Skin care and beauty business is a gold mine. Though its global market is estimated at over $445 billion, the local industry is only scratching the surface. It is a much fledgling industry in Nigeria, but many entrepreneurs are beginning to push for a cut in the market.
Margaret Kehinde Akande, the young chief executive of Awele Bath and Body Works, is one of them. She started this business five years ago and has since moved from making natural skin care products at home to having a mini factory in Lagos.
“We specialise in natural skin care products from locally sourced ingredients,” she tells Start-Up Digest. “We have an array of products such as bathing soaps, body creams and lotion. We have body oil, soap and cream for the children as well,” she discloses.
Her black soap and lotions are highly coveted in the market, not only because of their quality but as a result of affordability. She understands that Nigerian consumers are increasingly becoming price sensitive as the economy weakens.
“The products that had been around before we entered into the market were very expensive,” she says.
“My intention was to make skin care products effective and affordable. We put measures in place to make sure that the running cost was low so that people could afford our products. Our soaps today are just N1,500, unlike many 400 or 500 grams that go for N4,000 or N5,000. We sell for N1,500 to adults and N1,000 to children, and they have high quality,” she discloses.
One of the things Akande achieved was to cut production costs by buying raw materials directly from manufacturers.
“When I started, I did not know how to bring down costs,” she admits. “I sourced for the ingredients through third parties. But what I have done differently is to look for avenues to get to the local people that make them so that I buy directly from them. This has drastically reduced our cost of production,” she notes.
The entrepreneur makes her natural skin care products from shea butter, coconut and almond oil, among others.
In the last five years, a lot has changed in her business. When Akande started, she had just N50,000. But this amount has increased many times.
She would then go to the market to get raw materials, do production and packaging herself. However, things have changed as she now has two staff members.
She began by processing shea butter and coconut oil. But along the line, customers started making demands for soaps.
“That was what prompted me into research. I needed to know how to make black soap in a paste form, such that people could use their hands to scoop and bath with it. From what I made from the business, I started re-investing it,” she says.
Patronage too has improved.
“We cover beyond Lagos State now. We have customers in Ibadan and Edo State,” she says.
But the entrepreneur is not satisfied with that, as she looks forward to having a standard factory where she can roll out more products.
“With the present business plan I have now, I am looking at getting N10 million,” she says.
“With the money , I will be able to start a standard factory, with up-to-date equipment for the production of soaps and lotions. We need vans for logistics. We need money for buying standard equipment that will be able to make volume production. The mixer I use at the moment is a 200-litre capacity, but I am looking at getting one that will make 1,000 litres at once. The filling machine that we use in making the bottled lotion is a manual one. I am looking forward to getting automatic ones that can speed up the production process,” she demands.
With power outages crippling production, the entrepreneur wants to acquire a bigger generator that can power bigger machines.
She looks forward to getting grants to expand her business.
As a 21st century entrepreneur, she is gaining traction on the social media, using it to reach potential remote customers.
“When I started, I was doing one-on-one. I would drop my kids to schools and would move round. I later discovered that I could use the power of the social media to reach more people. That has been the game changer for me in terms of reaching customers. I use Facebook, Instagram platforms to reach customers. We get referrals from people using our products. So the awareness is better than before,” she admits.
She is reaching new partners to ensure that her products are in every nook and cranny of the country, including at retail shops around the country. She is a mentee of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Mentoring Programme and admits that it has changed her way of thinking.
She is also open to potential investors.
“There is potential in the business. The natural skin care business is worth billions of dollars. So, it is an avenue for investors to make money. The return on investment is over 50 percent. So, if we can get the right investment, we will go places,” she notes.
Her piece of advice to younger entrepreneurs is to not give up.
“Once you have a clear understanding of what you have for yourself, irrespective of the challenges or environment, stick to it. Over time, you will make headway. When I started, I did not know I would get to this present level. I was not sure, but I knew the future was bright. So they should just keep working hard.”
