The “Beyoncé Bump” And How Cowboy Carter’s Influence Is Benefiting Black Entrepreneurs – Essence
On March 19, 2024, Beyoncé unveiled the long-awaited cover art for “Cowboy Carter,” the second act in her forthcoming trilogy project. Following its reveal, Kureé Sheard had an idea. “The day that she released the photo for ‘Cowboy Carter,’ I saw the BEYINCÉ sash,” said Sheard, a small business owner based in Wall Township, New Jersey. “We had already been doing a number of different sashes [for] birthdays, bridal events, Charli XCX’s ‘BRAT’ tour, all that. As soon as I saw the sash with her name on it, I was like, ‘People are going to want that.’”
Soon, custom double satin-lined $40 sashes created by Sheard’s business, “Nina Lem’s Party,” became outfit staples to wear to the Rodeo Chitlin’ Circuit. From cheeky sayings like “Save A Horse, Ride Me” to new nicknames like “SASH-A-FIERCE,” the Beyhive tapped into their creative bag in preparation for Act II—and so have several Black women entrepreneurs.
It’s no secret that Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” World Tour was the highest-grossing tour by a female artist in history. Dubbed the “Beyoncé Bump,” its economic impact was felt by members of the Beyhive and beyond. During the summer of 2023, stores hurriedly began stocking the shelves with glittery, silver “Alien Superstar”-coded attire or facial jewels to complement concert ensembles. According to the New York Times, during the “Renaissance” World Tour, Etsy reported a 25 percent increase in searches for silver clothing and accessories.
Notably, Beyoncé also uses her national and global tour dates as a creative platform. During this year’s “Cowboy Carter” tour she has been spotted in Burberry, Diesel, Roberto Cavalli, Mugler, and Coperni. Her looks are high fashion takes on Western attire and are executed by renowned stylists including Shiona Turini in addition to a team of tailors and fashion assistants.
At a MetLife Stadium tour date in New Jersey, the global artist arrived wearing a custom ensemble by Burberry. It consisted of a lengthy white fur coat with an eagle emblazoned on the back. A glittery blue bodysuit designed with tassels throughout was paired with white and red striped pants which also featured tassels.
Be it local boutiques or luxury retailers, businesses have been benefiting from the “Beyoncé Bump.” Levi’s stock famously jumped 20% following the album release, thanks to Beyoncé’s track “Levii’s Jeans.” This time around, brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch have released product lines geared towards Americana and rodeo aesthetics, replete with cow print, fringe leather jackets, flare pants, turquoise jewelry, and more.
Whole cities are bracing themselves for the boom; across Atlanta, select Goodwill locations have curated “Cowboy Goodwill” pop-ups dedicated to Western-inspired attire. From sashes to press-on nails, fans, or satin-lined cowboy hats, Black consumers and creators are cashing in on the Cowboy Carter economy. This is not only an example of the ingenuity of Beyoncé’s fandom, but a testament to Black women’s impact on the economy and pop culture.
Sheard, 35, told ESSENCE, “I have loved Beyoncé since I was 11 years old. When I was a little girl growing up in Brooklyn, nobody had an accent mark on their E, so I used to always get teased because it was different. Then, here comes Destiny’s Child, and their lead singer is Beyoncé.”
Little did Sheard know the extent to which Beyoncé would impact her life. Founded in August 2019, @ninalemsparty (which is “melanin” spelled backwards) began as a party decor and accessories brand, created to fill a gap Sheard saw in the market. Eventually, Nina Lem’s Party ascended to one of few Black-owned brands on Etsy’s Top 1% sellers list.
Following the album announcement, Sheard designed four iterations of the sash, aiming to create a replica as precise as the original. In August 2024, she released the sash line. After the Christmas Day “Beyoncé Bowl” in December 2024, sales began to pick up—then chaos ensued after the “Cowboy Carter” tour announcement on February 2, 2025.
“I went to bed,” said Sheard, “And the next morning, I woke up and we had all these orders. When I tell you, on February 2nd, everything I ever knew about marketing, everything I’ve learned over my 10 years in business, I applied. Right now, we’ve probably sold eight to 9,000 sashes.”
To meet the demand, Sheard hired temp workers, building out an intimate team of 12. Because of the sashes, Nina Lem’s Party surpassed its 2023 profits in merely one month. The brand has since expanded to selling grills for the “Cowboy Carter” tour, holographic Beyoncé stickers, and more. From posting viral TikToks to witty Instagram reels and ads, Sheard continues to grow her consumer base.
“I always say that Black culture is pop culture. We set the trends—and we’ve built community,” she said. “We just posted someone who wore our sash, and he celebrated being cancer-free. It’s insane to me what is happening right now. The product could be anything, but it’s the community behind Beyoncé and the Hive.”
