Haircare with a Mission

When De’Vonna Pittman launched Nature’s Syrup Beauty, she wasn’t just starting a business, she was answering a calling. A calling to restore trust in hair care, to heal from personal loss, and to take on what she called the curly hair “crisis.”

Shaped by her own experience as a Black woman with tight, coily hair, De’Vonna began mixing products that would enhance her hair in its natural state. In that process, she discovered a deep love for formulating and a desire to help others love the hair that they have.

De’Vonna began working with the Neighborhood Development Center (NDC) in 2021. After completing their Plan It! entrepreneur training program, she continued on with NDC’s lending team and later secured a loan through the GroundBreak Coalition. That funding allowed her to purchase new equipment, improve day-to-day operations, and hire staff to support her growing business. She also works with NDC’s Business Lab team to strengthen her financial planning and systems.

What started as a small venture has grown into a nationally recognized, plant-based beauty brand focused on a broad range of skin and hair remedies. Today, her products are sold online through Macy’s and Walmart Marketplace, and are now available in Hy-Vee stores in Robbinsdale and Brooklyn Park.

De’Vonna also operates the Curls & Culture Lounge, a luxury beauty space that serves as a retail and cultural gathering hub. The space also hosts her Sip & Shea product-making workshops, designed as restorative, hands-on experiences for community and corporate team building.

As a Lending and Business Lab client, De’Vonna continues to expand her impact. Through her initiative, Black Apothecaryism, she leads workshops for youth that combine entrepreneurship, hands-on product making, and financial literacy to spark the next generation of innovators.

Additionally, De’Vonna was recognized in 2024 when the U.S. Small Business Administration named her Minnesota’s Women in Business Champion of the Year. Additionally, she was recently named a Top 10 Women In Business by NAWBO.

De’Vonna’s work with NDC is still growing. Her expertise in the beauty industry will inform work at a new real estate project NDC is working on called the Ruckus and projected to launch in 2027. De’Vonna will help to develop the structure of a program focused on empowering beauty entrepreneurs with the correct tools and supplies to perfect their products and begin selling with a concentrated consumer base.