African beauty entrepreneurs are turning traditional skincare practices and indigenous ingredients into commercial products as they seek to build local brands that can compete with established international cosmetics companies.

The shift is creating new opportunities around value addition, branding and the commercialisation of traditional knowledge, with entrepreneurs moving beyond informal home-made remedies to develop packaged products for a growing consumer market.

St. Joseph Starlets Murang’a Crowned New Champions as LYSA Defends Central Regional Title Sports

200 golfers set for NCBA Golf Series action at Kiambu Golf

One example is Somali beauty company KAAT Skincare, which has entered the market with Safwa Bright Facial Cream, a product built around turmeric, an ingredient long used in Somali traditional skincare.

KAAT Skincare CEO Abdirahman Hussein Mohamed, said that alongside celebrating Somali heritage, innovation, and the beauty of our people, innovation of

“With Safwa Bright Facial Cream, we are taking a tradition passed down through generations and combining it with modern science to create skincare designed for our unique skin and climate,” said Mohamed.

“This is only the beginning. Our vision is to build a proudly African beauty house that can compete on the global stage while remaining rooted in our culture and identity.”

The company launched the product in Mogadishu as it seeks to develop a wider skincare, cosmetics and fragrance business targeting consumers in the Horn of Africa and eventually the wider African market.

The business opportunity lies not only in the ingredients but also in converting cultural knowledge into products that can be manufactured, branded and sold at a premium.

For decades, many African communities have relied on locally available plants, oils, spices and other natural ingredients for skincare.

Much of that knowledge, however, has remained within households and informal markets, limiting its commercial value.

Entrepreneurs are now attempting to change that by combining traditional ingredients with modern formulations, packaging and marketing.

KAAT's product, for instance, combines turmeric with ingredients such as niacinamide and permitted concentrations of kojic acid.

The approach illustrates how traditional practices can be adapted into products designed to meet modern consumer expectations around safety, consistency and effectiveness.

The commercialisation of such knowledge also presents an opportunity for African companies to differentiate themselves in a crowded global cosmetics market.

Rather than competing solely on price, local brands can build their identity around ingredients, cultural heritage and products designed for African consumers and climates.

This could allow businesses to establish niche markets before expanding into neighbouring countries and other parts of the continent.

The trend also raises questions around intellectual property and ownership of traditional knowledge.

As indigenous ingredients and beauty practices become commercial assets, businesses and governments face the challenge of ensuring that communities whose knowledge and practices inspired products are not excluded from the economic benefits.

For entrepreneurs, however, the opportunity is to transform that heritage into formal value chains involving research, manufacturing, packaging, distribution and retail.

A successful local beauty brand can generate demand for suppliers while creating opportunities in manufacturing, marketing, logistics and retail.

KAAT plans to expand beyond its initial facial product into a broader skincare range, cosmetics and fragrances, highlighting the potential for a single traditional ingredient or practice to become the foundation of a larger consumer brand.