COSMOFACTORY

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Deanna: This episode is about
the professional hair industry.

It's about the go to market
strategy and cultural sensitivity.

But our industry's largest
multinational is employing as

it expands throughout Africa.

It's about premium products
for the back bar, for salon

retail, and specialty retail.

It's about identifying the right
brand assortment and product

mix for a growing market.

Today, we're On the Cosmo factory podcast.

My guest is Yara Mansour, a general
manager in the professional products

division at L'Oreal, where she is
responsible for both worldwide niche

expansions and the sub Sahara Africa zone.

Yara, welcome to Cosmo factory.

Yara: Thank you so much.

Very happy to be here with you
to discuss a very interesting

topic, as you rightfully said.

Deanna: Yes, no, I'm so
grateful you can join us.

Um, I feel very comfortable saying
that recently Africa is getting a

lot more attention in our industry.

So this will be an exciting talk.

One of the.

Um, figures that I see mentioned
frequently is from Statista that

projects that this year the beauty
and personal care market in Africa

will reach over 66 billion U.

S.

Dollars in revenue.

Um, local brands are certainly
seeing some of that revenue.

Um, I know in skin care, for instance,
brands like Wild Earth Botanics from

Kenya, uh, no queer skin care from Ghana.

Um, there's also a wild sourced and
small branch brand called Skin Gourmet

from Ghana that's seeing success.

In personal care, um, we're looking
at brands like Cinnabar Green from

Kenya, Adeba Nature from Côte d'Ivoire,
and in hair care, Marini Naturals

from Kenya, Salwa Peterson from Chad.

These are all good examples.

And of course we're seeing brands
around the world that are premised on

ingredients and cultures of African
countries doing very well too.

Uh, some examples here would be
a para, um, and to be a both out

of England brands based in the U.

S.

Like 54 thrones, um, which right there
in the company name, uh, references

every, um, country on the continent.

Um, I meet Kolei folk
beauty and skin muse.

Um, are also some good examples.

Now, clearly, uh, there is an opportunity
here for global players, and that's

why you and I are speaking today, Yara.

I'd love for you, um, to start off by
just helping us think about the social

and economic indicators that your team
is looking at to make the decision

that now is the time for L'Oreal
to expand professional hair care in

particular into Sub Saharan Africa.

Yara: Uh, I think as you rightfully
said, we start always by the size of the

of the beauty market to see if there is
an opportunity for us to get into that.

But also we look at big micro.

Macroeconomics factors that some people
tend to forget to look at Africa is the

biggest continent in terms of population.

Africa is the population with the
youngest, uh, consumers, and it's growing

very fast, even faster than India.

That is skyrocketing.

It has been skyrocketing
for the past years.

You also have a big phenomena
of urbanization, what we call

creation of the big cities.

These movements, uh, they show you
that there are dynamics for growth

of beauty for consumption of beauty.

And also what is important to
look at is some other categories.

Uh, we know that skincare
is booming across the world.

That's for sure.

In Africa, it has been growing a lot.

Skincare is a big indication of the
sophistication of the consumer that

are looking to care for themselves.

So when you see a skincare growing
immediately, you have in your mind,

that's There is a room also for hair
care where, uh, there is, uh, an

importance in the growth in this, uh,
segment because consumers are starting

to become much more aware, uh, of taking
care of themselves and of, uh, what we

call regimen usage of routine usage,
which is what we, uh, push, uh, when

it comes to professional hair care.

Deanna: thank you for all of that.

Uh, very interesting information.

Uh, in an earlier episode of
this, uh, Cosmo Factory podcast,

I think it was episode 23.

Um, my guest, Stephanie Farsht, told me
that her newly launched brand called Small

Wonder was focused on the professional
hair channel in large part because of the

opportunity that salons have to impact
both brand awareness and consumer trust.

Um, you know, you've explained, um,
sort of routine building, right?

Skincare routine, transitioning
into hair care routine.

