African Black Owned Makeup Manufacturers: A Comprehensive Guide

Overview of the African Black Makeup Market

Market Background

According to Statista, the revenue of the African beauty and personal care market is expected to reach US$65.93 billion by 2024. The personal care segment will account for the largest share, with a market size expected to reach US$31.23 billion.

Based on 2022, the average annual growth rate of the African beauty industry remains between 6% and 10%, while the global market growth rate is only 4%. Following this trend, the value of the African beauty market is expected to reach US$77.81 billion by 2028.

Consumer Demand

African women mainly focus on base, eye, and lip makeup in their daily makeup, so liquid foundation, eye shadow, and lipstick are their most popular beauty products. The African beauty market presents a diverse price range, reflecting the diversity of brand positioning and consumer needs. From affordable white-label products to hot-selling brand products, each price range has a specific audience and market space, and companies can launch suitable products according to the target consumer group.

Black consumers’ demands for beauty products are mainly concentrated in the following aspects:

Color Diversity: There is an increasing demand for basic cosmetics suitable for dark skin tones, such as foundation, concealer, and blush.

High-Quality Products: Consumers increasingly choose products with safe ingredients and significant effects.

Cultural Identity: Brands incorporating black cultural elements into product design and marketing can attract target consumers better.

African Black Cosmetics Market Trends

Capital Inflow and Brand Rise

As capital pays attention to business opportunities in the black market, many cosmetics companies have increased their investment in the black beauty field in recent years. Here are some key events:

Acquisitions and Investments:

• In 2014, L’Oréal acquired Carol’s Daughter, a hair care brand founded by black people, and planned to promote it in Europe.
• In 2017, Unilever acquired Sundial Brands, the parent company of Shea Moisture, for US$1.6 billion.
• In 2020, Johnson & Johnson Innovation invested in Sunday II Sunday, a black hair care brand.
• In 2023, Procter & Gamble acquired Mielle Organics, a black hair care brand.

Retailer Actions:

• Ulta Beauty invested US$25 million to expand the black market.
• Sephora’s US division reserved 15% of its sales space for black-owned brands, becoming the first retailer to join the “15% Commitment”.

Market Performance

• In the first quarter of 2023, AmorePacific’s total sales of all brands in the EMEA region increased by 94%.
• Coty Group’s net income in EMEA reached US$588 million in the first quarter of 2023, a year-on-year increase of 7%.
• L’Oréal Group’s sales in SAPMENA-SSA and Latin America both showed growth, with the former increasing by 26.7% year-on-year to 840 million euros and the latter rising by 22.3% year-on-year to 680 million euros.
• These data reflect the vitality of the market for people of color. Although sales growth is affected by multiple factors, the market potential is unquestionable.

Brand Rise and Market Trends

Brand Rise:

In 2017, the famous American singer Rihanna founded the Fenty Beauty brand. Its products are widely praised for their rich tones, especially the brand’s main product, Pro Filt’R foundation, which is widely suitable for all skin tones and has been highly sought after since its launch.

Before this, the cosmetics industry had long been criticized for failing to meet the beauty needs of black women and other women of color. The emergence of Fenty Beauty filled this gap and made the beauty industry face up to their beauty needs.

Online Sales Growth:

In the second half of 2022, Pinduoduo launched Temu in Africa. At the same time, the African B2B e-commerce platform Egatee completed tens of millions of yuan in Series A financing, led by Yiwu Small Commodity City. Egatee has opened sites and city cloud warehouses in Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and other countries and has cumulatively served more than 100,000 overseas merchants, covering fast-moving consumer goods, beauty, and other fields. Since its launch in January 2022, the platform’s transaction volume has reached nearly 800 million yuan, and it plans to expand its business in 15 sub-Saharan countries in 2023 to help global brands land in the African market.

Opportunities and Challenges of the African Makeup Market

Opportunities

Advertising Sensitivity:

The African market is sensitive to advertising, and local consumers are easily influenced by advertising when making purchasing decisions. Cosmetics brands can use the media to promote them through multiple channels such as radio, television, and the Internet.

Joint Marketing:

Cooperating with well-known local media to conduct joint marketing activities will help enhance brand awareness and reputation.

Word of Mouth:

The African market is still at the stage of “word of mouth” and “person-to-person” cosmetics marketing. Brands that intend to enter the African market should encourage local consumers to share their product usage experiences to connect with more potential consumers.

In addition, they can also increase the interaction and contact points between consumers and brands by holding trial activities and distributing samples.

Market Talent Opportunities:

The African market lacks talents who understand C-end user marketing, which provides huge market opportunities for companies with a media background. Deeply understand the needs and preferences of African consumers to develop more accurate and effective marketing strategies.

