TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa Bay black business owner is hoping her story will help inspire others to pursue their dreams.

What You Need To Know


  • Canviiy is a line of organic beauty products

  • Owner, founder Sherrel Sampson put her idea to work along with her marketing background

  • Brand can also be found at Moffitt Cancer Center salons, Tampa International Airport

  • More Good News stories

Sherrel Sampson's brand, Canviiy, is now on the shelves of hundreds of Target stores nationwide.

Thing is, she said she got the idea for her beauty business by accident.

“One day, I got my hair done and my scalp was on fire, and so literally my husband said, 'why don’t you do something for an itchy scalp?'" Sampson explained. "I said, 'that’s kind of lame, I don’t know.'”

But once she did the research, she said she realized there was a need for natural products to treat the scalp, and with her marketing background in the beauty business, she thought she had her niche figured out. But she was in for a surprise.

“Originally when we launched the brand, we thought this was going to be a cool, hip brand for women maybe in college and we were totally wrong,” Sampson said. “And I say that because we thought we were in the beauty business, but what we later learned is we’re actually in the liberation business.”

 

 

 

She said that liberation for men and women suffering from itchy and irritated scalps is now in the form of organic beauty products for the hair and body.

Sampson said those all natural ingredients and their product’s promises are what landed them on the shelves of more than 200 target stores nationwide. 

“Getting in Target was no easy feat by any means,” Sampson said. “It took multiple years. It’s something that took us to really groom ourselves as a brand, so having those conversations we knew who our customer was.”

Their customers range from African Americans who want to use the product under protective hairstyles or cancer patients dealing with hair loss. That’s how the brand ended up on the shelves at Moffitt Cancer Center’s salons.

The brand also caters to those who may suffer from a sunburned scalp. Sampson said that information was a part of the pitch that helped Canviiy land on the shelves of stores at Tampa International Airport.

The beauty brand is hoping to inspire other minority small business owners. They’re also planning to partner with local and national companies.​