Below, we dive into some of those realities, as well as some of our favorite products from these brands. We spoke to Comefero, Russell and six other LGBTQ business owners and experts in the field to learn more about the successes and challenges that LGBTQ-owned brands and businesses have faced in the past year. Increased exposure for these brands can mean new allies, not just new customers, said Helen Russell, a co-founder of Equator Coffees. Louis, Missouri, that addresses minority health disparities in the LGBTQ community. For instance, Flipstik, one of the brands we highlight below, is donating 50% of its profits to Williams & Associates, a nonprofit in St. Pride Month also offers a special opportunity to highlight smaller LGBTQ-owned retailers that partner with and directly give back to the LGBTQ community. And because our relationship with them is transactional, we can motivate them to strengthen organizational and policy commitments to LGBTQ workers, too, Comefero said. And visibility is more important than ever: Even though more than 50 years have passed since the Stonewall uprising, the pandemic has shown there’s still much more work to do.įurther, when we engage with those big brands during the month of June, we’re able to encourage them to reserve space for LGBTQ people in their catalogs and on their shelves. Their actions increase visibility for the LGBTQ community and continue to normalize their existence to the rest of the world, explained Kristin Comefero, an associate professor of communication specializing in LGBTQ representation in mainstream marketing. As tired as it might seem, there’s a benefit to big brands participating in Pride Month, even if all they do is cast their logos in rainbow colors and curate shiny T-shirt collections.