Mielle No Longer Black-Owned – Acquired by P&G

Mielle (formerly Mielle Organics) has been acquired by Procter & Gamble and is officially no longer a black-owned brand.  

Mielle was founded in 2014 by Monique Rodriguez and has grown to become a favorite of many naturalistas including myself. 

I have reviewed some of my faves on Healthy Natural Hair Products such as Mielle Babassu & Mint Deep Conditioner and the White Peony Leave-in Conditioner.  

Mielle-No-Longer-Black-Owned-Acquired-by-PG

More On Procter & Gamble’s Acquisition of Mielle 

Even though it might come as a surprise to a lot of people, this inevitably always happens to small brands that become uber-successful. 

Brands like Mane Choice, Shea Moisture and more have gone the same way at various times over the years.

The announcement of the Mielle acquisition by P&G was made on January 11, 2023.

In a statement from Lela Coffey, vice president of P&G’s multicultural hair business, she said,  

P&G Beauty will work with Mielle Organics to expand access to the brand in Black communities and fund research and innovation in hair care for underserved communities.”

P&G states, “The partnership will accelerate the hair care brand’s access to more black women and rapidly expand its community investments…”

Mielle also made an announcement of the acquisition in this Instagram post:-

https://www.instagram.com/p/CnR9JSAuqkf/

Are Mielle Formulas Going To Change?

That’s the first question on a lot of lips – are Mielle formulas going to change now that they’ve been acquired?

I’m sure you know how these brands are when acquired – products start disappearing, formulas start getting changed and new products that don’t do anything are added to the line. 

However, in the Instagram post below, the founder, Michelle Rodriquez, assured customers she had no intention of changing formulas or marketing strategy.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm7zQ1GuKNO/

I guess that remains to be seen and only time will tell. 

Reactions From the Natural Hair Community

As expected, the reactions from the natural hair community to the news have been mixed. 

Black Twitter had a lot to say about the acquisition and a lot of people are not happy. Behold some reactions below:-

https://twitter.com/UjuAnya/status/1613231920938381312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1613231920938381312%7Ctwgr%5Eec302638e6ff4d621271b1f8a51b9ca84f3f2246%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmichiganchronicle.com%2F2023%2F01%2F13%2Fblack-twitter-reacts-to-black-owned-hair-care-brand-mielle-joining-pg%2F
https://twitter.com/byLazarusSiafa/status/1613383287367503872
https://twitter.com/kblissful_/status/1613309053437878272

Indeed, this acquisition was sort of foretold by black women when a white Tok Tok influencer posted a review of the Rosemary Mint Oil and the post went viral in December.

Check out some of these comments below:-

While Michelle Rodriquez and her husband will continue to be involved in the creation and marketing of Mielle products, the company is no longer black-owned.

Are You Going to Continue Using Mielle Products?

I have mixed feelings about this that I will need to process on my own time. 

In the meantime, I have found products similar to the Mielle products I love with Camille Rose which is still black-owned. For now. 

Additionally, I have a great alternative to the Rosemary Mint Scalp Oil which I use from time to time. 

If you’re deeply committed to supporting and giving your money to only black-owned brands, that’s your right!

You can find many curly hair brands that are still black-owned in our Black Owned Hair Care Directory

Are you done with Mielle? What do you think of the Mielle acquisition? Share your thoughts and/or frustrations in the comment section below.

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2 thoughts on “Mielle No Longer Black-Owned – Acquired by P&G”

  1. Not done with Mielle. It was our Black owners who decided to sell. We live in a capitalist society. This is not a black-white thing, but a green thing

    Reply

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