Source: New York Daily News / Getty
Lorna Hawthorne and her family built the Golden Krust Empire in New York from the ground up, opening their first location in 1989. After decades of hard work and sweat equity, the famous Jamaican food franchise celebrated the opening of its 100th store in Queens in 2005. Now, Hawthorne and her family are spearheading a new business venture in the bustling beauty industry.
The Hawthornes are gearing up to launch their new brand called LLHOMD Beauty Care, a skincare and hair line specifically catered to Black women. The brand will feature a number of “luxury and affordable multicultural beauty products, like body butters, shampoos, and hair oils,” Lorna, who’s leading the burgeoning endeavor, told Insider.
“I love skincare. I’m always pouring oils, different scents, and one day I was pouring my oils when I came up with the idea for a company. We’re beautiful inside, and I wanted to create products that could help people feel beautiful on the outside,” she explained.
LLHOMD Beauty Care boasts a wide selection of natural and vegan products like their Chamomile Cucumber Soothing Lotion made to replenish dry and flaky skin as well as their Hair Nourishing Collection, a sulfate-free Shampoo designed with Monoi Oil–a special oil that’s derived from the petal leaves of the Tahitian gardenia, known to moisturize the hair and promote growth.
For Lorna’s son, Omar Hawthorne, there’s a deeper message behind LLHOMD Beauty Care’s mission.
“Black women are underrepresented in a lot of spaces in America and I think the last couple of years have changed the perception of consumers, businesses, and corporations,” he explained to the publication. “We have a very strong Black woman in Miss Lorna with a track record of success, so who better to be part of engendering that change of what entrepreneurs look like in this country?”
Omar added:
“We wanted to become a one-stop shop. If you go across the spectrum and look at these different beauty brands that are directed towards Black women, they might offer hair or skin products or cosmetics. It’s rare to see a place where you can get everything you need.”
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In addition to Omar, Lorna’s two other sons Haywood and Daren, are helping to run the burgeoning beauty business, and the business savvy matriarch said she decided to dedicate one initial for each of her family members in the brand’s name. The first “L” is in honor of her late husband Lowell, who died in 2017. Lowell moved from Jamaica to the U.S. to build Golden Krust in his twenties, helping the family to create their massive million-dollar food company. Prior to his death, the diligent businessman released his memoir entitled “The Baker’s Son” in 2012, a book that offers a peek into his life in Jamaica and the Hawthorne family’s unbelievable success story. The following initial reflects Lorna’s name in addition to her other family members: Haywood, Omar, Monique, and Daren.
The family said they plan to donate a portion of LLHOMD Beauty Care’s sales to the Lowell F. Hawthorne Foundation, an organization that helps fund the education of Black high school and college students based in the U.S. and the Caribbean seeking to pursue a degree in business.
“We want to use this business to do good, to help continue to put Black entrepreneurs on the map,” Daren said. “A lot of folks look at Miss Lorna as an inspiration, because folks that look like her tend to not be in her position, so it all ties back to that.”
…And if you thought Golden Krust was going anywhere, the family reassured fans that their tasty Jamaican food franchise is still operating strong.
“We have Golden Krust, which is separate and its own thing and is part of a wider family involvement,” Daren added. “But this brand is really about us as an immediate family and about filling gaps in the beauty industry.”
Congrats to the Hawthornes!
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