Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade talk candidly about why they launched Proudly
Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade’s new company, Proudly, started with a rash and an inconclusive Google search.
When the couple’s daughter, Kaavia, was still a baby, she developed a concerning case of skin irritation—one that wasn’t represented by any of the example images her parents found online. But when Union consulted her “Brown mama friends,” she said, they all agreed that Kaavia had a diaper rash.
“I was like, ‘Well, this looks so different. This looks gnarly,’” Union told audiences at the Fast Company Innovation Festival on Thursday. “[My friends shared] all of these different products that you had to cocktail to address a Black child’s diaper rash.”
As they treated Kaavia using the advice gathered from friends, Union and Wade realized that there was very little existing guidance on caring for the unique skin-care needs of Black and brown children.
That experience kick-started the development of Proudly, a line of baby-care products tailored specifically for melanated skin.
“When we started really looking at the ingredient story of some of the products that had been recommended by the hospital, by certain mom blogger groups—great for y’all, not great for us,” Union said. “And we were like, okay, we want to set out to create a company where our products are reaching the highest bar of safety.”
At Proudly, reaching that bar is measured in several ways. Melanated skin tends to lose water faster due to a lower number of ceramides in the skin’s protective barrier. Many of Proudly’s plant-based ingredients—like jojoba oil and shea butter—are ultra-moisturizing to help address potential dryness. Further, babies and young children with melanated skin are disproportionately impacted by skin conditions including eczema, cradle cap, and acne. Developers focused on limiting any ingredients that could trigger these conditions, as well as making sure that all Proudly products are EWG-verified.
After debuting online in April 2022, Proudly expanded to Target stores nationwide in September of that year. The brand’s product line includes baby wipes, diaper cream, toiletries, and more. The most recent addition to Proudly’s offerings is a line of hair care.
“When it comes to textured hair, there is not a 2-in-1 or 3-in-1 one that will meet all of our needs. That doesn’t exist,” Union said. “But that’s what’s offered in the baby aisle. Black and brown parents leave the baby aisle way sooner than everybody else to try to piecemeal hair products that meet their baby’s unique hair-care needs. So we were like, ‘Okay, we gotta get on this a little sooner than later.’”
Although scaling the brand to meet consumer needs is a priority, both Union and Wade emphasized the importance of keeping Proudly’s products accessible. Most land within the $10-13 range.
“Gab and I are like, ‘Hey, if we’re going to build something for the Black and brown community, we cannot outprice the community,’” Wade said. “There’s no point in doing that. Then we might as well not spend our time on this.”
He added that a focus on community outreach is key to ensuring that Proudly’s message reaches a wide audience—especially the men who look up to him. “I lean into being a dad, and being a man,” Wade said. “That’s my strength, right? I’m coming from a place where this is not a conversation that men really care about, or think that they need to care about—until you get a daughter, or until you get a son that love his locs.”
Access to education about caring for melanated skin, as well as the resources to do so, is a large component of Proudly’s mission. But for Union and Wade, the company is ultimately successful because it’s made for the community.
“I hope people feel proud when they walk down the aisle and see that there’s a brand made just for them,” Union said.
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