Aisha Ibrahim Abbas is a Kaduna based lawyer and Senior Partner in the law office Leapman Legal is the founder of Berrie Green organics a fast growing business that produces organic beauty products. In this interview with BusinessDay’s PATRICK ATUANYA, Aisha speaks on the inspiration to start her business, challenges in sourcing raw materials and capital, and plans to expand nationwide…excerpts
You are into hair and skin care. Tell us the concept behind what you do and why you are different from the rest?
If by concept you mean our inspiration, then I would gladly say that it was simply our selfish need to achieve moisturized glowing skin and healthy growing hair in the most natural means possible for ourselves. We chose to say no to chemical based products that would swiftly provide instant gratification but with long term regrets. Of course saying no was not enough, we decided to scour the market for what we thought would suit our needs perfectly, but this proved difficult. What we found were mostly hair creams made with petroleum jelly as the main ingredient! This is so sad because hair like any living functioning part of the body needs to be fed and cared for both internally and topically. Petroleum jelly for instance only serves to seal the hair shaft from absorbing what it should from the environment, hence the gradual shift to the use of our very own Shea butter. African hair is delicate, for this reason aggressive handling results in continuous shedding which impedes growth. Aggressive handling can come in the form of incessant use of chemical e.g. hair relaxers, sprays or shampoos or harsh styling such as tight weaves and braids etc. There is a specialized system of care for African hair and body, Berrie Green Organics has defined this system, looked within and without and developed a range of body care peculiar to us. The result I dare say is just fabulous.
How have you been able to fund the business so far and what kind of support do female entrepreneurs require from the Government to succeed?
Straight off the bat I would say friends and family helped enormously. An entrepreneur male or female must communicate passion in simplistic terms. If you do not communicate your concept in basic terms, no one, not even family will offer support.
The government can support women by making conditions for accessing grants easier. Beneficiaries must be trained in terms of putting in place the proper legal structure and capacity for proper financial management. Note that this training must accommodate limitations in formal education and literacy, by tailoring them to accommodate the local dialects and regional peculiarities of these women.
Finally in time we must drop the stereotype of defining women entrepreneurs differently.
Women must be regarded as entrepreneurs facing the usual challenges faced in business and entrepreneurship.
Where do you get the raw material for your products from?
Like I said earlier we looked within then without. We found a foreign company that understood the richness and quality of our local oils such as Shea butter, goat milk, and the sort and then gave them our recipes. We brainstormed thoroughly and incorporated other beneficial ingredients from around the world that we thought will suit our local needs. Our aim is to achieve health, strength, growth and glow. So in answer to your question, we get them from within and without because if we restrict ourselves to only those products we have here in Nigeria, we would betray our earnest desire for wholesome quality.
Are Nigerians buying into the need to use more natural and organic products?
No, Nigerians are not buying into the idea; Nigerians are selling the idea to the rest of the world!! We own this stuff. This is who we were before we crossed over to look different. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for the variety but when you neglect your essence in the process, you start to look comical. We are coming back home ideas, values, looks and all and it’s going to be an interesting revelation. You see the global village philosophy thing presupposes that you bring yourself to the table and not someone’s idea of who you are or what you think someone else wants. Berrie Green Organics is about natural Pure Beauty and that’s what it is determined to unveil, wholly organic truly natural.
How big are you in terms of sales and how big could the Nigerian organic beauty products market get?
We just started out but the request for distributorship is driving us nuts, not that we are complaining but as newbie’s we are simply trying to put our best foot forward, so we are treading carefully. Berrie Green is made for Nigeria and soon to be made in Nigeria, the possibilities are huge and the best part is that the market is big enough for all of us if only we all would just look inwards.
Where are your operations (production and head office) located and how many Nigerian states have you been able to sell your products in?
We operate from Kaduna, Nigeria. We are making the gradual move to surrounding states first then the South via Lagos.
Tell us about some of your partners such as weavers and artisans, and how you empower them?
We believe in creating a strong value chain, a community of talented partners coming together to support the delivery of quality goods and services. We respect great talent. This has caused us to witness an assemblage of people who ordinarily may not have been working together and who may never have been employed to operate from a structured environment.
Nubia Pure, a natural hair care Salon chain we are partnering with to steadily introduce our products into the Nigerian market, has developed a model that brings together strange bedfellows, artist, hair weavers, artisans, traders etc, to feed its value chain aimed at providing natural hair care.
This provides employment to a wide array of people and furthermore since Nubia Pure is looking to partner, it is an opportunity for budding entrepreneurs to cash into a fresh new concept for natural hair care.
Tell us about your Nu Woman TM concept?
It’s a campaign coming very soon and it promises to be very exciting. All I can add however is that it is a gift to every woman who wants to be better than she was yesterday.
Your products and services emphasize nature, purity and beauty, why did you choose these themes?
Because we all love beauty and we seek it in everything we do, but we have mixed up the order in which we search and eventually find it. We simply presented the order we believe should help us all attain beauty… You start first by being Natural, then making sure that said nature is purely so and then voila! You arrive at beauty.
Nigerian women seem to have embraced the artificial hair and wigs although the natural look is coming back gradually. What would the value proposition be in your products for the increasingly busy Nigerian woman professional or business owner?
Our products are very easy to use which is exactly what the natural look revolution encapsulates… simplicity and ease. That said, artificial hair and wigs may not be going anywhere anytime soon but it shouldn’t be the dominant player. It’s better off being something you do on the side when you just need a different look. I mean one should wear a wig because they feel like it not because Oh! My hair is so horrible I need to hide it under a wig!
What does Ayurveda mean and how does that relate to your products?
Ayurveda is an awesome ancient Indian science for wholesome healing. It’s an inside out care system that relies absolutely on nature for healing and care of the human body. Ayurveda is our something borrowed in this wonderful journey and we are glad we discovered this wonderful gift. It is this specialized knowledge that is the bedrocks of the Berrie Green Range of Products.
PATRICK ATUANYA
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