G.L.A.M. Body Scrubs takes the $100,000 Hatch Detroit prize

G.L.A.M. Body Scrubs, the Detroit skincare company founded by Tiffany Cartwright, won the $100,000 grand prize at the 12th annual Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest by TechTown. The winner was announced at the Hatch Off event on May 9, 2024, at the Wayne State University Industry Innovation Center.

Cartwright plans to use the grant from Comerica Bank to open her first brick-and-mortar storefront, in the Rosedale Park community, according to TechTown's announcement.

Three other finalists shared the stage: Harry Rich Clothier, Khana, and Roller Skate Detroit. Each of the three received a $10,000 grant through TechTown's Small Business Support Hub, funded by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

Cartwright launched G.L.A.M. Body Scrubs in 2018 after a 2012 layoff that, per TechTown, cost her her benefits, her insurance, and her home. Before that she had worked for the State of Michigan as an assistant attorney general, a judicial clerk, and an administrative law judge. She began mixing natural skincare products for her daughter, who was born with eczema, and built a business out of it. The line is now housed under her company Amarra Products, established in 2020.

The name is an acronym. "G.L.A.M. is actually an acronym for 'Giving Love to All Mankind,'" Cartwright told TechTown. The company is a certified woman- and minority-owned business, and its mission centers on workforce development. It hires and trains underserved members of the community, including women who have survived domestic violence and human trafficking, and returning citizens. "My grind to be a job creator comes from knowing what it feels like not to have one," Cartwright told TechTown.

The Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest has run since 2012. Comerica Bank and the Comerica Charitable Foundation have committed more than $1.1 million in direct funding to Detroit small businesses over that span, per TechTown. Past winners include La Feria, Sister Pie, Meta Physica Massage, Baobab Fare, 27th Letter Books, Little Liberia, and Bouncing Around the Motor City, many of which went on to open and are still operating.