Um, but I'm wondering if those concepts
of brand awareness and consumer trust have

something to do with L'Oreal's strategy
of going into the pro channel with hair.

Is that, is that in play here?

Yara: I think it is mandatory.

It is very important to establish
the awareness of our brands.

There is a misconception in Africa
that consumers do not spend money

on their beauty or that women do
not spend money on their hair.

Ethnic women Spent six times more than
a Caucasian woman when it comes to their

hair on average, in terms of number of
product that they use on their hair or

as hair overall by using what we call wig
services in the salon, et cetera, because

their hair is very difficult to manage.

The reality of things is that they
do that because there hasn't been any

brand that has communicated to them
that there is a product suitable.

First and second that is
efficient for their hair.

All the communication in the past has
been very much focused on Caucasian woman

or has alienated a bit the ethnic woman.

Uh, so here it's about really first and
foremost having products that deliver

and second talking to the ethnic woman in
a language that is relevant for her and

explaining that this product is effective.

It's first for you.

And second, it actually
works on your hair.

Uh, so a lot of work to be done
on, uh, on awareness and also

what I would call in our language.

If you want anywhere else, advocacy
and influence, and this is where

local relevancy plays a big role using
people that look like the consumer.

That talk their language
that are part showcase.

If you want the routine of
a woman throughout the day.

And how does this product fits
within her routine and her own space?

Deanna: Excellent.

Um, let's get a little bit closer,
um, to, to who those consumers are.

Um, I want to look at,
at some of the countries.

I know that L'Oreal, um,
established subsidiaries in Kenya

and Nigeria in 2011, I believe.

And then.

Uh, teamed up, uh, with a
distribution network as CFAO to

reach consumers in the Ivory Coast.

Um, I'm also, you know, doing a
little bit of my own desk research

and would guess, um, countries like
Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda are promising.

But again, these are my guesses.

I want to hear from you.

What countries are you
targeting with this initiative?

Yara: You were close enough,
but you know, in big companies,

there's a lot of movement.

Um, we have offices in as we
speak, we have an office in South

Africa, which is our biggest
subsidiary and an office in Kenya.

The office in Nigeria was shut down
because of, you know, macroeconomics

challenges when it comes to
establishing a subsidiary there.

And the Ghana and Ivory Coast also was
closed and moved to a distributor model.

So basically you have South Africa and
Kenya that are direct offices if you want.

And the rest of Africa is handled
through a distributor model.

With the hub of distribution
that is based in Paris.

We do cover them, but we don't
cover them with local subsidy.

We cover them with distributors that
are in place, uh, to handle the market.

So we cover all Africa.

However, our focus if you want
is in the hubs of regions.

So we have a focus on South Africa
for the South Kenya for the East and

Nigeria for the West because we believe
that these are The polls of influence

if you want within their own region.

And because also we as big
company rely a lot on data.

This is where we have the
biggest size of the beauty market

slash the healthcare market.

And this is where also You have
the biggest GDPs within Africa and

which proves that there is a market
and there is a room for people to

pay for premium products like the
professional product of L'Oreal.

Deanna: Yeah, wonderful.

I appreciate, um, your correcting
me and all that, uh, that

really helpful information.

It's very great to, to hear how
it looks from your perspective.

Um, I want, I want to hear now,
like, a little bit more specifically,

I guess, who is your customer?

Um, who are you reaching,
um, in these markets?

Yara: So, as any division in L'Oreal,
we are very consumer centric.

Our target with the selective division
and with the professional product

division is the top of the pyramid.

So what we call the premium consumer
that do spend at least 40 price per per

day if you want throughout their day.

So the top of the pyramid.

That could, if you want to look small in
terms of size of consumers, but yet is

the biggest contributor to expenditure.

We know that in Africa, they
represent approximately 11

percent of the population.

However, they represent approximately 60
percent of the expenditure in the country.

So these are, if you want the people
that are willing to buy luxury, to buy

premium skincare, to buy, uh, skincare.

Premium healthcare.

