SW Iowa Times

A Black-owned business from Iowa was featured in Google’s shoppable film as part of Black Friday advertisements. 

As a promotion for Black-owned Friday, Google featured a series of Black-owned businesses, including Iowa-based BLK & Bold, the first Black-owned coffee brand that is distributed across the U.S., according to Yahoo Finance. 

"We are honored that BLK & Bold coffee is represented in Google's shoppable film to celebrate Black-owned Friday," said Rod Johnson, co-founder of BLK & Bold, according to Yahoo Finance. "Google continues to support businesses like ours through its digital tools and connect to people who are looking to support Black-owned businesses." 

For the second consecutive year, Google has partnered with U.S. Black Chamber in order to reimagine the Friday after Thanksgiving, commonly known as Black Friday, as Black-owned Friday, according to Cision PR Newswire. As part of this year's promotions, Google has partnered with rap and R&B artist T-Pain to create a new, original music track designed especially for Black-owned Friday. 

According to a consumer survey commissioned by Google and the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc., 66% of consumers who actively support Black-owned businesses rely on digital tools to find them. The Google shoppable film featured more than 100 products made by over 50 different Black-owned businesses across the country, according to Yahoo! Finance.