Black Female-Owned Brand, Afro Unicorn, Brings Assortment of Party Supplies to Walmart
Afro Unicorn™, a conscious brand with a mission to celebrate women and children of color, launched a curated assortment of its party supplies and favors product line at Walmart.
The new line of more than 20 exclusive products joins the retailer’s roster of celebrations brands in over 1,500 stores across the country and on Walmart.com, according to a press release. With this launch, April Showers, the founder and chief executive officer of Afro Unicorn shatters the glass ceiling and becomes one of the first Black female-owned businesses to enter Walmart’s celebrations party category.
The new line from Afro Unicorn™ features everything you need to throw the most magical unicorn party, celebrate a birthday or graduation, host a summer barbecue or commemorate both big and small milestones. The new collection includes party staples like plates, napkins, balloons, decorations and piñatas. Other highlights from the brand include unique favors like multi-color faux hair clips, sequin journals and an Afro Unicorn™ stuffed animal. These colorful products were created to speak directly to the Black community.
“As the world’s largest retailer, Walmart continues to build an inclusive supply chain that reflects our customers and provides products and services that resonate and meet our customers’ needs,” said Laura Rush, senior vice president of entertainment, toys and seasonal at Walmart.
“We are excited to have another Black-owned business join our supplier community and warmly welcome Afro Unicorn™ to the fold. We look forward to our customers celebrating life milestones with these great new products.”
The unicorn features an afro-style mane and comes in a range of Black shades (vanilla, caramel and mocha). Showers said it was important for the unicorn to come in more than one shade to mirror the array of Black complexions of her customers. April knows first-hand how important representation matters on store shelves.
“My main goal for Afro Unicorn™ is to ensure Black girls and women feel unique, divine and magical,” said Showers.
“Afro Unicorn™ is more than a line of products. It’s a movement to make sure Black people are represented and have a seat at the table. I’m grateful Walmart understands how important this is and gave me that seat at the table. Now, millions of little girls will grow up with products on store shelves that represent and celebrate them.”
The lifestyle brand is already making an impact by empowering underrepresented Black women and young girls to embrace their beauty. Afro Unicorn™ launched in 2019 as a direct-to-consumer ecommerce business. The collaboration with Walmart marks Afro Unicorn’s™ first move into retail. Products are available in store shelves nationwide and Puerto Rico next to iconic children’s brands in the party aisle allowing millions of little girls to see themselves and their beauty in a Black unicorn. The Afro Unicorn™ brand will expand into apparel at more than 3,800 Walmart stores in June 2022 offering two cute styles of leggings and shirts for girls. The brand has additional category launches at Walmart, including holiday, planned for later in the year. Showers has also signed multiple licensing deals.
Showers credits her dedicated online community for getting her foot in the door at Walmart after a video went viral featuring a four-year-old girl wearing an Afro Unicorn™ t-shirt. The video was shared by numerous celebrities, including Oprah, Viola Davis and Tina Knowles and then caught the eye of a Walmart associate. That inspired the Walmart merchant to reach out to April about a possible collaboration with the retail giant.
For more information on the launch please visit www.afrounicorn.com or follow the brand on Instagram and Facebook.