Uh, and these are our focus.

So we start by the top.

We influence those.

Once we maximize the reach of this
consumer, this is where we'll go

to the second level, et cetera.

Deanna: thank you.

I'm wondering if you can maybe share
some examples of, um, different

consumer preferences or expectations.

You mentioned, you know, you
have a hub in the east and hub

in the south, that sort of thing.

Are there remarkable differences,
um, sort of region to region

there that you can share with us?

Yara: Definitely there are differences,
but this is where we have failed

before in the past because we wanted
to tackle all of these differences.

And you need to start by what is common to
maximize your reach and your size of the

price before getting into specificities.

What is really interesting about
African women is the diversity of

the hair and how versatile they are
when it comes to managing their hair.

However, we are still very
small in all of the segments.

We have women that have
Natural hair, which they keep

it, uh, natural in general.

It's approximately 35 of people in Africa.

However, for example, if
you take it in Kenya, it's

approximately 65 or 70 of people.

You have what we call protective style.

So basically a woman that do braids, a
woman that do, uh, um, different kinds of

elements on their hair and add, uh, wigs.

Yeah.

So anything that is not natural
and, uh, which is big 80 percent

of the population and you have
also a woman that relax their hair.

So they use chemical to straighten it.

What is interesting to
know is that woman they do.

change from one to another within
a span of two, three weeks.

Uh, so, uh, what we have identified
as the biggest issue among these

three kinds of women is damage.

Actually, whatever you do, that you
relax, that you have a hair that is

natural, or that you do protective style,
you are, uh, uh, uh, putting your hair

under pressure, under, under tension,
especially the African hair, because

it's what we call Coily or kinky hair.

So very, uh, curly when
a hair is very curly.

It's two times more prone to
damage and to breakage than a

Caucasian straight straight hair.

So what we have decided is that we
need to tackle the biggest issue.

Size of the price and you
have been even more radical or

drastic in terms of our strategy.

We also know that there we need to
tackle this with a product strategy.

So what is this product
that the ethnic woman uses?

Whatever is her hairstyle
at any point in time.

On a daily usage and that really
delivers on the benefits because

here it's not a battle of, uh, if you
want tackling all of the issue, it's

a battle of critical size that we
don't have yet, and it's a battle of

establishing the awareness of our brand.

So focusing all of the means all
of the efforts on one big, but and

recruiting the maximum of consumers.

Deanna: Yeah.

Yeah.

And thinking a little bit more
about awareness of the brand.

If we, if we look at L'Oreal historically,
as I understand it, the company's very

first customers were hairdressers.

Um, and obviously today we're looking
more than a hundred years later,

the company's brands are reaching
beauty consumers around the world.

Still, as you've already suggested,
L'Oreal is a French company and one,

um, if I may say so, that's often
associated with, uh, conventional

Western beauty standards.

So I'm hoping you can talk with
us about how you're expanding

into African countries with
some real cultural sensitivity.

Yara: So, um, obviously I think
there are different things that, that

need to, to, to be there basic in
when you go to any kind of a region.

First, you need to make sure
that your product delivers.

We're going to start by this one,
uh, and that it's really effective on

the hair that you have in the market.

And this is a check that we do.

We do test our products.

We have, uh, also, RNI and a lab.

Based in South Africa for SSA for sub
Saharan Africa, where anything that comes

from the Paris office, or if you want
the, uh, the innovation global innovation

lab is actually tested on a local level
to make sure that once it delivers and

second, we can actually have a claim
to communicate to consumer that, uh,

is works and that resonates with them.

So this is, you know, First, as
as the locally relevant as you can

be, your product needs to deliver.

Second, it's about also education.

It's about educating our
consumer and educating our pros.

Why it is important that we
educate our hairdressers?

Because at the end of the day,
we are professional products.

So basically, whatever you
are using is highly valorized.

And also it is what we call a
routine in between salon visits.

So we need to have our pros or
our hairdresser as our advocate

that allow us also to explain this
value for money and that it is a

product that is recommended by them.

