Andscape, in collaboration with ESPN and the NBA, today announced the sixth year of the award-winning Champion Black Businesses (CBB) initiative. CBB continues to elevate locally-owned businesses, showcasing the diversity and creativity of Black entrepreneurship and cementing their importance by sharing their stories across multiple platforms during the NBA Finals and beyond.
Seven Elements Group, a Black-owned and women-led cultural marketing agency, continues to elevate the initiative.
The Businesses:
- New York, Harlem’s Heaven Hat: Harlem’s Heaven Hat is an independent hat studio owned by Evetta Petty, where every piece is designed and made by hand. A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology and a veteran of the fashion industry, Petty launched Harlem’s Heaven Hats after years working in corporate retail. Her designs have been featured in Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Teen Vogue, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 2023, she became the first Black milliner invited to the Royal Ascot Millinery Collective, joining an elite circle of designers whose work is now part of the permanent collection.
- Los Angeles, Prosperity Market: Prosperity Market is a food market founded by Carmen Dianne and Kara Still that is reshaping how food moves through communities. The business combines a mobile farmers market, an online store and a powerful equity mission. What started as a response to the economic fallout of the pandemic has grown into a powerful solution for two urgent needs: increasing food access in underserved communities and creating sustainable infrastructure to support locally-owned businesses.
- Houston, Kicky Mats: Kicky Mats is a custom doormats business founded by Eboni Roberts, created to make people feel seen the moment they step through the door. Originally, the doormats were painted with bold, funny, culturally-rooted phrases that reflect her personality and pride. The kind of messages she wishes she saw in stores. Now, Kicky Mats is a business rooted in cultural expression through hands-on painting classes that allows people to design doormats that reflect who they are, with humor, pride, and heart.
- Cleveland, Adun Spice Co.: Adun Spice Co. is a Cleveland-based spice company founded by chef and food stylist Ramat Wiley in 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The idea for Adun, named after the Yoruba word for flavor, was born out of a deeply personal moment: a WhatsApp call with her cousin following a video chat with her grandmother in Nigeria. Starting with nine curated blends, Wiley launched online before popping up at Cleveland markets. With a focus on sustainability, quality, and cultural storytelling, Adun invites home cooks to explore global flavors while honoring heritage.
Rolling out during and around NBA Finals broadcasts will be :30 films highlighting each business’s story, which will debut across Andscape and ESPN’s digital and social media channels.
The NBA finals begin June 5 exclusively on ABC.
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