Essence Communications

What Essence Communications does

Essence Communications Inc. is a privately-held, multi-platform media company founded in 1969, headquartered at 34 35th Street in Brooklyn, NY under parent Sundial Media & Technology Group, with an editorial office at the Time & Life Building in Rockefeller Center, New York. The company serves Black women through a portfolio of owned media properties spanning print (ESSENCE Magazine, published six issues per year), digital (essence.com and mobile apps on iOS and Android), youth-focused vertical Girls United, and major live events including the ESSENCE Festival of Culture in New Orleans, Black Women in Hollywood, and the GU Summit.

The business operates four distinct revenue streams: magazine subscriptions priced at $12 per year or $18 for two years (auto-renewing print + digital bundles), advertising and sponsorships from major consumer brands (Coca-Cola, Louis Vuitton, H&M, Steve Madden, Pat McGrath), e-commerce transaction fees through the newly launched WeLoveUs.shop community commerce platform (December 2025) supporting Black women-led brands with bi-weekly payouts and real-time inventory synchronization, and event ticketing and experiential sponsorships. The company employs 51-100 people and maintains a portfolio of wholly-owned subsidiaries including Essence Studios, Soko Mrkt, Ese Funds, and acquired brands Refinery29, Afropunk, BeautyCon, and NaturallyCurly.

Essence's go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, leveraging deep cultural authority built over 55+ years to attract both Black women consumers and brand advertisers seeking authentic engagement. The company was founded by Penny Burke, Clarence O. Smith, Edward Lewis, Jonathan Blount, and Cecil Hollingsworth, with Avani Patel serving as Chief Operating Officer. Acquired by Time Inc. in 2015, the company was later sold to Sundial Media & Technology Group in 2018 following the Time-Meredith merger, and has since pursued a multi-brand portfolio strategy under the ESSENCE Ventures initiative.

Name

Essence Communications

Legal name

ESSENCE Communications Inc.

Website

http://www.essence.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Essence Communications is a privately-held, multi-platform media company founded in 1969 serving Black women through a print magazine, digital properties, flagship events, and the WeLoveUs.shop commerce platform, operating as a subsidiary of Sundial Media & Technology Group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Women's Lifestyle Media

NAICS

Media Buying Agencies (541830), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Multicultural & Diversity Marketing Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Merchandising & D2C Management (Artists) (MPAIAGAI)

Keywords

• Women's lifestyle media
• Print magazine publishing
• Digital media platform
• Cultural content publishing
• Community commerce marketplace

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Magazine Subscriptions: Print and digital magazine subscriptions with automatic renewal. Subscribers receive print issues delivered monthly plus digital access across devices. Revenue from recurring subscription fees.
2. Advertising & Sponsorships: Brand advertising across digital properties, print magazine, email newsletters, and video content. Sponsored content and branded partnerships with major consumer brands.
3. E-commerce (WeLoveUs.shop): Community commerce platform supporting Black women-led brands. Takes transaction fees from sales through the platform while providing operational support to emerging brands.
4. Events & Experiential: Revenue from ESSENCE Festival of Culture, Black Women in Hollywood, GU Summit, and other events including ticket sales, sponsorships, and experiential activations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Essence Communications operates a multi-platform media business centered on the ESSENCE Magazine (print and digital subscription editions) and Essence.com editorial website, serving Black women with content on fashion, beauty, celebrity, lifestyle, entertainment, and culture. The company has expanded into a community commerce marketplace (WeLoveUs.shop) supporting Black women-led brands, signature live events (ESSENCE Festival of Culture, Black Women in Hollywood, GU Summit), and youth-focused editorial under the Girls United vertical. Revenue is generated through consumer subscriptions, advertising and sponsorships, e-commerce transaction fees, and event ticket and experiential sales.

