August 29, 2025
Chantel Francis is transforming how Black college students access beauty and self-care products with ‘Hello Beauty’ vending machines.
Chantel Francis is transforming how Black and brown college students access beauty and self-care products. Francis owns a slew of beauty supply vending machines. Her company, Hello Beauty, is now expanding across State University of New York campuses.
The Bronx-born founder thought of the idea during her time as a student at SUNY Brockport. Francis earned a Bachelor of Applied Science in 2024. She recalled frequent frustration over the limited availability of beauty items on campus.
“As a college student, I often felt that my campus didn’t have what I needed when it came to beauty and personal care,” she told AfroTech. “It wasn’t inclusive, and finding the right products meant going off-campus and driving long distances. That’s when I thought, ‘What if we had a vending machine?’”
This concept laid the foundation for Hello Beauty.
Her vision came to life after she won a campus pitch competition similar to Shark Tank. The competition was held through the school’s Small Business Development Center and awarded the entrepreneur with $2,500 to start her company. The center provided Francis with the resources and confidence to launch her first vending machine in January 2025 at SUNY Brockport. That machine stocked essentials including durags, bonnets, hairspray, skincare products, and Vaseline. The specific products targeted the needs of the Black population on campus.
By August 2025, Hello Beauty expanded to SUNY Morrisville. Francis shared her gratitude at the Morrisville launch.
“What started as a vision to make beauty and self-care products more accessible to students on campus is now becoming a reality. To the SUNY Morrisville community, thank you for welcoming Hello Beauty with open arms.” She added that the mission is only beginning. “Our mission is to expand across all SUNY Networks, creating spaces where every student feels seen, supported, and celebrated,” she said.
Hello Beauty provides comfort for the Black and brown community, some of whom are transplants to the area. According to Francis, Hello Beauty’s offerings let the underserved student body know they are seen.
“Since launching the machine, I’ve received so many texts from current students saying things like, ‘This is what I really needed.’ ‘Thank you!’ ‘I’m so grateful for this.’ I can’t provide everything, but with this, it gives the basics to feel a sense of comfortability.”
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