Challenges

High Logistics Costs:

Africa is vast, and its population is dispersed, resulting in high logistics costs and complex distribution, especially in South Africa, where the flat urban structure makes distribution more challenging.

Lagged E-Commerce Development:

E-commerce development in Africa is relatively lagging, and last-mile delivery is difficult. However, Chinese beauty brands have adopted various strategies to overcome this problem.

• Establish partnerships with local logistics companies and use their logistics networks to achieve fast delivery.
• By setting up warehouses and distribution centers in Africa, brands can shorten the supply chain and reduce logistics costs.
• Sub-Saharan Africa is dominated by wholesale markets, and Chinese beauty products often enter the African market through large wholesalers and then reach end consumers through multi-level distribution.
• At the same time, some merchants will also adopt a retail approach, using small vans and other means of transportation to transport products to neighboring countries for sale.

The Most Popular Makeup Brands in the Black Market

Famous Makeup Brands

فنتي بيوتي

Founded by the famous singer Robyn Rihanna Fenty, it pioneered a 40+ color foundation system (including olive/warm red and other sub-color ranges) and provided a variety of basic makeup products for different skin tones. This drove the LVMH Group’s market value up by $680 million in a single day.

UOMA Beauty

Former beauty director Sharon Chuter worked for international brands such as Revlon, L’Oréal, and Benefit Cosmetics before debuting her brand UOMA Beauty in 2019. The London and Los Angeles black brand Igbo means “beauty” in Nigerian and focuses on a diversified product line to provide cosmetics for different skin tones.

Patented “Smart Foundation” foundation (pH adaptive technology) won the “Allure” 2023 Best Breakthrough Award.

Emerging Makeup Brands

Juvia’s Place

Founded by Nigerian-born Chichi Eburu, it is one of the fastest-growing black-owned cosmetics brands currently. It specializes in highly pigmented shades, especially for women of color.

The color rendering of the eyeshadow palette exceeds the industry standard by 300% (Pantone laboratory verification).

The cumulative number of views of the TikTok #JuviasMagic topic has exceeded 4.7 billion times.

Top ODM/OEM Black Owned Makeup Manufacturers

زيران لمستحضرات التجميل

Xiran Cosmetics is a comprehensive manufacturer that integrates cosmetics research and development, design, processing, and sales. It strictly follows modern GMP standards to ensure a high quality and environmentally friendly production environment.

Main Features:

• Product Range: It offers a diverse range of products, including skin care, makeup, perfume, and personal care products.
• R&D Capabilities: Xiran Cosmetics has a strong R&D team dedicated to innovation and product development to meet market needs.
• Manufacturing Capabilities: The company is equipped with modern production facilities to ensure efficient and high-quality production processes.

Cooperation and Services:

Xiran Cosmetics cooperates with multiple brands worldwide to provide customers with professional manufacturing services and market support. Through flexible production models and personalized services, the company helps customers stand out in the competitive market.

Our team comprises experienced professionals, laying a solid foundation for the company’s success. We focus on providing one-stop OEM/ODM services for mid-to-high-end brands, providing various products such as liquid cosmetics, skin care products, cream cosmetics, etc.

Global Cosmetics

Global Cosmetics is a leading OEM/ODM cosmetics manufacturing company focusing on the research, development, and production of cosmetics, skincare, and personal care products. With respect, fun, and innovation as core values, the company is committed to providing customers with high-quality customized services.

Columbia Cosmetics

Columbia Cosmetics is a professional cosmetics manufacturing company that provides high-quality OEM and ODM services. The company is committed to providing customers with customized beauty product solutions covering multiple fields, such as skincare, makeup, and personal care.

Siloran

Siloran is a professional cosmetics manufacturer that provides one-stop OEM and ODM solutions. It focuses on the production of lip, eye, and facial cosmetics. With more than 31 years of industry experience, Siloran is committed to helping customers quickly build a competitive cosmetics brand.

Siloran ensures that all products meet international standards, use high-quality, animal-free ingredients, and are produced in a pollution-controlled environment.

KBL Cosmetics

KBL Cosmetics is a professional cosmetics manufacturer based in California. It focuses on contract manufacturing, formula development, and private labeling services. The company has over 36 years of industry experience, providing high-quality personal care and beauty products to top global brands.

The company complies with US FDA standards and is certified by Organic, GMP, and ISO 9001 to ensure product quality and safety.

الخاتمة

Black-owned makeup brands and manufacturers are growing rapidly, driving the beauty industry toward a more inclusive and diverse direction. Supporting these brands helps consumers get better products and promotes economic growth and social progress in the black community.

Looking ahead, Black-owned beauty brands will continue to play an essential role in direct-to-consumer sales, social media marketing, and the clean beauty trend, becoming a key force for change in the industry.