Based in California, Tyese Knighten sought to merge Black tradition with contemporary culture through “Shady B Fans.” She started the small business in 2021 to support her best friend’s local photo booth company. Adding witty sayings to the leaves of handheld fans, Knighten wanted to make a statement with her products in a fun and unique way. She eventually took her business online, where she developed collections geared towards HBCU athletic teams, the Divine 9, and more.
“When we talk about the legacy of fans in the Black community, we want to start with the Black church, especially down South,” said Knighten, 52. “It was really out of comfort in the beginning because, of course, there was no air conditioner. But let’s go back all the way to Africa, where fans were used in spiritual ceremonies. In some communities, it was also a way to show grace or elegance. Today, you think about ballroom and drag. It adds a little bit of flair, and it’s just announcing that you’re there.”
When “Renaissance” was released for Act I, Knighten created handheld fans long before a tour announcement, inspired by song lyrics. With that foresight, she prepared similarly for “Cowboy Carter,” beginning with the “BEEN COUNTRY” tagline imprinted on fans then “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” and more. After the Christmas Day halftime show, where Beyoncé ended her performance with a literal “BANG” banner, Knighten approached her graphic designer.
“There was ‘ALIEN SUPERSTAR,’ ‘Face Card Never Declines.’ There was a ‘HEATED’ fan with flames, one that glowed in the dark,” she said. “After the Beyoncé Bowl, I was like, ‘I need to do something. Let’s come up with something.’ That’s where my graphic designer came up with that—and it’s actually our best-selling design. I can’t keep it in stock. As far as revenue, I have doubled what I [made] during the whole ‘Renaissance’ tour in just four months of ‘Cowboy Carter.’”
Albeit challenging to ensure customers receive their fans in a timely manner, Knighten said it’s most rewarding to see videos of concertgoers pairing their fans with their outfits. The greatest lesson she’s learned from this experience, Knighten said, is making customers feel a sense of togetherness and empowerment, applauding “Renaissance” and “Cowboy Carter” for fostering inclusivity.
A store manager at Michael’s by day, Knighten keeps a pulse on the culture through retail trends, talking to her niece in college, and perusing social media. Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, award-winning economist, author, and researcher, said that Black business owners always have to have their eye on the culture and stay more attuned to what could be profitable.
“In [Knighten’s] case, she intuitively knew a ‘Cowboy Carter’ tour was coming, so she worked ahead of time to ensure that when those tour dates were announced, she had a product ready to go. That amount of preparation was needed,” said Opoku-Agyeman-Agyeman. “What’s interesting, though, is on the flip side—and this is seen through TikTok culture—Black people will create things, white people will appropriate and remix it, and that’s what becomes marketable.”
Opoku-Agyeman added that these fiscal feats are especially remarkable given the aggressive rollback of and deliberate attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts to support Black businesses. As co-founder of The Sadie Collective, a non-profit dedicated to increasing the representation of Black women in economics and related fields, Opoku-Agyeman felt this firsthand.
“People go through ebbs and flows of whether or not they want to dignify Black people and Black business, right? The hope is that you are in business at the time when people want to dignify it. The reality is as a Black person, unfortunately, your default expectation should be that no one’s coming to save you,” Opoku-Agyeman said.
Despite systemic barriers causing stark economic disparities, such as limited funding in the VC realm, Black entrepreneurs remain scrappy. Nonetheless, Black people are skilled at building community around products and services that we want to sell, said Opoku-Agyeman.
A common adage is that Black culture is one of America’s greatest exports, spanning globally. Domestically, according to a Nielsen report, there is a “cool factor” associated with Black buyers’ consumer choices. As was the case with Levi’s, this correlates with increased stock value following collaborations with Black celebrities; the association enhances their capital, socially and economically. Sadie Collective co-founder and international finance researcher Fanta Traore analogized it to Michael Jordan’s partnership with Nike.
“Both are creating money for brands whose status they elevate. Both celebrities represent an exceptionalism in their work ethic and talent, a kinship for their communities,” Traore, a former Federal Reserve staffer, wrote to ESSENCE. “Michael Jordan’s partnership with Nike makes it difficult to imagine a world without Air Jordans. As someone who grew up in the Bronx, culturally, Air Jordans and the rare ones are [what] you wanted to get your hands on because of how it was represented by other athletes and celebrities. What both Air Jordan’s and Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ concert have in common is the experience.”
During the “Renaissance,” hotels in downtown Chicago reported 95% occupancy on the first night of Beyoncé’s visit to the Windy City. Reports indicate that Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” World Tour, a 56-show global tour, generated an estimated $4.5 billion for the U.S. economy. Thus far, “Cowboy Carter,” a stateside 32-stop stadium tour, has generated a record-breaking $55 million in opening weekend. Billboard reported it as “the biggest reported single-venue engagement in Boxscore history by a woman.”
