(Newswire.net — October 12, 2013) South Holland, IL —
An interview with Charmin K Edwards, an African American business woman that speaks in churches and entrepreneurial events.
Charmin: “What you spend your money on is what you are empowering. Young people want to create their future. When they see the community consciously buying an African American product, Michele’s Syrups, they realize that someone, Michele Hoskins, with the odds stacked against her, has a product in their grocery store. They feel empowered.”
“Michele’s syrup is really an African American family recipe. Other products have been marketed as African American syrups but Michele’s Syrup is the only one ever. You can find that out online. When a young African American man or woman dreams of being in his or her own business they can know they can be whatever they want. They know this as in their hand is a syrup, a syrup a young African American mother got into the biggest grocery stores in the country.”
African American Facts –
– Food preparation and family meals are important
– 42.5 million people identify themselves as black or African-American
– African-Americans make up 13.7% of the U.S. population.
– The median age for African-Americans is 31
– 32.7% of African-Americans 25 years and over have some college or associate’s degree
– 31.2% have a high school diploma
– 17.4 percent with less than a high school diploma
– 12 percent have a bachelor’s degree
– 27.1% live in poverty
African Americans spend $1 trillion a year. Where does the money go?
Charmin: “It is not going back into the African American communities. It is being spent on products and services not in the community or returning to community. If we spend money on products and services from African American owned small businesses, we empower African American small businesses.”
“Every day there is $500 billion in food sales. Food is the ultimate consumable product. Some of the $1 trillion is for food.”
“The new generation has grown up with the internet. The know how to find information. They know how to research. They are very entrepreneurial. They have realized how powerful they are in the marketplace.”
“This generation were children when Michele Hoskins started her business. She grew up with her grandmother’syrup recipe and it is now in stores nationwide. She overcame numerous obstacles to create, grow and maintain her business. We are happy that the new generation is realizing that it is important how and what you buy. They are choosing to buy Michele’s Syrup. They say they buy it because not only is it good, they and their childern like it, but also because they know it is an African American product.”
Michele’s Syrups is seeing more sales as the message is being seen online, talked about by community leaders including ministers, small business owners, local councilmen and others. The message is to buy consciously. People are checking online and finding out that there is a Michele of Michele’s Syrups, She is an African American small business owner that started her business in 1984 from nothing. The business has grown and the syrup is sold in over 8000 stores. Michele’s Syrups is the only African American owned Syrup Company ever and is nationwide.