This is the fourth in our Global Beauty Hotspots series, unpacking the regional beauty market around the world, including Latin America, Australia, Scandinavia, Africa and East Asia. This article is part of our Vogue Business membership package. To enjoy unlimited access to our weekly Beauty Edit newsletter, which contains Member-only reporting and analysis, the Beauty Trend Tracker and Leadership Advice, sign up for Vogue Business membership here.
The African beauty market is defined by its emphasis on natural ingredients and quality skincare. Today’s consumers are well-versed, and brands lean into educational marketing in order to stay competitive and address the regional shift away from toxic ingredients. Now, as international brands look to break into the African market — one they have long struggled to succeed in — local brands are looking beyond the diaspora for growth.
Global brands have been eyeing the market for years. Mac opened its first standalone store in Lagos in Nigeria in 2013, and last year, Fenty launched in eight African countries. “International brands targeting women of colour specifically have been expanding in the region,” says Rubab Abdoolla, senior analyst at market research firm Euromonitor. L’Oréal is slowly making its way into the market. Last year, La Roche-Posay launched in Nigeria offering sun protection as well as products that tackle hyperpigmentation and scarring, in a bid to provide consumers with a safer alternative to skin lightening products.
This year, the African beauty and personal care market — of the 54 African countries, the Euromonitor data includes only South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ghana — is expected to hit $8.2 billion, up from $7.3 billion the previous year. “The African beauty industry has been recording good growth driven by the young population that has a keen interest in personal grooming,” says Abdoolla. By 2025, Euromonitor estimates the market could hit over $10 billion, with the Kenyan market set to hit $1 billion for the first time.
The A-beauty market — a play on K-beauty — is known for its abundance of rich ingredients such as shea butter, safou oil and manketti oil. Beauty standards in the market are shifting and consumers have a growing interest in developing healthier skincare routines as awareness around toxic ingredients grows. The frequent use of skin-bleaching products in Africa has raised concerns among international health organisations and led to campaigns across the continent. Now, consumers want quality ingredients and products that are luxurious, effective (can tackle dark scars and pigmentation) and specific for their skin type.
The success of local and international brands utilising ingredients from the continent is attracting investors. In 2017, Shea Moisture owner Sundial Brands, a leading manufacturer of Black beauty and haircare brands founded by Liberian immigrant Richelieu Dennis, was bought by British consumer goods company Unilever for an undisclosed sum. The company’s turnover was approximately $240 million at the time of sale.
“There is so much exciting innovation coming out of this region,” says Sienna Piccioni, head of beauty at trend forecasting and analytics firm WGSN. “We are seeing a real influx of local brands that address regional concerns, while blending traditional ancient wisdom and local ingredients with science to create innovative products.”
Skincare around the continent
Building a competitive beauty business in Africa is challenging for brands on the continent as the current infrastructure means businesses are forced to look outside of the region for solutions. Technological advancements are happening faster in other areas such as in the finance industry, but for beauty brands in the region, they are looking to markets like Asia for the right support. Persistent logistical issues have also made it difficult for brands to sell across the continent, despite the introduction of Africa’s free trade agreement, with many still encountering hurdles. Shipping within the continent is more expensive and requires a longer lead time than shipping to other countries like the UK or US, for example.
“Skincare for women of colour on the continent is underserved,” says Sneha Mehta, co-founder of the Kenyan-based skincare and wellness brand, Uncover. The three-year-old brand was born out of the global venture capital accelerator programme, Antler, which Mehta founded alongside Jade Oyateru and Catherine Lee. Uncover’s aim was to revolutionise the beauty industry in Africa by leaning on technology and innovation from leading labs in South Korea, and creating products for women on the continent.
Although Africa has an abundance of natural materials, the existing technology available for product development is limited. Uncover, then, sources ingredients from the continent, which are sent to labs in South Korea. There, products are made and sent back to Kenya. Uncover raised $1 million in December, which is currently funding expansion around the continent, starting with Nigeria. It currently has an e-commerce site as well as a store in Nairobi, Kenya.
“We’re a K-beauty-for-Africa brand,” says Mehta. “K-beauty is known to be the best in the world when it comes to skincare, so we’re leveraging that technology for local needs.”
RnR luxury launched in 2010 in Nigeria by Valerie Obaze with the aim of creating luxury beauty products for consumers on the continent that were easy to use – for example, its shea butter comes in a liquid form rather than the traditional solid format. From 2013, the brand has increased its product line from 10 to 28 SKUs. As demand for her products increased, she decided to open a store next door to a popular nail salon in Lagos; RnR Luxury is also sold in Ghana (where the business is now based) as well as the UK. However, logistical issues make it difficult to make more headway across Africa, Obaze says.
“It’s actually easier for me to ship something to the UK than it is for me to ship it to Congo,” she says. However, she notes that Africa’s free trade agreement, designed to make it easier to import products within Africa, could help RnR Luxury expand into other African countries. The agreement came into effect in January 2021, but its implementation has been slow as the region struggles to bounce back from Covid-19 disruptions. Other challenging areas include long port call times, particularly in Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania.
Where to sell
Finding the right retail partners is another pain-point for brands on and off the continent, who want to ensure that their products are stocked at the right retailers. Premium beauty brands in the region have to be strategic with their retail partnerships in order to gain access to the right consumers. A number of accessible beauty brands can be found at the supermarket or pharmacy, but premium beauty brands tend to be found in retailers that stock high-end fashion and beauty brands such as The Lotte in Accra, Ghana, which stocks brands including Charlotte Mensah and RnR Luxury.
