champ and investor. Throughout my NFL career. When I wasn't sacking your favorite quarterback, I was networking with some of the sharpest business minds in the world. Now I'm bringing those conversations to you on no Free Lunch, a podcast from the Athletic and the New York Times. On the show, I talk to experts and athletes to find out how the most successful people in media, sports and business are growing their wealth and how we can learn from their example. No Free lunch drops Tuesdays and Thursdays. Find it on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Beatrice Dixon
Acast helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.com.