Photos by Xana Turner-Owens

Shary Browne has a vision for her community. As the creator of Shea Butter Smoothies, she’s determined to make premium, fresh and healthy ingredients accessible to Mattapan, Roxbury and the greater Boston area. When it comes to wellness and nutrition, she believes access should never be a limiting factor. At Shea Butter Smoothies, she’s serving an education on wellness in every cup.

Browne first began studying the wellness benefits of smoothies because she was interested in improving her own diet. After graduating from business school, she was traveling often for work and wanted to find a way to consume key nutrients and proteins while on the go. During her travels, she found smoothies that tasted great while still featuring health-conscious ingredients, but struggled to find anything like this when she returned to her own neighborhood in Boston. Her newly minted business degree kicked into gear and she began thinking about how she could fill this clear void in the market. She knew the specific quality, texture and ingredients she was looking for and wasn’t willing to settle for less.

While smoothie and juice bars may have existed at health food stores and membership-only gym cafés in the suburbs, Browne saw a real absence in her own community. This issue of inadequate distribution of resources in Black and Brown neighborhoods is well-established. Inner-city neighborhoods have historically struggled to gain access to the same resources available in suburban and wealthy areas. “Food deserts,” urban residential areas that experience food insecurity because of insufficient resources, infrastructure or wealth, disproportionately affect Black and Brown communities. Noticing this deficit in the health food marketplace, Browne decided to begin building a blueprint for her own smoothie shop, hoping to model wellness in her community by first creating access. “I wanted Black and Brown people to have access to these types of delicious, healthy and nutritious products. Why should our diets suffer because we live in the inner city? Why can’t we have the best of the best?” Browne asks. She created Shea Butter Smoothies so that they could.

Founded in 2017, Shea Butter Smoothies originally operated out of the quick mart at the Mobil station on Blue Hill Avenue. A friend of Browne’s owned this centrally located gas station in Mattapan and it already housed a small market. He offered the space on a trial basis and she set up shop the following week. Its busy location meant constant customer turnover, and Browne knew she’d be able to leverage this opportunity into a real business. At first, she had to beg customers to try samples of her smoothies, but eventually word began to spread about her incredible product. Over the following months, with the help of social media and word of mouth, Shea Butter began to develop a legitimate buzz. Responding to a rise in sales, Browne began to seek out new ingredients, expand her menu and start thinking about widening her reach.

As her business grew, Browne developed a relationship with Lambert's Rainbow Market, a local produce market in Dorchester. When a storefront opened up next door to them, she jumped at the opportunity. In 2020, Browne expanded her business to this new location, where they have just celebrated their first anniversary. The symbiotic relationship between Lambert's and Shea Butter Smoothies allows for mutual customer growth and expansion, and Browne believes this is just the beginning.

Shea Butter Smoothies began with one employee and just three smoothies on the menu. In the four years since opening, Browne has expanded to over 50 house-made smoothies, juices and elixirs, a full staff and a bigger and better location—all without compromising her original vision. It was important to Browne that she build this vision in her own community. Born and raised in Mattapan, she knew she could create an impact by simply creating access. Completely self-funded and self-run from the beginning, Browne has “saved every breadcrumb to make this loaf of bread.” Shea Butter Smoothies is a leading example in a new swell of Black and female-owned businesses with community, accessibility and wellness at their core. Today’s menu items feature fresh-pressed juices, whole oats, dairy-free milks, nut butters, proteins, adaptogens and more. She hopes to expand to multiple locations in the next few years, making wellness more accessible with each new customer.

Follow Shea Butter Smoothies on Instagram at @sheabuttersmothies for more information.

777 Morrissey Blvd, Dorchester

This story appeared in the Winter 2022 issue.