On top of this, we also need
to educate our consumers.

And this is where what I have mentioned.

Before is what you call advocacy and
influence where we do locally relevant

content where we have an ethnic woman that
is talking in the language of an ethnic

woman that is showing how she's using
the product that is showing what is the

hair routine of an ethnic woman, because
this is also very culturally sensitive.

What you need to know is that.

We do not have the same habit
wherever we are in the world, and

every culture has a different usage.

What you know in the West or in
the Caucasian world, it's very

shampoo conditioner driven.

We wash our hair very frequently
and shampoos and conditioner from

the healthcare market in the Western
world represent approximately 40%.

This is not the case in Africa
because African women, they relax

their hair because African women,
they put a lot of braids, et cetera.

They don't wash frequently their hair.

Shampoos and conditioner
represent maybe 10 or 15 percent.

What is very important for
them because their head, uh,

is prone to damage much more.

It gets dry, et cetera, is leave ins.

So everything related to,
uh, uh, uh, oils, creams.

is extremely important.

And the second thing they have
because it's prone to damage.

We have a big issue in Africa
that is called alopecia,

which is losing the hairline.

One woman out of three women
in Africa loses her hairline.

So this is also the local relevancy of
addressing with the right product to

the need by speaking the language with
people that look like the consumer,

not that look like a billboard that
could be in the US or in France.

Deanna: Yeah.

Yeah.

No, that's wonderful.

Thank you for sharing all of that.

And you mentioned, you mentioned
claims, um, and, and we got a little

picture of it there as you were talking
about which products, um, make sense

in terms of the, the routines of the,
the customers that you're reaching.

Um, but do you happen to have an example
of a, you know, a claim from one, you

know, sort of a Western market in contrast
to some of the markets you're serving now?

Yara: Oh, uh, for example, it's very
important to tell to the consumer.

There are two things that
are very important in Africa.

First, tell the consumer that it's for you
for you with the kinky hair, curly hair.

So, for example, we have
one line that is for damage.

We say.

Repairs two years of damage in one use.

Okay, but in Africa, it's very important
to say for kinky hair for curly hair, uh,

to tell her that also it applies to you.

And the second thing that is
very interesting in Africa.

Um, because.

The value for money is a challenge for
them because there's, they are a bit

skeptical in that they want to make sure
that what they buy, there's a return

on their investment on, on their buy.

Everything that is multi benefit works
like wonders for, uh, for African

consumers, 10 in one, 12 in one, 25 in
one, uh, because also this is a phenomenon

that is quite, uh, big in the U.

S.

and Africa is more.

impacted by the Anglo Saxon
word than the Franco Saxon word.

So everything that works
very well in the U.

S.

slash in the UK, they are quite,
uh, very sensitive to that.

We know that they travel a lot
there, especially when it comes

to Nigeria, to the UK, et cetera.

So they want to see that what they
are getting, because it's expensive,

can do different things also.

Deanna: Yeah.

Yeah.

Oh, that's so interesting.

Thank you.

Um, let's talk a little bit about, um,
Brand assortment and product mix for

each market a little bit more clearly.

I think, you know, you've shared a bit
of, of how you might be making that

decision, but can you, can you think
about some of, um, some of the actual

products or brands that you're going with?

Yara: Yes.

So, uh, we are not choosing one
portfolio by region because again,

it's about creating critical mass and
managing Africa as one by reaching

the first big issue at the beginning.

So what we just make sure is
that we are tackling the main

concerns of African woman.

Uh, I've mentioned them before.

We like natural hair.

This is something that, uh, Natural curly
hair is was actually, um, if you want

a need across the world, but we know
that the biggest continent that is the

most relevant for that need is Africa.

So we have co developed the
lineup for the world with African

hairdressers, African consumers.

So, uh, this.

Something that we offer.

We know that, uh, scalp is a big
issue also for women because they

use braids that create tension, that
creates, uh, some dandruff, et cetera.

