Travelers at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport will discover offerings from the Maryland and D.C. region at five new retail shops. The new local operators are participants in the 2022 Launch Pad program. In its fifth year, small, local and minority businesses have greater opportunities to start an airport retail enterprise through this innovative program. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held with officials on June 2 to celebrate the incoming class: Everything Blings Boutique, Messy Buddha, and Plum Good in Concourse D, WELL TRVLD in the A/B Food Court area, and the return of New Secrets Tea in Concourse B. The shops carry an array of stylish clothing and accessories, hand-crafted candles, exotic spices, custom apparel, and natural herbal teas.
The openings follow a rigorous recruitment and selection process, in-depth training and certification, and onboarding over the past few months. Fraport Maryland enhanced the program for 2022, bringing additional resources, training, mentoring, and ongoing business development, sales and marketing support with area business partners.