Lorna Hawthorne of Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill: How Strategic Innovation And High-End Ingredients Built An Affordable Luxury Beauty Brand

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lorna Hawthorne, Co-Founder of Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill, Co Founder of LLHOMD.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

My career began in the restaurant and food manufacturing industry. My late husband and I co-founded Golden Krust, which grew to be the largest Caribbean Franchisor in the United States. After he passed away in 2017, I wanted to start my own path and pursue another passion, self and beauty care. I am an avid user of these products, but constantly struggled to find skin and hair products that fit my goals, which I felt were quite simple- I wanted my skin products to keep me looking youthful and healthy. I wanted hair products that made my hair soft and strong: with an ability to hold up in the harsh environments of a hardworking, everyday woman.

The lack of satisfactory results coupled with the high cost of these products would often leave me frustrated. I also realized that these products were much more available and affordable, for non-minority women. I felt other women with my skin tone must be going through the same frustrations, which is the reason why I created this brand. I spoke to my sons about the idea and they supported it 100%. Just like that, LLHOMD Beauty Care was born.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

Most of the brands within the niche of African American women’s beauty care focus on one or two beauty categories. This strategy leaves us (women of color) having to purchase products from several brands to complete a full beautification regimen. LLHOMD endeavors to be an affordable one-stop shop for skin, hair care, and makeup (coming soon).

We are an affordable luxury beauty brand, our products deliver quality with exotic ingredients like; aloe, argan oil, prickly pear, date fruit extract, Tahitian gardenia, chamomile, peppermint, lemongrass, castor oil, and shea butter, without the exorbitant prices being charged in the current market.

Our focus was delivering a high-quality product to every day women of color without them breaking the bank! A woman should never have to choose between sacrificing her beautification or providing for her family. With LLHOMD, women can enjoy top-quality products at an affordable price.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

One lesson we learned, is with high standards, comes a lot of work. The R & D process was grueling; adjustments, changes, samples back and forth, gaining consensus from the team, the entire collaborative process. There were debates, discussions, and varying opinions, but out of that process came some great products that I love and I want to share them with my fellow women of color. They can all be found at LLHOMD.com

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

I have been very fortunate in my life to be graced with a myriad of support. That support has come from my children, family members, business associates, and friends. The most notable person of them all is my amazing and supportive Mother, who continues to be a pillar in my life. She has supported me through my educational, familial, and business decisions for my entire life. Her love, light, encouragement, and passion provide me with the energy I need to tackle any venture, including this one.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

Disrupting an industry is using innovation and ingenuity to think outside of the box and retool some or all parts of how offerings, products, or services are made to interact with consumers. Oftentimes, disrupters go against the grain of what is normal within a particular industry, in an attempt to change it, forever.

Our intention in launching LLHOMD was to deliver an affordable luxury beauty line with high-end ingredients, but consumers can purchase the products for less than half the costs. We were very intentional about how the products were developed- quality first, always. After we perfected the quality, our next focus was to have optionality for consumers, for a low cost.

We decided early on that we did not want to fall into the fray of being another high-priced beauty brand with a limited and narrow offering.

Now, not all disruptors are beneficial to the industry. Some enter an industry and provide inferior offerings under the guise of value. Those disruptors actually damage other brands across the industry, and can negatively impact consumer sentiment about an industry, as a whole.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

OPPORTUNITY: Opportunity is one of the greatest tools that a person can grasp. I fully support the old saying that “Opportunity knocks, but once.” The trajectory of the beauty industry is changing, especially now, when women of color have a greater voice. The last two years of staying indoors have given all of us the opportunity to rethink how we want to live our best lives. It has allowed us to focus on ourselves and fully understand what we want and need out of certain facets of our life. This is also a part of the reason why I started LLHOMD.

DETERMINATION-: Success is impossible without determination. I have juggled being a wife, mother, entrepreneur, and student, at the same time. However, I was determined to be the best version of myself in each one of those roles- failure was not an option.

SUPPORT-: To succeed in any venture a support system is imperative. That support can come in a plethora of ways- mentally, emotionally, financially, spiritually, or physically. Your support system is similar to beams on a house- they are pillars that hold you up and aid you in establishing a solid foundation. I have learned to garner support from family and friends along my life’s journey. It is always important to remember that support is a perpetual necessity. The old adage that no man (or woman!) is an island, still reigns true today.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

Our number one focus right now is to complete our product offerings of LLHOMD with our makeup line. After we launch this line we will truly be a one-stop-shop for beauty care made for women of color. You know we can’t spill everything at once, but stay tuned !!

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

I would submit that women, as a general matter, face bigger challenges than males when it comes to business. It is not only reserved for those attempting to disrupt a particular space. The proverbial glass ceiling is a clear example of the incremental challenges that are more specific to women. Men typically hold the most influential and high-powered jobs in this country. Moreover, women are still fighting for simple things like equal pay for equal work. These inequalities are not just limited to disruptors, but one can imagine the additional skepticism that a woman disruptor would face, based on women’s current status.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

My favorite story is that of Madam C.J Walker — a trailblazer, who faced harsh adversity, but found the courage, the grit, the tenacity, and determination to produce the first products for women of color. Our ancestors had the courage to take action to advance women of color, and I am looking forward to building on that progress.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I’ll give you two:

I believe women’s self-care is paramount. As I mentioned earlier, women often put themselves last when it comes to care. It is important for women, more now than ever, to ensure that self-care is at the center of their existence. This is one of the things that inspired me to launch LLHOMD.

Second: My late husband and I have always been passionate about education. He became well known for his saying that “ a positive community is everybody’s business, and through education, we can uplift all people ‘’. I created the Lowell F. Hawthorne Foundation to honor his love of education. The foundation will award scholarships to minority students. 10% of all LLHOMD sales will go to this foundation.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

In life we encounter many situations; some that are great and some that are not so great. However, there is a lesson in all of these encounters. We each have the ability to take steps towards our goals and ultimately do our parts in shaping the world we want to see. I live by an acronym, LLHOMD, and I encourage other women to also follow this train of thought:

L- Love Yourself; L- Live your best life with laughter; H- Create your own happiness; O- Be optimistic; M- Be Motivated; D- Be determined.

How can our readers follow you online?

www.LLHOMD.com

https://www.instagram.com/llhomdbeauty/

https://www.facebook.com/Llhomd/

https://twitter.com/LLhomdbeauty

https://www.pinterest.com/Llhomdbeauty/

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!