We also have launched a line for
scalp, and now we're focusing on

repair damage because we know that
this is the biggest concern that

has the biggest reach or size of the
price, and now it's really a game off.

Critical mass of tackling and recruiting
as many consumer as we can, uh, and

establishing the name of our brand
and the perception to be changed to.

It is for you also.

Deanna: Yeah, excellent.

I think I have, uh, just a
couple more questions for you.

Um, and I, I think on, on some of,
um, this next question, we can kind

of read between the lines of, uh,
from all your answers, but is there

anything else you want to share
with us specifically about the go

to market strategy for L'Oreal here?

Yara: Yes.

So, um, as I've told you, it's about,
you know, really tackling the pros

and the consumer at the same, at the
same time, I think, uh, there are two

things that are extremely important.

First, it's about maximizing the reach
to consumers and going where they are.

There's a very interesting phenomena in
Africa, which is what we call cosmetic

stores or one beauty sub destination
that exists in the routine of women.

And this is something that the
professional product division was

not there before and just located in
salons, which is Complicated in Africa

because salon lack critical mass.

And yet there are women that are willing
to spend on their hair and they do.

So we go to also those cosmetic stores
by having a premium execution by having

beauty advisor to give this advice to
the woman by making sure also we have

the right animation within the store.

So that is very important.

However, We should not forget
the importance of salon because

at the end of the day for us,
we are a professional division.

This is something that you are building,
but we are building with solid foundation.

Number one is education.

This is what L'Oreal is known for, uh,
because, uh, Salon, they will thrive

and be more profitable and grow if
they do sophisticated services, which

was not the case before in Africa.

If I give you an example, you
go, you want to do braids.

In a salon in Africa takes you four
hours, takes four people to do your braid.

It costs 60 euros.

You want to do your root
coloration in Europe.

You sit 45 minutes in the salon and you
pay 60 euros with one person doing it.

So yes, we have a road to educate
them on doing sophisticated services.

So we are focusing a lot on education
to the top doors, but also on launching

hairdressing schools where we are able
to equip, uh, People to become talented

hairstylists and to have to create
if you want this pipeline talent of

the future so that they can go to the
salon and the salon can thrive because

the issue is not only lack of salons,
but also lack of skilled people to

enable a salon to be thriving and to
open one or two or three other doors.

So, um, I think this is a complete
ecosystem that you are doing.

We are accelerating on reaching the
premium consumers because it will help us.

So we are building a brand awareness.

Create this awareness of the brand and
you are building slowly and progressively

the salon of the future, focusing on
education and second also focusing on

improving the look and feel of those
salons and create elevating the experience

to really start this healthy competition
in the market to showcase that if the

salon looks good, it drives business.

It drives consumers, et cetera.

So this is how we are.

Are doing it with L'Oreal.

Deanna: Yeah.

Yeah.

Wow.

That's there's a lot going on there.

Um, I hope you can share, um, here
as we wrap up, maybe what some of

the success metrics will actually
look like in these new markets.

And maybe you can share with us, you
know, some short term indicators, um,

you know, within maybe, I don't know how
far you're looking, you know, a year,

three years, five years out, what does
success look like in these markets?

Yara: I think what success will look like
is first on the acceptance of our brands.

I think this is extremely important
how we're going to really change

the perception of the brands to
become really Brands that they look

for proactively in a proactive way.

And for us, it's the success
of our product strategy.

It's how big those products are going
to be, what would be their weight

from our existing business and how
they would be if you want the country.

Buter to growth.

So I think this is gonna be a very
important one and the second is the

success of those students from the
schools, uh, creating success stories

that will show us that we need are on
the right path of creating, um, the

profession of the future of, uh, fueling,
uh, the Salon business in general.

Deanna: Excellent.

Well, yeah, I have to say, this has
been a very enlightening conversation.

I thank you so much for joining me
here on the Cosmo factory podcast.

Yara: Thank you so much for the pleasure.