Are you the next Lisa Price? Mind Your Own Business Series: The Woman of Colour and the British Beauty Industry

Are you the next Lisa Price?  The founder of the multimillion dollar beauty brand Carol’s Daughter?

Or maybe you are the next Iman – creating a global cosmetics brand for the discerning woman of colour, be she Black, Asian or of a Mixed Heritage.

If you have a dream to work in the beauty industry as an entrepreneur or in a position of influence then read on… (excuse me whilst I go into marketing mode!)

 

 

 

A first for the British Beauty Industry – preparing the business leaders of the future

The UK health and beauty industry is a buoyant and dynamic sector and is estimated to be was estimated to be worth £18,512m[i]  and despite the continued economic woes, shows no signs of slowing down.

An area that is currently massively under exploited and that is set to show explosive growth is the ethnic beauty market.

Why will this is this the case?

• The UK population is projected to undergo major shifts in the composition of the ethnic proportions, which will grow extensively over the next 10 – 25 years.  Between 2001-2035 the White British population is projected to grow by 4% , by contrast peoples of a mixed heritage will grow by up to 241%, the Asian population group will grow by up to153%  and the Black African group will grow by 179%. .[ii]
• As these population groups grow, they are also becoming wealthier.[iii]  The so called ‘brown pound’ will have increasing influence.
• Black British women spend on average six times more than their Caucasian counterparts on their hair, and more than half regularly visit a salon. Mintel market researchers found that while the average Caucasian woman spends £83.97 a year on beauty products, black women spend £117.44 – and that doesn’t include trips to the hairdresser or spending on mainstream products not specific to Afro hair.[v]

So, what has been hampering the growth of this extremely exciting segment of the market?

Mintel identified that market growth for the woman of colour was hampered by:

• limited availability of ethnic brands on the high street
• The mainstream retailers’ reluctance to become involved in ethnic cosmetic and toiletries
• Lack of advertising/imagery (especially in mainstream press) which is read/consumed by women of colour

Having worked in the beauty industry for several years, I became increasingly concerned about the  lack of representation of women of colour.  I strongly believe that women of colour need to be present, because only we can articulate and express our needs in a way that can then be adequately addressed.

For instance, it was black women, who worked  the marketing department at Proctor and Gamble USA, that spearheaded the successful campaign ‘My Black Is Beautiful’ in 2007 – and it is still going strong today (I have mentioned this campaign in a previous post – read more about it here!).

Pamela Rhett, Procter & Gamble’s brand manager of multicultural marketing stated that:

“We brainstormed about what our platform [would be] to celebrate and promote being proud to be black.  Black is beautiful kept rising to the top [of the list] as one of the last rallying cries in the black community to celebrate black beauty…”

(quote taken form RollingOut.com)

 

Thus, I  decided to create an organisation, Keziah Connections which was launched earlier this month.

The mission of the organisation is simple, it is here to facilitate and encourage the empowerment and progression of women of colour within the mainstream British Beauty Industry.

 

 

Why not join me for an evening of drinks, canapés, inspiration and education. Meet like minded women, build your network and celebrate the successes of women of colour in the British Beauty Industry.

The first event, called the Nurture and Network™ Evening, will takes place at the sumptuous BECCA Boutique, in the heart of Chelsea, on the 24^th July 2012

The topic and speakers on the evening are:

• Winning in the Digital Space – Award winning blogger, Hafsa Issa-Salwe (Muslimah Beauty)
• Sweet Success! – Creating a new product – Karamal and Brown’s founder Cheryl Effiom
• Getting into the Marketing Mix – Lara Odusanya, Marketing & Communications Coordinator – BECCA

Book your ticket  today and  meet leading woman of colour from top companies such as Estee Lauder and L’Oreal and bloggers, journalists and business women who can make a difference  to you career and business!

It would be great to see you there!

Natalie

xxx