CINCINNATI — A Winton Woods alumna and her company got a deal to expand their line of inclusive seasonal celebration items this month on ABC's "Shark Tank."
Black Paper Party is the brainchild of Jasmine Hudson, Madia Willis and J'Aaron Merchant. All three women have prior experience in retail or art, which has helped the company launch its products into 6,000 stores — including major retailers like Macy's, Kohl's, Walmart and Target — even before their appearance on the hit show.
"Because we have our retail backgrounds, we understand the numbers and we understand how to drive productivity and how to pitch buyers because we used to be on the other side of the table, it worked out," said Hudson.
The women started Black Paper Party in 2020 out of love of Black culture and a desire to see more representation for families in seasonal decor. The line now includes wrapping paper, holiday ceramics, stockings, ornaments, cards and more with designs ranging from modern to retro to mudcloth.
"We wanted to give a modern, updated spin to Black Christmas and Black Santa and a lot of the different characters we have in our universe," Hudson said. "So it's not necessarily the Black Santa figurines of old that are in your mom's curio cabinet."
Hudson graduated from Winton Woods and went to Tennessee State University in Nashville before going to work as a buyer for Walmart, learning in what she called the real shark tanks of big box retail. Now she calls herself and her co-founders the "Black Christmas Avengers."
Hudson said Black consumers over-index on holiday spending by 15% and start buying earlier. Often, though, it's out of necessity to search to find items that look like their families. With companies like Black Paper Party — and major retailers noticing their sales — she said that is starting to change.
"The goal is representation," Hudson said. "We pay attention to the cultural nuances, not just another item with a brown paint on it, right? It's actually made for you by people that look like you and understand the culture and the nuance."
The founders spent months preparing for their Shark Tank appearance, coming up with scenarios and how they would respond to possible offers from the panel of investment sharks. In meetings, they would play what Hudson called "Stop, Drop, and Pitch" and have to immediately give their part of a pitch when asked unexpectedly. Practice makes perfect.
They shot the episode over the summer, and couldn't tell anyone how it turned out.
"It was probably the best-kept secret I've ever had," Hudson said.
They accepted an offer from Barbara Corcoran of $250,000 for a 10% stake in the company. And the exposure is paying off already.
"Our sales the day that we aired went through the roof," she said. "We had so many orders. And whenever it re-airs or they share it on their social media, we see this influx of orders again."
Hudson said Corcoran, with prior experience in seasonal businesses, has already been a powerful partner and inspiration.
Black Paper Party is the second Cincinnati company featured on this season of the hit show. Three Cincinnati brothers got a deal with Mark Cuban for their augmented reality ski goggles called Rekkie in November.
You can watch Shark Tank on Fridays at 8 p.m. on WCPO 9.