Traore wrote, “Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ Tour impact was equal to or larger than the entire annual budget of some U.S. states: Delaware, New Hampshire, Montana, North and South Dakota. That’s how much cultural power she wields.”
This aligns with data indicating that women overall drive the economic activity we see, said Opoku-Agyeman. In February 2024, CNBC reported that Black women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs. According to Nielsen’s annual intelligence report published in January 2025, Black buying power has “grown 2.4x since 2000” and is steadily approaching an estimated $2.1 trillion by 2026.
“Let’s talk about buying power—or as we call it in economics, purchasing power. [It’s] the ability to purchase items, products, and services. There’s a lot of different factors that might play a role into whether or not people can do that,” said Opoku-Agyeman, citing causes such as increased economic mobility, affordability, and a shrinking mobility gap between white and Black consumers. “A lot of folks do not see women as active participants of the economy, but oftentimes we are the ones who drive it. At the end of the day, Beyoncé’s tour success, Taylor Swift’s tour success, a lot of that is driven by women.”
What better way to connect with Black women than through the beauty market. McKenzie Dawkins’ resourcefulness, coupled with her childhood love for nail art, helped her capitalize on cosmetic aspects of concert preparation. At the onset of the COVID-19, Dawkins began experimenting with at-home nail art during quarantine, teaching herself how to master acrylic and gel nails.
“I don’t even know how I came across it, but it just occurred to me: press-on nails,” Dawkins said. “Now, people are actually making press-ons that they can reuse and save for later. I just thought that was so cool, so I really just started making them for myself. I was having so much fun, learning different nail art techniques and getting validation from your friends when you post your work online.”
Three years ago, self-taught Dawkins launched her press-on nails business called, “Tipped by Kenz.” Based out of Hackensack, New Jersey, “Tipped by Kenz” creates luxury, hand-painted, reusable press-on nails, starting as low as $35. For the “Renaissance” world tour, Dawkins only dabbled in a few custom nail sets that her friends requested. As the 33-year-old balances working a full-time job, she didn’t have the capacity to launch a themed nail line on short notice. However, after attending the “Renaissance” world tour herself and seeing the fashion frenzy, Dawkins equipped herself ahead of the “Cowboy Carter” tour.
She said, “When Beyoncé announced the Cowboy Carter tour, I was like, ‘Okay, I now know what this is going to be. I know everyone’s going to be getting their looks & outfits together.’ I went in intentionally with the mindset of, ‘I want to attack this and give myself the best chance going in.’”
After a few brainstorming sessions, Dawkins had the idea to release a “Cowboy Carter”-themed collection, ranging from $45 to $95 as the designs become more elaborate. From Americana stars and stripes to turquoise, cow print, and denim patterns or lassos, cacti, and the gold SIR DAVIS emblem, Dawkins’ nail sets cater to various interpretations of a cowboy. Her press-ons are all hand-sculpted and hand-painted, each with unique lettering, and designed to mix and match.
“Around February [2025] is when I started intentionally putting out content around this collection,” Dawkins said. “I posted one TikTok, and it didn’t even go super viral. Today, it has maybe 30k or 40k views but it was enough for me to say, ‘Okay, there’s interest here.’ On Instagram, I took some nice photos of my nails, one of those posts ended up on somebody’s Explore page, and got over 20k likes.”
For first-time “Tipped by Kenz” customers, she has mastered a two-part sizing process. Dawkins will send a standard set of 10 blank nails, one each in every size (small, medium, large) so customers can try them on and decide their best fit. Customers will then inform Dawkins which sizes are applicable to each finger, and she tailors their personalized order accordingly.
Dawkins prides herself on quality work as well as overcommunicating shipping expectations to buyers. Consumers are so accustomed to Amazon’s lightning-speed delivery, but Dawkins is a one-woman operation with two hands. To keep up with the demand, Dawkins set a deadline for the last date shoppers can order custom sets based on their tour date. The “nailfies” she receives from customers, many of whom are Black women, bring her such joy, said Dawkins.
“Nail art is such a huge part of the Black female community, our identity, expression, and everything. I’ve seen my nail pictures floating around Pinterest. I’ve seen people taking my designs to their nail techs. That’s super humbling,” she said. “I’ve always loved Beyoncé. I’ve always thought, ‘How can people not see her impact?!’ But it’s different when it’s affecting my everyday life. One page resharing a post could generate hundreds or thousands of dollars.”
As the “Cowboy Carter and the Rodeo Chitlin’ Circuit Tour” nears its midpoint, Dawkins has her sights set on what’s next: Act III.
