Mocha Beauty Shop director Muthoni Ochiel displays some of her products
at her shop in Upper Hill in Nairobi. Photo/Salaton Njau
By EVELYN SITUMA
Posted Thursday, April 11 2013 at 14:49
Posted Thursday, April 11 2013 at 14:49
Fifteen elegantly dressed women sit side by side on a couch at
Palacina Restaurant in Hurligham, Nairobi. They chat away in soft tones,
patiently waiting for the private beauty talk session by a famed Kenyan
cosmetic doctor to begin.On the table rests packs of beautifully arranged
beauty products. Curious to see what they are, I move towards the table
looking through the range of skin care products displayed.The unpackaged products are clearly marked
“JANMARINI”, a cosmetic brand by one of the leading skin care and
aesthetic product manufacturers in North America.Though JanMarini is a familiar cosmetic brand in a
flooded American market, it is a new product line in Kenya. Dr Othoro,
the product’s ambassador opted to distribute it due to the numerous
requests he was getting from his clients.
According to him, clients often asked for his
advice on the skin care products he found appropriate for their
particular type of skin and that was how JanMarini came into the local
market.Today, Cosmeceutical has become part of his
business, although he has also stuck to his first line of business -
plastic surgery, skin cancer screening and treatment and Botox.Players in the cosmetic industry admit the market
has grown in leaps and bounds from what it was just three years ago.
According to Muthoni Ochiel, a cosmetologist with her own line - IMAHA,
consumers are now more sophisticated and more adept at using cosmetic
products.They are also seeking more knowledge through industry experts.This is the eagerness I could see from the 15
women present this evening. They wanted to hear from the specialist
about skin care among other cosmetic procedures.They listened carefully and asked Dr Othoro many
questions on their fears and reservations about cosmetic procedures and
products. They also sought advice on cosmetic products they currently
use.
From the questions asked, it was clear that Kenyan
women are becoming increasingly mindful about their looks and are ready
to do all it takes to look good.More and more women are overcoming the fear
powdered faces and embracing the use of cosmetics as they go about their
personal grooming. Men, too, have joined the bandwagon and are now to
be seen making visits to beauty parlours for manicure, pedicure and
haircuts.Cosmetic multinationals have noticed this growing
interest in high quality beauty products and are now scrambling to get a
cut in the Kenyan market.The continent once seen as having constrained
consumers who were unable to indulge in the finer things in life, has
now become the target for cosmetic companies in Europe and North
America.“There is an increasing demand for quality
cosmetic products, as well as an increasing demand for non-surgical and
surgical aesthetic treatments. Kenyans, particularly the economically
stable, are investing more in their appearance,” says Othoro, who runs
Valentis Clinic with Dr Tilman Stasch, a consultant plastic surgeon in
Germany.
The clinic offers both non-surgical and surgical
treatments that include botox, dermal fillers and advanced skin care
products as well as all aspects of cosmetic surgery such as liposuction,
tummy tucks, breast surgery and facial rejuvenation surgery. The demand for these procedures by Kenyans has seen Dr Othoro,
who practices in the UK, increase his visits to the country to take care
of his ever increasing number patients.According to multinationals already in the
country, they have come to offer Kenyans quality products and to save
them from making numerous trips abroad to buy the same products since
many of them were hitherto only available abroad.The launch of Revlon products in Kenya
through a franchise deal with the Nakumatt Supermarket chain in
February this year, is one of the avenues set to meet these needs.Consumers will not only have international brands
at their door step but also personalised services. They will have beauty
advisers at their disposal to offer advice and answer any questions the
customers may have about the products. They will also get full make
over and free product testing as is the case in most beauty capitals of
the world.
The entry of Estée Lauder, one of the world’s
leading cosmetic lines that is manufactured in American, Revlon, the
French L’Oreal and Swedish cosmetic line Oriflame in a span of less than
three years remains a visible sign on the directions taken by
multinationals.According to Sonali Shah, Nakumatt’s Group
Lifestyle Category Manager, the decision by Revlon to set up shop in
Kenya is a good sign and one which is making other cosmetic brands
reconsider the African market as a whole.According to Ms Shah, until recently, giant
cosmetic manufacturers kept away from Africa because of the assumption
that this was a lows pending power region and the belief that there was
low demand for their products.But even as they see the unfolding opportunities,
the huge demand for counterfeit products and misinterpretation of the
East African market is another impediment to their optimism. Cosmetic
players say Kenya is one of the African markets with huge counterfeit
cosmetic demand.Kenyan consumers have innocently used counterfeit
products, only realizing what they were using is fake after the
side-effects come to fore. “Sadly, Kenyans have not been aware of it
(counterfeit cosmetics),” says Ms Shah.Consumers, who have been through this cycle of
fake products then end up on the ever growing list of Kenyans who send
friends, colleagues and family who are travelling abroad or those who
live there for products.
They have to deal with delays and the hassle of
finding someone flying out to replenish their stock. However, the online
market has offered them some reprieve. Statistics show online shops
made $7.2 billion globally two years ago.“The frustrations were due to the fact that the
already known brands were too expensive and most of the colour shades
offered did not match most of the Kenyan women’s skin shades and tones,”
says Muthoni, who started IMAHA, with the help of a friend. She
developed a range for dark-skinned women with the help of a chemist who
worked with a couple of giant cosmetic brands.Currently, the make-up price is between Sh800 to
Sh30,000 for a full range which most consumers feel is way too
expensive. Another challenge is the nature of the cosmetic market in
Kenya. The industry has long been operated as briefcase ventures with
little attention on brands. Although this form of business does not
affect the industry, it only complicates statistics.The cosmetic industry in Africa was estimated to
be worth $10 billion in 2007. This represents about six per cent of the
global cosmetic sales.According to data from Datamonitor, the global
sales stood at $170 billion in 2011 with the biggest gains being
realised from skin care products which account for 27 to 31 per cent of
the global sales. Others are hair care and fragrance.
“My sales data shows on average a client can spend anything
between Sh3,000 to 25,000 a month. This demonstrates that the Kenyan
woman prioritises her beauty needs in her prearranged budget,” says Ms
Muthoni.Despite the challenges, Suzie Wokabi a beautician
with her own line is glad about the transformation taking place in Kenya
when it comes to beauty. Things were very different a decade ago when
she came back to the country after a stint abroad.“Then there was a huge gap for quality and
affordable product. The products available were also not locally
created,” says Ms Wokabi. The gap Ms Wokabi spotted created an
opportunity for her to put her skills in beauty and product development
into practice and that is how Suzie Beauty product line (SB) came into
being. Local celebrities - Ann Kiguta and Angela Angwenyi make her list
of clientele.As the Kenyan cosmetic market blossoms, Ms Shah is
confident that the entry of multinationals will bring more excitement
to consumers. This change she says will keep retailers on their toes and
cause them to develop new products.Established beauty markets abroad have healthy
competition despite the numerous number of products available. New
products abroad are launched almost every three months, according to Ms
Shah.
Nakumatt started off with Revlon because of the
popularity the brand already enjoys in Africa. It is also a familiar
brand in Kenya having been present from 15 years ago. It is also among
the few brands specialising in dark skin.The retailer’s cosmetic unit is set to launch
three more brands this half of the year. The supermarket chain
envisions becoming a departmental store in the near future.The Revlon products are found on counters across
Nakumatt hyper stores. Among the big cosmetic giants in the world are
Proctor & Gamble, Unilever and L’Oreal.
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