Product overview

Essence Communications Inc. operates as a multi-platform media company primarily serving Black women through a portfolio of magazines, digital properties, events, and e-commerce initiatives. The core offering is ESSENCE Magazine (print and digital subscriptions), distributed via essence.com and mobile applications across Apple Newsstand, Amazon Appstore, Barnes & Noble, and Google Play. Supporting digital platforms include Essence Girls United (GU), a youth-focused vertical, and WeLoveUs.shop, a community commerce marketplace supporting Black women-led brands. The company has expanded through acquisitions including BeautyCon, NaturallyCurly, Afropunk, and Refinery29, and operates subsidiaries such as ESSENCE Studios, Soko Mrkt, and Ese Funds. Major events include the annual ESSENCE Festival of Culture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Essence Girls United (GU): Digital destination for young, multicultural individuals focusing on community, mentors, perspectives, and opportunities
• WeLoveUs.shop
• ESSENCE Studios
• Soko Mrkt
• Ese Funds

Products and services

• ESSENCE Magazine Print and digital publication covering fashion, beauty, lifestyle, entertainment, and culture targeted at Black women. Distributed via monthly print subscription and digital edition across iOS, Android, and digital newsstands, with six issues per year and a $9.99 cover price.
• Essence Girls United (GU) Global digital destination for young, multicultural women and gender-expansive youth offering content on fashion, beauty, entertainment, wellness, business, and identity, paired with the annual GU Summit event.
• WeLoveUs.shop Community commerce marketplace supporting Black women-led brands, offering bi-weekly vendor payouts, real-time inventory synchronization, and operational support to emerging consumer brands.
• ESSENCE Festival of Culture Annual flagship cultural festival in New Orleans featuring concerts, panels, world premieres, and celebrity appearances that celebrates Black culture and serves as a major demand generation and brand activation event.
• Black Women in Hollywood Annual awards and networking event celebrating Black women in entertainment, featuring red carpet appearances, awards, and industry recognition panels.
• ESSENCE Studios Media production and content creation studio under ESSENCE Ventures producing original content including video, editorial, and branded content for the Essence Communications ecosystem.

Quantifiable outcome

• WeLoveUs.shop launched to support Black women-led brands amid economic challenges
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Blavity: Digital-first media company focused on Black culture and audiences, directly competing with Essence for the same Black-women readership across fashion, beauty, and lifestyle. Operates Blavity News, Blavity Beauty, and other verticals with higher publishing velocity.
• MadameNoire: Digital lifestyle publication targeting Black women with content on beauty, fashion, career, and relationships. Closely comparable audience and content mix to Essence's digital properties, operating without the legacy print component.
• HelloBeautiful: Black-women-focused digital media brand covering entertainment, beauty, fashion, and lifestyle. Owned by iOne Digital (formerly Interactive One), directly competing with Essence.com for the same Black-women audience segment.
• The Root: Black-culture-focused news, opinion, and lifestyle publication. Comparable audience demographic with Essence and direct overlap in culture, celebrity, and lifestyle coverage, though tilted more toward news and opinion.
• Refinery29: Women-focused lifestyle media brand (fashion, beauty, entertainment) that is currently owned by Sundial Media & Technology Group alongside Essence. Functionally a peer within the same corporate family but with a broader (less culturally specific) audience and overlapping editorial coverage.
• Afropunk: Black culture and music festival/media brand currently owned by Sundial Media & Technology Group alongside Essence. Comparable in event-led GTM and Black-audience focus, though skewed toward music/festival rather than lifestyle publishing.

Broad incumbents

• BET (ViacomCBS): Larger incumbent media company targeting Black audiences through television, digital, and events. Comparable in audience targeting and cultural authority but operates across broader entertainment (TV/film) rather than as a publishing-led lifestyle brand.
• Allure: Mainstream beauty publication under Condé Nast, competing with Essence in beauty and lifestyle content. Comparable in beauty editorial coverage but addresses a broader (less multicultural-targeted) audience.

Emerging players

• Gal-dem: Independent magazine and platform centering women and non-binary people of color. Comparable in mission and underserved audience targeting, though smaller in scale and digital-only versus Essence's print + digital + events portfolio.
• Shadow & Act: Digital platform covering Black entertainment, culture, and lifestyle. Comparable in audience focus and content categories, though smaller in scale and lacking Essence's event IP and commerce platforms.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/essencemag
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC_b9CfN5Yeb_c2hQNRGKXUw
• Facebookfacebook.com/essence
• Instagraminstagram.com/essence
• Pinterestpinterest.com/essence
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/18363

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Essence Communications