organic – Nilotiqa

What makes Nilotiqa different

Nicole Carter — Fri, 11 Feb 2022 07:15:04 +0000

As black women with natural hair we’ve all come face to face with the uncomfortable and often embarrassing question of ‘So when will you do your hair?’ Because our hair is not considered ‘done’ when it is in its natural state. This is a perception that has formed a huge part of our relationship with our hair. “Where most products are aimed at black women speak to how to curl and style your hair, and offer you many ways to alter the structure of your hair, I wanted to create a product that was specifically suited for my type of hair; not to change it but to keep it in its healthiest form”, founder of Nilotiqa, Thokozile Mangwiro says. Through our research, we found that African hair is characterized by kinky curls and grows closer to the scalp. It is the structure of the hair that makes it challenging for the hair’s natural oils to travel down the hair strands to its tips. Nilotiqa is the solution to maintaining hair’s natural moisture. Nilotiqa isn’t selling black women dreams about how it’ll change their hair to something so different they won’t recognize themselves. It is offering a solution that allows them a way to retain the moisture that their hair requires for healthy maintenance and growth – which is often tarnished by the use of inorganic products and many years of use of harmful products aimed at altering the form of our already beautiful hair. Whether you wear a weave or braids, Nilotiqa is aimed at keeping what is beneath, which is your natural hair, in its healthiest state.

NILOTIQA BACKGROUND RESEARCH
Market research has revealed that 70% of African women with natural hair battle when it comes to finding hair products that can retain the moisture of their hair. This leads to damage to the protective layer of the hair, hair thinning, dandruff, hair falling out, receding hairlines and several other challenges which impact on
the hair’s health and aesthetics.

These challenges persist with a lack of research being invested to cater specifically to the African hair market, with a one-size-fits-all approach being used to save on costs on research and development which have inadvertently turned African women to their personal chemists – mixing different ingredients to see if they would be suitable for their hair.

In responding to these challenges and having personally gone through the daunting task of finding a solution, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of hair care brand Nilotiqa, Thokozile Mangwiro invested in ground-breaking research
which unveiled ingredients that are specifically suited for African hair. Nolitiqa formulates and manufactures solutions for African hair issues. All the ingredients are found in South Africa except for the Shea butter which is the inspiration for the brand.

Sunpac Invests into Home-Grown Nilotiqa Brand to Boost Natural Hair Care for Black Women

Nicole Carter — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 13:33:03 +0000

South Africa’s leading distributor of top international brands, Sunpac has turned the spotlight on growing black female innovators and entrepreneurs within the local hair care category to better align with South African consumer needs with their announcement of their investment into the Nilotiqa brand and partnering with founder and small business owner Thokozile Mangwiro.

Understanding the demographics of South Africa and the evolution at shelf level that is happening within the personal care category, Sunpac has responded with a growth strategy which aligns perfectly with the brand ethos of Nilotiqa. One which is solely focused on making locally grown hair care products accessible to local consumer needs and wallets, something which is difficult to do with imported product pricing, which often implies a premium or niche offering.

Discussing their approach Sunpac CEO Shaun Laffer says, “Our business has matured past the point of focusing on short term earnings and survival and is now at the point where we are setting long-term plans and making key investments for growth. What is particularly exciting about Nilotiqa, is we can achieve our long-term goals and at the same time offer benefits and support to local entrepreneurs which in turn accelerates their growth and development. We are thrilled to be partnering with and welcoming Thokozile Mangwiro into our family and have our full team working with her on this exciting brand and in support of local products and local manufacturing.”

Describing Thokozile Mangwiro as an early adopter who has paved much of the ground-breaking work required to open up space in the category, Laffer says the brand is hot property with past financial constraints and economies of scale having limited Nilotiqa’s local market share; something which Sunpac will move quickly to address.

« Thokozile Mangwiro describes herself as an unintentional entrepreneur, “As a black woman with natural hair, we face the continuous social perception that our hair is not considered ‘done’ when it is in its most natural state. »

Brand Alignment with Organic African Hair, Naturally

Thokozile Mangwiro describes herself as an unintentional entrepreneur, “As a black woman with natural hair, we face the continuous social perception that our hair is not considered ‘done’ when it is in its most natural state. Most hair care products that are aimed at black women offer benefits to change or alter the structure of our hair. I wanted to create a product that is specifically suited to my type of hair; a product that would not have to change the structure in order to “help” me maintain it. I wanted to be able to keep my hair in its healthiest form.”

