Asia Dillon: Making a Name for Herself as a Manufacturer

This blog is part of a series for Black History Month to celebrate and share the stories of Black American manufacturing leaders.

Asia Dillon is not your average 15-year-old high school student in New Orleans, Louisiana. She has already made a name for herself as a manufacturer. Asia is the owner of Sassy A Cosmetics, a company she started four years ago with the help of her mother.

The start of Sassy A Cosmetics

Asia considers herself “a little Jackie of all trades,” and sees opportunities where others might not. For example, her younger sister suffers from eczema, which makes her lips so dry that they crack and peel. Asia’s sister didn’t like the lip balm their mother gave her. She didn’t like the smell and it made her lips burn.

From this experience, Asia saw there was a need for a new and different kind of lip gloss. She wanted to create something that would soothe her sister’s lips – using all natural ingredients. “My mission,” says Asia, “is to heal all the kids’ and adult’s lips around the world by creating a product that will have their lips healthy and popping at the same time!”

Her lip gloss is handmade with all natural ingredients and is sold at local pop-up shops and online. Sassy A’s product line has grown to include lipsticks, lip creams and lip balms. What Asia likes most about working in manufacturing is that she can make a high-quality product for her customers and also get orders out in a timely manner.

Advice for becoming a manufacturer

“My advice for someone that is interested in pursuing a career in manufacturing is to be persistent and open minded. Having my business has taught me to learn from mistakes and grow from them. Being in manufacturing is not easy – however, nothing worth having is. Manufacturing teaches you that quality over quantity is very important. If you stay consistent, then eventually, that quality will produce growth and definitely turn into quality quantity,” says Asia.

With a love for science and for mixing things together, it’s easy to see how this ambitious teen ended up in the manufacturing industry.

Asia’s story is just one of many from across the MEP National Network that highlights the profound impact Black Americans have on the manufacturing industry and their communities. The younger generation, and their passion for finding a solution to a need, is instrumental in continuing to grow manufacturing in the U.S.