Demand Grows for A-Beauty In an Age of Transparency

The last decade represented a shift in consumer tastes. Efficacy remains paramount, but there is growing demand for transparency, too. Consumers are interested in and influenced by the origins, processes and the impact the beauty and cosmetic products they use have on the environment, people and communities that help create them.

As the demand for natural ingredients is on the rise, so is the interest in the origins, traditional herbal remedies and healing propositions of the ingredients and their native communities of origin. On a larger scale, there is increasing interest for simple, transparent products, simplified production and brand practices. As a result, so is the response by brands to their consumers.

In order to meet these customer demands, 2020 saw new product ranges from legacy brands as well as new brands with heritage stories, ingredients and their origins credited, as well as the stories of their communities, making its way to the forefront of marketing stories.

Most importantly, simplicity is at the core of these stories. At the same time, beauty companies large and small are adopting the direct-to-consumer (DTC) approach to reach their customers. While online offerings have been on the rise for years, DTC has accelerated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain efficiency, transparency and a clear top-down approach to brand business models where one-to-one messaging is aimed at the consumer.

Ethical practices and a probe into key trends around sustainable strategies and their purpose(s) has begun to spark interest and debate on the future and growth of the cosmetics industry globally. As a result, there is increasing focus on African beauty.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, activism on the African continent has also been on the rise. Consumer advocacy and the push for sustainable actions in all aspects of their daily life is increasing. Brands are aligning themselves to these consumer trends; purpose interwoven with proactive business and sustainable practices.

For the past several years, the term “natural” became increasingly popular in product claims, according to Euromonitor International. In fact,  in 2019, natural took the top spot as the most widely-used product claim across online global beauty and personal care websites, according to Euromonitor.


Meet A-Beauty

In this atmosphere, African beauty brands are on the rise. Like K-beauty, the African beauty industry is growing and its brands are finding their way off shore and into luxury department stores across the globe such as Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Space NK, Saks Fifth Avenue and Net-a-Porter. All of these retailers seek to offer their customers inclusive, clean, botanical, ecologically conscious luxury, natural skin care, hair care, fragrance and makeup backed by science.

Many of these formulas are made with multipurpose, hardworking and cross-functional ingredients. Leveraging economies of small—by working with artisans where possible—brands such as African botanicals, 54 Thrones, Malée Natural Science and UOMA are leading the expansion of A-Beauty.

With ancestral history, natural formulations based on local vegetation reinforced with scientifically proven knowledge for efficacy, these African beauty brands are underpinned by their decadent and rich culture. In addition, centuries of healing rituals accompany their formulations, which are sourced and made from natural and plant-based butters, powders, sap, oils and resin good enough to eat. By-products of food ingredients, these age-old practices highlight the zero-waste, circular economy nature of African people. Many of these ingredients are rich in vitamins, fatty acid, amino acid, antioxidants and peptides, providing anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, repairing and soothing effects, and  are examples of Africa’s distinct and diverse botanical landscape.

They are built on centuries of expertise, knowledge and traditional practice. Simply put, these brands stand on the shoulders of ancestorial history and offer transparent and sustainable business models. They take a commemorative approach to the inspiration, sourcing, creation, work force, communities and landscapes that make these brands.

They are doing more than enriching, skin, hair and body. They are empowering consumer conscience, unearthing a fresh perspective and building new brands on heritage—much like widely loved and popular legacy luxury European brands of the early 21st Century.

Widely-used natural active ingredients such as shea butter, marula oil, neroli oil, argan oil, coconut oil, cacao butter, baobab oil, jasmine grandiflorum and mango seed butter, to name just a few, have been celebrated by the African community in the past and in present day due to their simplicity, efficacy and symbiotic relationship to physical and spiritual health through nutrition and their importance to the sustenance of the African people.

The African Savannah, Southern African fauna and flora, and wetlands are examples of topical landscapes that are unique to only the west, east, south and northwestern part of the African continent. 

The ‘Ubuntu’ Philosophy
As a result, leading A-beauty brands are doing more than offering inclusive, efficacious products—they are offering unique beauty experiences that are drawn from traditional rituals. These brands weave the flair of their African heritage, centuries-old beauty rituals,  and unique landscapes, while catering to the tastes of today’s and tomorrow’s consumer needs.

There is a reverence for the environment and its people in each of these A-Beauty brands and their product offerings echo the saying, “Ubuntu,” a Nguni Bantu term meaning humanity and translated as “I am because we are.”

The concept of Ubuntu is supported by ethical sourcing, community social responsibility, sustainable job creation, skill creation and positive contribution to thousands of co-ops and farmers across Africa. They effortlessly share all of these positive qualities and values directly with the consumer. Beautifully packaged, these formulas offer the best of indigenous natural and organic formulations alongside beneficial results targeting common skin care concerns for face, body, hair and skin such as hyperpigmentation, dryness, sensitivity, inflammation and sensitivity.

A-beauty is a beautiful illustration of an enviable ecosystem, one that caters to the new demands of consumers all over the world. It centers on sustainability, community values that are inclusive, and a celebration of product, people and their communities with intention, efficacy and soul.

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Zeze Oriaikhi-Sao
Malée, Founder
office@maleeonline.com
 
Zeze Oriaikhi-Sao is an entrepreneur, influential speaker, sought-after brand consultant and freelance columnist with a focus on Innovation, sustainability and leadership in the cosmetics, luxury goods and start-up industries. As the founder of Malée, Africa’s first global luxury fragrance and body care brand, an advisory board member at Innocos, the world beauty innovations summit, Oriaikhi-Sao has established herself as a leader in the African-made luxury goods market. She has been featured on CNN, The Telegraph and The Daily Mail. She hosts the podcast Third Culture Africans, and inspires a vast audience with entrepreneurial and lifestyle Insights at zezeonline.