With a Masters degree in Information and Communication Technology from the University of South Africa and a Bachelors degree in IT and Web Development, Mangwiro who had been employed for eight years within the corporate world, decided to set out and find her own answers to an age old problem, dry hair.

“Through my research we found that African hair is characterised by tight coils that grow closer to the scalp, which makes it a challenge for the hair’s natural oils to travel down the hair strands to their tips. The hair is therefore often dry due to the lack of these oils and therefore moisture. Nilotiqa is the solution that adds high quality oils and butters to help the hair maintain its natural moisture”

Thokozile Mangwiro is clear that the Nilotiqa brand is not selling black women dreams about how it will change their hair to something so different that they will not recognise themselves, but rather is a solution which retains the moisture that their hair requires for healthy maintenance and growth, something which is often tarnished by the use of harsh and harmful products set to alter black women’s already beautiful hair.

“Whether you wear a weave or braids, Nilotiqa keeps what is beneath – your natural hair – in its healthiest state,” says Mangwiro. “When African hair is not adequately retaining moisture, it can lead to several conditions, such as dandruff, thinning and damage of the hair, a receding hairline, or even worse hair falling out. These conditions can then have a significant impact on the health and aesthetic of the African coil.”

Seeing a gap in the market for natural and organic hair care products for maintaining afro natural hair, South African-born Mangwiro launched the Nilotiqa brand in 2016 with organic, professionally formulated products that include Deep Moisture Butter, Curl Activating Gel and Nourishing Scalp & Hair Oil currently available nationwide through retailers Dischem, Clicks and Pick ‘n Pay.

With the recent partnership funded by internal Sunpac capital, Laffer says Mangwiro is both knowledgeable in the category and her product development is guided by her personal intelligence of what consumers want, with Sunpac now working to make the range more affordable and accessible to many more consumers, as well as increasing the current Shea & Coco Collection and Creamy Collection ranges to include new on-trend products.

Growth Category Opportunity

According to Laffer, the multicultural, natural hair care category in the formal market is growing at double digits, and as the fastest growing segment in hair care it is valued at hundreds of millions of rands. “Nilotiqa’s market share is still very small, but we have a plan to get to a meaningful number in the next 24 to 36 months.

“We believe the Nilotiqa business has scale to grow exponentially from its present size. Current challenges to growth are the time required to test and launch some of the new products and to open up our distribution footprint in retail, which will require a solid and consistent track record of consumer adoption to support the request and need for more retail space.”

An Appetite for Acquisition

Sunpac is a significant and professional player in the hair care category distributing a number of major global brands. In 2020, Sunpac acquired another local brand The Perfect Hair in the same category when they partnered with founder Taryn Gill.

“Our appetite to acquire other local brands, not only in this category, is high,” says Laffer. We are acquisitive. We onboarded Investec in 2021 as a minority shareholder in our business to assist with our acquisitive growth strategy and it is an upward trajectory from here. “

About Sunpac:
Established in 1967, Sunpac is a trusted partner to retailers offering a full category management solution and expertise covering marketing and brand management of leading international brands as well as managing private label solutions. The business involves importing, warehousing, sales, and marketing of a wide range of products catering to the personal care and baby markets. As the retail landscape evolves, Sunpac is investing to ensure they are skilled, relevant, and prepared to supply into new and rapidly evolving consumer trends.

Counting Confidence One Head at a Time for Nilotiqa Black Haircare Founder

Nicole Carter — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 08:13:41 +0000

She is shy, petite, and laser focused. And rare. It is not the money that inspires South African Thokozile Mangwiro, founder of Nilotiqa Haircare for black women but rather the discovery of her own formulation of organic hair treatment that speaks to every black woman who has stood in the face of adversarial marketing that wants to straighten, smooth, dye and reshape a black women’s hair, as if her natural crowning beauty is something to be avoided and changed.

«The secret ingredient I would wish for myself would be the inspiration and ability to express my inner world more. I am a dreamer at heart but until now, I have had to be a survivor. I dream of creating products that are easily accessible to woman who are like me… busy, hard working women that love quality and believe that they too deserve to feel beautiful. I want to create products that allow women to express their true selves, even when the world around them makes them feel unseen or small. As an African woman, I think we have so much to offer to our worlds and desperately need to express ourselves more.»

With Krugersdorp roots and a family drive for an education, ‘Thoko’ duly completed university and followed a career in programming and business intelligence. But, frustrated by the hair care products on the retail shelves being marketed to black women, Thoko felt compelled to seek out her own organic solutions for maintaining her naturally managed, long Afro hair. Nilotiqa was researched and formulated in 2014; and launched in 2016 as a natural and organic hair care product solution to dry, brittle hair.

