Entrepreneur's tips for thriving in a crowded cosmetics market

Lucy King'ori, founder bu.ke, a hair and skincare brand. [Awuor Odongo, Standard] The cosmetic industry holds massive potential owing to its growth and innovations in formulating and introducing beauty products into the Kenyan market. Thanks to the growing number of needs in the skincare, haircare and even nutritional requirements for a healthy lifestyle, a number of entrepreneurs get inspired every so often to fill this need. When Lucy King'ori saw a need to fill a cosmetic gap in 2014, she grabbed the opportunity and started the Bu.Ke' Brands. Bu.Ke' which means "Buy Kenyan" manufactures hair and skincare products like body butter, bathing bars and hair treatment. Using unique ingredients such as South Sudanese shea butter, green tea and purple tea from the Kenyan highlands, Ms King'ori has tapped into a niche that continues to accept and, trust and grow a preference for the Made in Kenya brands. It is obvious that the idea of launching a beauty brand may prove to be lucrative and may inspire someone to want to start a business in this industry, but one must remember that to establish a successful business, one must do it professionally. Ms King'ori offers some business tips on how she managed to make her brand stand out. Invest in yourself and configure your market space The Kenyan business market is not quite controlled. It is a market where anyone can wake up one morning and decide to start a business. There are many beauty products retailing on the shelves of shops in Nairobi's central business district (CBD) including skincare products like soaps, hair treatments and body butter. Of course, once something is branded as organic or raw shea butter many run to grab it from the shelves, and the likes of black soap and shea butter are just a few of the culprit businesses. While no harm has been officially reported, the beauty industry is a sensitive market that requires professional expertise. In Ms King'ori's case, upon learning that she wanted to start a business in the cosmetic industry, she first decided to draft a plan which included getting herself into a formulation school. "After investing in a formulation school, a bunch of my samples were then taken to Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI) and the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) for certification," she says. Ms King'ori further invested in business school to build her entrepreneurial skills. "I did this because in business you need to understand your numbers and the direction you want the business to take." Once you're done with education and your products get certified, pick your market. You need to do this because your products must be created for specific people with specific needs in a particular space. "All these have to come together for you to even consider starting a business, otherwise, you'll fall flat on your face by the second year, guaranteed," adds Ms King'ori. Become an expert innovator The cosmetic industry is growing by the day and is already flooded. And in business, you not only want to sell to your friends and family but also to the wider market. The only way you get to do this is to show your niche and how unique your products are and why your products are the solution to people's beauty needs. The magic bullet here is innovation, and because you are familiar with formulation, now it's time to bring in the essentials that you can infuse into the products to give them an enchanted touch. "At Bu.ke' we play around sustainability. We see a lot of green buildings and motor vehicles coming up in the market, so sustainability is the breakthrough innovation in the market right now. For us, the use of green tea and purple tea plays a part and has set us apart from the brands in the same space," says Ms King'ori. Therefore, depending on your space, you want to devise an innovative plan that is going to take your business to the next level. Have a solid financial blueprint Every week we talk about capital acquisition as a major essential in any start-up, but it is not enough to have just the amount to start a business. This is because longstanding businesses don't just pick up the moment you start, sometimes, and in fact most cases it takes a while. When it comes to finances, you need to have more than the amount required to start. This will ensure business sustainability because you have back-up rent and you have a reserve amount to help with your business expenses over a certain period of time. "You need to have a financial plan that covers you for up to six months or one year because you don't want to see your business die before it even picks up," advises Ms King'ori. In doing so, you must consider your variable costs and fixed costs and then separate your personal financial needs from your business to avoid mixing up the two. "Develop a proper and practical budget and break it up into monthly costs then sum it up. After that, you're ready to start and remember to look at those numbers every day. This is how you sustain a business when it comes to finances," Ms King'ori further explains. Stay ahead of the curve This brings us back to how the cosmetic industry is flooded and Instagram businesses even making it a whole lot worse. Who doesn't scroll down their IG page every other day and come across new product advertisements? "If you don't want to be shaken up by the brands coming up every day, you must be clear and intentional with what your product gives your customers. My focus is satisfying my clients and not the competition," says Ms King'ori. When you have a clear vision and a focus on your target customers, then you have nothing to worry about competition. That is because when it comes to skincare and hair products, it is hard for any customer to have a mindshift and just go for another product, that can only happen if a product does not solve the problem they are having. But if it does, then that particular customer becomes your repeat without another brand's influence. "So be very clear about your unique selling point and deliver exactly that to your customers, ensure you are solving an actual problem and follow up with your customers because they end up being your best marketers," advises Ms King'ori. Know all market regulations It is important to know all of the market regulations in the cosmetics industry to avoid any problems that may come your way. By being aware, you also know how to navigate the challenges that come with the regulations. And yes, some of the regulations present a major challenge to entrepreneurs especially when it comes to production costs and essentially product pricing. "The cosmetic industry is currently over-regulated, at least in the last two years," observes Ms King'ori. She says that the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) introduced product stamping that every producer is meant to affix on each product. "The challenge with this is that it will raise the cost of each product and this will trickle down to the consumer, it's not fair. Secondly, it will deface the product and three the reason for the stamping is yet to be clarified," she adds. With that said, Ms King'ori advises aspiring entrepreneurs to brace for some challenges such as overregulation, lack of clarity in the regulations as well as delays in Kebs certification acquisition. With all these in mind, remember to enter into a business you're passionate about because that will enable you to follow the right procedure in order to succeed, also be consistent so that you have a dependable selling point that delivers and solves your customers' problems and finally, be disciplined to be able to manage the business as a separate entity from yourself as well as serve your customers diligently.

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