In honor of International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8th every year, we thought it was time to recognize ten ecommerce brands with some strong female founders. Just as women are unique and come in all forms, from all walks of life, these brands span the globe and inspire women everywhere. With ecommerce stores in every industry—from fashion and accessories to premium coffee—it’s clear that women are capable of accomplishing anything they put their minds to.
Let’s dive into some of our favorite woman-owned brands and the strong founders behind them.
Little Omo
Inclusion spans a wide range of categories—gender, race, ethnicity, religion, and so much more. Little Omo is an award-winning inclusive brand that celebrates diversity in an impactful way. Founded by first-time mother Desriee Asomuyide, Little Omo sells educational toys and materials for children that promote cultural diversity.
Forming a mindset that recognizes and celebrates diversity and inclusion starts at an early age. “We want our resources to represent community groups inclusively and provide education about diversity, having our product range accessible and supportive of early development builds a new inclusive norm for the existing and future generation of children,” Little Omo’s website shares. With a wide range of books, puzzles, flashcards, and more, Little Omo makes it easy for parents and educators alike to bring awareness to the importance of inclusive education right away.
Little Omo extends its impact further by donating to charities, non-profits, and underprivileged children in marginalized communities. With a recent donation to Books2Africa, an organization that ships quality books to children in Africa. Celebrating diversity and inclusion should be the norm, and with brands like Little Omo, we’re getting one step closer every day.
Blue Peppermint Boutique
If you’re looking for a clothing brand that gives you a warm welcome, look no further than Blue Peppermint Boutique. As soon as customers land on the brand’s homepage they’re greeted with an on-brand “Hey Minty Gal” message from the founder. This message also assures customers that they’ll receive exceptional customer service, a great brand community, and fashionable products, making them instantly feel valued and welcomed.
Blue Peppermint Boutique also has a very strong Instagram presence where the founder and all-women team post photos of their products and themselves to keep their brand human. This gives customers a chance to connect with the brand on a day-to-day basis beyond its website.
With a brand experience that’s just as “fresh” as the clothing they sell, customers are able to relate to the brand right away.
Healthy Roots
Female empowerment can and should begin when girls are young. Every girl deserves a chance to be confident in their own skin, and that’s exactly where the inspiration for Healthy Roots was born.
The brand’s founder, Yelitsa Jean-Charles, shares her memory of receiving a Black doll as a child from her parents, who wanted to give her a toy that looked like her as an African-American girl. She remembers bursting into tears because the doll wasn’t “the pretty one” and has since made it her mission to ensure no other young black girls feel that way about their appearance. It’s this type of personal, emotional anecdote that inspires customers to stand behind this brand, its values, and its founder.
Healthy Roots sells dolls named “Zoe” that have dark skin and authentic curly hair to teach young Black girls with curly and wavy hair that they are beautiful the way they are. The brand’s three main goals are positive representation, teaching self-love, and providing educational hair play. Building strong, powerful women like the one who started Healthy Roots all begins with building strong, powerful young girls.
Kirsten Burkard
Huha
Every morning, women all over the world wake up and get dressed in underwear that doesn’t fit properly, is uncomfortable, or irritates them. Huha set out to change that. Founded by Alexa Suter, Huha is not just underwear, it’s undercare.
After struggling with recurring UTIs that made it impossible to wear synthetic underwear, Alexa decided to create the product she was so desperately looking for. Huha’s undies are designed to protect and soothe intimate areas, with natural, sustainable materials protected by minerals. Its “soft TENCEL™ fibers are derived from sustainably managed forests, making them super breathable,” the website tells us.
Huha aims to make women of all shapes, sizes, and colors feel confident and free through its products. “A business that is both successful and does good in the world, helping women accept and love themselves for the natural beauties they are,” Alexa shares. Underwear is one of the most basic, yet most under-developed products on the market. Huha is flipping this idea on its head.
Good Change Store
This next brand is owned by two determined female founders on a mission to revolutionize the cleaning industry. Kristy and Stine of Good Change Store believe that small changes can have a big impact. Its line of natural, zero-waste cleaning products is available online and in many supermarkets and grocery stores in Australia and New Zealand, making it easy for its customers to live out its mission to “Be Better Than Yesterday.”
Good Change Store sells a variety of eco-friendly cleaning products, including 100% compostable, natural cloths, wipes, and refill sprays. Customers can shop for their individual favorite products or buy starter kits and bundles. If the product benefits weren’t enticing enough, Good Change Store offers loyalty program points that can be redeemed for money off their next purchase for things like making purchases, interacting on social media, and celebrating a birthday. Next time you’re restocking your cleaning supplies, be sure to make a good change and check out this eco-friendly brand.
Gabrielle Policella
Only Human
Every day, hundreds of people worldwide are ridiculed and judged for things as basic as the clothes they wear, the things they say, or even just their gender. Only Human is here to remind us that, at the end of the day, we all have one thing in common–we’re only human.
