• by Teresa Buyikian , April 25, 2025

With less than 2% of the liquor industry Black-owned, it can be difficult for consumers to find these smaller brands in-store or online.  A new ecommerce platform aims to change that, enabling shoppers to zero in on supporting POC businesses.

UrFriendCharles.com, dedicated exclusively to Black-owned spirits, launches in the U.S. with 150 products and the ability to ship to 44 states. The site will be adding 100 more products by year’s end, per the announcement.

The site carries beer, wine, liquor and some non-alcoholic brands, and “offers a curated experience for consumers who want to diversify their shelves while supporting underrepresented founders,” per the release.

Founded by content creator and spirits expert Charles Everett, UrFriendCharles was created to solve a common frustration. "People want to buy Black, they just don't know where to start,” said Everett in the release.

"Walk into a liquor store and you're looking at hundreds, sometimes thousands of bottles. Even seasoned drinkers might only recognize a handful of names. That makes it hard for smaller brands, especially Black-owned ones, to stand out,” he added.  "Many of these brands don't have celebrity deals or big budgets, but they're making incredible products. UrFriendCharles gives them a spotlight and gives shoppers an easy way to vote with their dollars."

The site has a lot of features not found on your typical big box liquor store sites, including AI-powered matchmaking, where customers can chat online with “Lil Charles,” the platform's AI chatbot, to help them find Black-owned alternatives to some of their go-to favorites. Another feature is the ability to discover new brands via filtering by such categories as HBCU grad, women-owned, LGBTQ+, or Caribbean/African founders. The site also has a Black-owned brewery locator and liquor store finder, as well as a “Zero Proof Love” section for non-alcoholic options.