“Since Covid, there has been a rise in e-commerce in the region, and this has driven a wave of entrepreneurship within the beauty industry,” says Euromonitor’s Abdoolla. “We are seeing the emergence of local brands developed by African women for African women and the USP of their products lies in the fact that they understand the unique skin care challenges of African women living in hot climates.” Uncover launched a sunscreen suitable for African skin tones that doesn’t leave a white cast, she notes.
Koba Skincare — which was launched by Thérèse M’Boungoubaya in 2021 and centres around the hero ingredient safou oil, commonly found in Cameroon and Congo — has managed to secure its first retail partner, a premium beauty salon in Congo that offers skincare treatments as well as hair and nails services. As beauty retail evolves, M’Boungoubaya believes partnering with premium beauty salons will help her reach the right consumers. “We are seeing an increased formalisation of the beauty retail sector, where there are now beauty and personal care products being sold through supermarkets and beauty specialists,” says Euromonitor’s Abdoolla. “African consumers are also very aspirational and want to be seen using premium and luxury beauty brands, but not everyone has the income levels to support such purchases.”
This month, M’Boungoubaya is hosting a workshop with customers at the salon to teach them about her products and ingredients. She’s also figuring out how quickly she should expand. “I definitely want to grow our presence here, but I just want to do it properly. Koba is a premium brand so we need to make sure in terms of positioning and store that it makes sense.” Prices range from £35 for foot cream to £75 for a body butter. The brand’s main markets are the UK, US and France.
A change in consumer spending habits is also driving growth in the industry. “Nigeria and South Africa are home to the most affluent consumers that are willing to spend disposable income on local brands that cater to their specific beauty needs,” says Piccioni of WGSN.
Social commerce is also an important channel to connect and secure sales for brands in the region. Uncover’s digital catalogue of products is available on WhatsApp; customers can then purchase items within the app as well as chat with a member of the team to ask questions and learn about products. “A lot of people here don’t want to shop on an e-commerce site, but they don’t mind shopping through social commerce,” says Uncover’s Mehta. “We’re using social commerce to educate, drive information directly to consumers and are allowing people to pay and shop with WhatsApp or Instagram.”
Knowledge is power
With very few dermatologists in the region, education on skincare and health is limited, says Mehta. Uncover set out to educate consumers and provide them with information on various skin types and conditions, a role similar to dermatologists. Prior to launching Uncover, Mehta interviewed more than 1,000 women in the region and found that one of the biggest pain-points is knowledge around products, she explains.
“In other markets there is a plethora of information, that information is locally relevant and communicated in a way [that is right for the market]: the people look like you or you can understand,” says Mehta.
Beauty education in Africa centres around moving away from toxic and harmful products, such as skin bleaching products, an ongoing concern for health organisations in and outside of the region. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has found that some skin bleaches not only contain harmful chemicals such as hydroquinone but high levels of mercury – both of which have been banned in countries including the US, UK, Australia and Japan. A WHO report found that 77 per cent of women use skin-bleaching products in Nigeria; In Senegal, 53 per cent; and in 11 other countries skin-bleaching products were advertised. These products, which are easily accessible in pharmacies and beauty stores, are now being heavily regulated, with some countries like Ghana banning the importation of skin-bleaching products.
“What we found is the prevalence of counterfeit products, skin bleaching and just unhealthy skincare habits is quite strong,” says Mehta. “Content allows us to educate consumers, both on healthy skincare and [illustrating] what a healthy skincare routine looks like, and understanding what the healthy ways to deal with hyperpigmentation are, if you don’t want to use unsafe bleaching products.” At the same time, beauty standards are shifting, as consumers move away from wanting to adhere to a Eurocentric definition of beauty.
African brands in the diaspora
Abroad, African founders are building beauty businesses that tie back to their roots, by leaning into their cultural heritage and using ingredients native to Africa.
Premium beauty brand Liha, which launched in 2018 in London, set out with the aim of bringing native ingredients from the continent, like shea butter, to consumers in the UK. Stockists today include Sephora UK, Net-a-Porter and Space NK, and last month, Liha raised $1 million in funding.
Blending the old and the new is key to attracting the diaspora, as well as new non-African or Caribbean consumers. Founder Liha Okunniwa notes that there were few luxury beauty brands selling ingredients like shea butter or African black soap, an all natural product known for its exfoliating and deep cleansing properties, abroad. The strategy is to modernise these products and bring them to new communities in the diaspora.
Charlotte Mensah, the London-based founder of Charlotte Mensah Manketti, created her range of hair products designed for afro, mixed and curly hair types. She sources her ingredients, including raw shea butter, from Ghana. But, the key ingredient is manketti oil, derived from the mongongo tree native to Southern Africa. Mensah has grown her collection to include a hair oil, shampoo and conditioner, and she is gearing up to launch a scalp scrub, which she has been using in her hair salon since 2017. Scalp care is something that is not discussed enough in the Black community, she says. “There’s a big movement of girls wearing wigs and constantly having their hair braided, and not giving their hair or scalp a break. There’s so many scalp issues [from dryness to an itchy scalp]... and for me, the health of the hair is more important than the styling. That’s why we’re launching this product.” Trailing the product in the salon was a key to gaging interest, she adds.
It’s a trend experts have also identified is taking place within the continent. ”We are also seeing a focus on scalp care and hair health that we predict will continue to rise, with a focus on using locally-sourced natural ingredients,” says Raeesa Bray, a researcher at WGSN. “Brands like Amila in Nigeria, Suki Suki Naturals in South Africa, and Nokware in Ghana, are really spearheading this.”
African brands in international markets now have the opportunity to create a global business that encompasses ingredients from the continent, a formula proven successful by the likes of Shea Moisture. They’re winning over the support of the diaspora community who are keen to support African and diasporic brands.
“When you’re in a crowded market and you bring something with an obvious point of difference that people haven’t seen before, you’re already in a fortuitous position,” says Liha’s Liha Okunniwa.
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