Holiday Gift Guide 2024: 9 Black-Women-Owned Food Brands To Gift This Season

During the past several years, I've made shopping Black-owned and women-owned businesses a priority. The holiday season—a cherished time for family, festivities and food—presents the perfect opportunity to do so. This year, I have compiled a list of nine remarkable Black-women-owned food businesses that craft everything from artisanal cookware to gourmet granola. Whether you're looking to surprise a foodie friend or incorporate new tastes into your holiday celebrations, these brands bring distinctive flavors and products to your kitchen table.

Uncle Nearest

Founded by serial entrepreneur Fawn Weaver, the award-winning Uncle Nearest brand honors the legacy of Nathan "Nearest" Green, an African-American distiller credited with teaching Jack Daniel the art of whiskey-making in the 1800s. Uncle Nearest whiskey products are distinguished by their smooth flavors and additive-free production methods.

Notable offerings include Uncle Nearest 1884 Small Batch Whiskey with Four Crystal Glasses , a five-year-aged, hand-selected whiskey that can be personalized with engraving and comes with four Waterford crystal glasses. Uncle Nearest Single Barrel delivers a distinct, barrel-strength flavor, triple-filtered for smoothness. The brand's newest release, Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey , now available for preorder, is crafted with an approachable price and proof, making it ideal for those new to whiskey.

Ayesha Curry Cookware

From cast-iron skillets to baking sheets, Ayesha Curry Cookware is both stylish and durable. Founded by actress, author, and television personality Ayesha Curry, the company sells a range of products, including bakeware, kitchenware, tools and accessories.

Cookware products feature classic colors and easy-to-clean nonstick surfaces. Best-sellers include the 10-piece hard anodized nonstick cookware set , which covers most cooking needs, and the enamel on steel stockpot , ideal for heating soups and stews.

Mawa's Kitchen

Mawa McQueen, restaurateur and author of the cookbook Mawa's Way, highlights the significance of food quality to health and happiness. At her restaurant, Mawa's Kitchen, in Aspen, Colorado, she is dedicated to crafting balanced and healthy dishes using locally sourced and organic ingredients.

In addition to being a restaurant owner, McQueen has extended her commitment to healthy eating through GrainFreeNola . This product line includes five granola combinations: Berry Me, Out of Africa, Health Nut, Green Machine and Tropical Paradise. These granolas are not only delicious but also protein-rich and vegan, made with high-quality organic nuts and seeds and naturally sweetened with Medjool dates. Purchase one individually or buy the custom bundle containing an 8-oz bag of all five flavors.

Partake Foods

Founded by Denise Woodard to support her daughter with multiple food allergies, Partake Foods sells a selection of delicious, allergy-friendly cookies that are certified gluten-free, non-GMO, vegan and free of the top nine allergens (wheat, tree nuts, peanuts, milk, eggs, soy, fish, sesame and shellfish).

The product line includes classics like chocolate chip , ginger snap and snickerdoodle . Passionate about getting safe food into the hands of food-insecure families, Partake Foods partners with nonprofit organizations across the U.S. to provide access to the food, education and advocacy these families deserve.

Black Girl Magic Wines

When the two sisters behind McBride Sisters Wine reunited after living on separate continents for most of their lives, they quickly bonded over their shared passion for wine. Drawing inspiration from their hometowns in New Zealand and California—both wine hotspots—they transformed this passion into McBride Sisters Wine, now the largest African-American-owned wine company in the U.S.

The McBride Sisters Wine collections feature a variety of wines, including a collection trio of sparkling brut rosé from Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, and a chardonnay and red blend from the central coast of California. Additionally, they offer specialized collections such as the Black Girl Magic series, which includes California riesling and California rosé , as well as the SHE CAN series of canned wines inspired by their mothers.

Justice of the Pies

There's nothing Maya Camille Broussard can't bake. The James Beard Award finalist and founder of Justice of the Pies bakery sells the most delectable sweet and savory tarts, quiches, and pies at her flagship store on Chicago's South Side. The bakery's name is a heartfelt tribute to her late father, a criminal defense attorney with a passion for pies. Following in his footsteps, Broussard participates in her own social causes, such as her 'I Knead Love' workshop, which provides culinary classes to teach middle-school students to be self-sufficient in the kitchen.

If you don't live in Chicagoland, you can still order five of Broussard's delicious pies, including salted caramel peach pie and bourbon pecan pie , delivered nationwide through Goldbelly. For eager home bakers, her namesake book provides mouthwatering recipes you can create at home.

The Spice Suite

The Spice Suite embodies the vision of its owner, Angel Gregorio, who is passionate about great food and bringing people together. This Washington, D.C.-based company operates under the motto "food is fashion," reflecting its founder's dedication to creating couture spice blends with international influences. Products range from lemon pepper hot sauce to Sri Lankan curry spice blends. However, rather than selling individual items, Gregorio offers curated boxes and bags, perfect for gifting.

One notable product is the Spicy, Savory and Salt Free box . This carefully selected four-pack includes a black garlic and onion mix and spice blends inspired by the rich flavors of Mexico, Italy, and the American South. In addition to its spice collections, The Spice Suite also features a range of dinnerware, flatware and flour mixes for pancakes, cornbread and cookies. For those who embrace the intersection of food and style, the Food is Fashion box includes branded apparel and accessories, celebrating the company's unique philosophy.

Cuples Tea House

With a carefully curated selection of more than 50 premium loose-leaf teas, Baltimore-based Cuples Tea House aims to educate the public about the medicinal benefits of tea while connecting them to high-quality options and upscale tea experiences. Founded by Lynnette Dodson, the company offers several popular flavors, including apple spiced chai , a blend of apple chunks, ginger, clove and cinnamon. According to Dodson, this chai can be mixed with hot apple cider to create what she calls 'applechider'. Other best-sellers are peppermint black tea and white chai . The company also sells a variety of teaware, glasses and other accessories.

From now until the end of the year, Cuples Tea House is hosting " The Elevated Tea Experience " in Baltimore. This 1.5-hour event provides a contemporary twist on the classic British afternoon tea tradition, encouraging guests to embrace sophistication by wearing their finest fascinators, plumes and pearls.

Specializing in contemporary luxury African décor, 54kibo honors Africa's 54 countries and Kibo, the highest summit in Africa, a snow-capped volcanic cone atop Mt. Kilimanjaro. While not exclusive to the culinary industry, the company sells gorgeous tableware products like the Fatyly porcelain dinnerware set and the turquoise gold seashell dishes .

Founder Nana Quagraine was born in Ghana, raised in South Africa and resides in New York City. She has always been passionate about the contemporary African design items she discovered during her trips back home but noticed their limited accessibility on a global scale. In response, she launched 54kibo in 2018, along with a dedicated team, with the mission to share the boundless creativity of the African Diaspora with the world.