How Adebisi is changing the face of Nigeria’s beauty industry

Currently, in the world of beauty, there is a huge interest in products that celebrate the essence of natural resources and ingredients.

Adebisi Odeleye, founder of Moore Organics, a leading skincare and wellness brand is gradually changing the face of Nigeria’s beauty industry through the creation of fabulous natural, proudly Nigerian skin products.

Adebisi, who went into the business because she wanted to have a safe skin care alternative for people who had their skin damaged from chemical products, has launched Nigeria’s first-ever Yoruba Beauty Pitch initiative through her organisation’s empowerment programme.

The project was aimed at redefining financial inclusion, diversifying, and sustainability of the Beauty Industry.

In 2016, Adebisi Odeleye decided to pivot into the beauty space after she experienced the healing properties of the raw shea butter on her dry flakky skin.

This change in her career has granted her a World Bank scholarship, a grant from the United States of America through the academy for Women Entrepreneurs and Addoser Micro-finance Bank and Best Beauty Brand in Africa through Women in Africa Philosophy.

Although trained as an Estate Surveyor and valuer from Obafemi Awolowo University she has gone ahead to get trained in cosmetics science and formulation from Beauty Therapy Institute and Formula Botanica.

The African Beauty Industry is booming, the world is more aware of the healing ingredients from the African soil such as shea butter, cocoa butter, African black soap, baobab oil, and shea oil among others. However, it is not getting the recognition and financial equivalent it deserves.

“Sustainability and financial inclusion are key values of Moore Organics,” Adebisi said.

“Moore Organics started with just shea butter but now we have grown to have a full skincare routine for the skin of color while infusing science to the ancient gifts of nature from cleanser, body butter, body oils, facial serum, exfoliate to moisturizers,” she explained.

“Our hit products are the honey and tea tree soap which feels like bathing with honey highly moisturizing which is quite a feat especially when compared with African black soaps in the market.

“The second is the raw shea butter which is sourced directly from rural women through a generational knowledge transfer. This shea butter is a major ingredient in the succulent body butter for dry skin which helps relieve scaly dry skin,” she explained.

According to her, the brand in the coming months will be rebranding and expanding its operations. She noted that Moore Organics sources its shea butter mainly from Oyo State, the western part of Nigeria.

“Sustainability and financial inclusion are part of our mission. This is to ensure that the women along our value chain also live meaningful lives and can support their spouses and improve their livelihood,” Adebisi said.

“Through the Moore Empowerment Programme, we can be part of women’s life by supporting them with equipment that will in turn improve their productivity. While ensuring our clients in the city get real and quality self-care products for glowing and healthy skin.”

“We want to continue to help the women along the end to end of our value chain sustain their business and set the standard for new businesses to uphold that are supplying from them,” she said.

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She noted that the brand isn’t only setting a standard for new businesses working with rural women but also creating a new benchmark for sustainability in the Nigerian beauty industry.

“I feel like it should be a responsibility for beauty brands to have knowledge of where they’re sourcing from and create sustainable revenue for the people.”

“Through the Moore Empowerment Programme, Moore Organics is improving economic, environmental and self-sustainability for the present and future generations especially because the brand believes that everyone is beautiful irrespective of skin color or tone. Our products are rooted in ancient healing ingredients passed on from generations.”