This clothing company partners with non-profits to “exist to do more good so that together, we can make the world a better place”. Originally starting as a brand to help people live fulfilling lives with workshops and events, it’s eventually evolved into a clothing brand, but its goal remains the same. The name, Only Human, shares the message that we are all human and connected with each other on a vulnerable level beyond all the labels society categorizes us into.
As the founders share in this video, the power of the message that “Only Human” conveys is what connects people from all walks of life. Although their products may appear as “just a shirt”, it’s much more than that to their customers, which is why Only Human has been able to create such a strong brand community. Giving your customers something to believe in that is bigger than themselves is a great way to create true, sustainable loyalty.
This brand may be women-founded, but it’s for anyone and everyone because, at the end of the day, we’re all only human.
Wanderlust + Co.
What’s better than a women-owned business? A community-driven brand that’s supported by thousands of amazing like-minded women. That’s how this next brand defines itself, “Founder Led, Community Built.” Founded in 2010 by Jenn Low, Wanderlust + Co. is a DTC jewelry brand that delivers joyful, quality designs at affordable prices.
Designed by women, for women, the Singapore-based jewelry brand is inspired by its global #WCOGirlGang. Although originally founded as a DTC brand, Wanderlust + Co. has expanded with retail locations, becoming a truly omnichannel business. Fueled by the power of community, it also regularly hosts experiential events for its community to connect with and inspire each other in person.
In honor of International Women’s Day, Wanderlust + Co. launched its new Connect line. “Connect celebrates the invisible links within our communities, valuing the inclusion and support of people around the globe. This wearable collection features intricately crafted chains in both gold and silver that are made to work just as hard as you do.”
If you’re looking for beautiful jewelry with an even better meaning, look no further.
Motherlode Coffee Roasters
Inspired by the great coffee in Peru, Motherlode Coffee Roasters aims to make a difference in the coffee world through great flavors and social impact. Motherlode Coffee was founded by the only female and LGBTQ2+ coffee roaster team in its home base of Calgary, Canada. The female co-founders feel like they’ve hit the Motherlode in life and encourage customers to sip their brews to hit the Motherlode too!
One of the co-founders was born and raised in Lima, Peru, inspiring the reason that each coffee they invent has Peruvian beans included. Motherlode Coffee created its “Buy a Bag, Grow a Mind” program to honor this. For every bag purchased, proceeds go directly towards empowering Peruvian women through post-secondary education. Women supporting women in the truest sense.
Motherlode Coffee also supports the LGBTQ2+ community with its No Closets Pride Blend. Proceeds from every sale go towards a Calgary foundation called “End of the Rainbow Foundation”, which assists LGBTQ+ refugees that have been persecuted in their home countries because of their sexual identity.
It’s clear that Motherlode Coffee has a lot more to offer than delicious brews.
Once Upon a Tuesday
In a world full of minimalist and sleek, modern designs, Once Upon a Tuesday encourages its customers to embrace their colorful, joyful, fun side. Based in the UK, Michele started this stationery brand as a creative outlet to help people organize their busy lives in style.
From design-led annual calendars to diaries, weekly planners, and notebooks, Once Upon a Tuesday prides itself on products that are sustainable and ethical. As a certified BCORP, the brand has a strong commitment to meeting its goals related to its people, planet, and profit without doing any harm.
Every great story starts with a great title. And this brand’s name just so happens to have a great story behind it, too. After talking about fairytales with her then 6-year-old daughter Flora, Michele, and her creative daughter noticed they always start with the same “once upon a time…” Flora asked, “But mum, why don't they just start with Once Upon a TUESDAY?” And with the quirky stationery brand found its quirky name.
Once Upon a Tuesday is all about questioning things. Questioning the status quo. And of course, the fact that the calendars are all about dates. Because sometimes they’re about the joy of creative planning.
Judes & Co.
If you’re looking for a brand to light up your day, look no further. Eco-friendly, Canadian candle brand, Judes & Co. sells a variety of wooden wick candles meant to elevate your space through the power of scent. With polished designs and sophisticated scents, these candles aim to bring joy and peace to any space while evoking feelings of comfort, relaxation, and nostalgia.
This woman-owned brand was started by Judy, more commonly known as Judes, as a way to elevate her own home through candles with ingredients she felt good about using. Knowing that her home was her sanctuary, she thought others might feel the same and wanted to help bring a little piece of magic to their homes.
Judes & Co candles are handcrafted in small batches in Vancouver, Canada, with quality ingredients that don’t harm the environment. It’s no wonder this small, woman-owned business leaves its customers feeling relaxed, peaceful, and lighter.
It’s time to keep the celebration going
It’s clear that women have earned their place in the world of entrepreneurship and are making waves in the sea of ecommerce brands. However, just because today is International Women’s Day doesn’t mean it’s time to end the celebration once it’s over. There are millions of other inspiring women and stories beyond these ten brands that deserve to be recognized every day.
Supporting these women entrepreneurs can start with something as simple as shopping at their brands, and who doesn’t love to shop?