“Like most African women, our hair is characterised by kinky curls and grows closer to the scalp which makes it a challenge for our hair’s natural oils to travel down the hair strands to its tips. Nilotiqa is an organic and homegrown solution to maintaining your hair’s natural moisture,” she explains.

“Whether you wear a weave or braids, Nilotiqa keeps what is beneath – your natural hair – in its healthiest state,” she says. “When African hair is not adequately retaining moisture, it can lead to several conditions, such as dandruff, thinning of the hair, a receding hairline, or even worse hair falling out. These conditions can then have a significant impact on the health and aesthetic of the African coil.”

Entrepreneur Access into the Marketplace

Celebrating her grass roots success at delivering a solution to her new fans and followers who were over using harsh, chemical treatments, Thoko was optimistic about being able to share her product with all African women on the local retail shelves. “I had no understanding of the ‘retail of retail’,” she laughs. “I pounded the pavements, made weekly calls to the major retail outlets where I knew I needed to be if I wanted to reach and speak to my local audience but none of the retailers were ready for my products.”

With no option for failure having left her corporate career in 2017 to follow her dream of success with a solution specifically suited for curly, African hair, Thoko says she quickly learnt what it was to have an abnormal amount of persistence. “I learnt how to speak up. I found out how to make myself more visible. I didn’t have an option to give up. I would cry on the bathroom floor and grind through months and months without an income. I could not imagine Nilotiqa not fulfilling its highest potential. It was a solution for African women that deserved to win.”

It took two years of knocking on retail doors to for Nilotiqa to debut products onto Clicks Shelves nationwide; then a further year of pain and purpose from Thoko and public outcry from South Africans at racially biased marketing content from a globally distributed hair care brand, for Nilotiqa to debut on the shelves of Dischem and Pick n Pay Nationally.

“Running my own business, managing the marketing, finance, production and distribution while also managing my family and two young sons, was a learning curve. I never doubted Nilotiqa was a good product, that kept me going, but as an entrepreneur who was unfamiliar with the challenges of the national retail sector, I knew I needed help.”

Acquisition for Growth

Enter Sunpac and a conversation with CEO Shaun Laffer which led to the Sunpac acquisition in early 2022.

Says Thoko, “I had another investment opportunity on the table at the time, but for me, Sunpac was the type of partner, backed by a team, which understands the business I am in. As a leading distributor of top international hair care brands, Sunpac aligns with the Nilotiqa ethos which places a value on black female consumers needs and their financial restraints.

“The Sunpac agreement now allows for key investments for growth, while I can continue to maintain and manage the core of the Nilotiqa business and develop the range to include a other personal care categories too. There is a lot to be done. All the processes for retail distribution are changing and we are upgrading our branding and labelling, but the process of formulation will not change.”

Speaking into the potential of her newfound future, Thoko says, “I want to see Nilotiqa become a household brand; to define the luxury of what it is to be an African women. There are competitors in this field, however my products are unique, I know what I have to offer – it is all about the customer and what they are looking for in a brand that is healthy for their hair. I don’t believe in having influencers to market the brand, with Nilotiqa, each and every consumer is the influencer each and every day and proudly so.”

Fabulous Forties for Future Fortune

Recently celebrating her 41^st birthday, we asked Thoko to define her own secret dreams and ingredients for confidence and style.

“The secret ingredient I would wish for myself would be the inspiration and ability to express my inner world more. I am a dreamer at heart but until now, I have had to be a survivor. I dream of creating products that are easily accessible to woman who are like me… busy, hard working women that love quality and believe that they too deserve to feel beautiful. I want to create products that allow women to express their true selves, even when the world around them makes them feel unseen or small. As an African woman, I think we have so much to offer to our worlds and desperately need to express ourselves more.”

For now, weekends are spent with her close-knit family bonding over games of tennis or swimming with her boys or taking early morning prayer runs through her neighbourhood. “Having natural hair that is healthy is easy hair. When you start using Nilotiqa you will discover that your hair starts growing again. This year will be defining for the Nilotiqa brand and it will be defining for black women everywhere.”ENDS/

About:

The Nilotiqa Hair Care Range is 100% home-grown, organically sourced and locally formulated to deliver a plant-based moisturising haircare range perfectly suited to natural African hair care. Nilotiqa offers deeply moisturising, high quality, sustainable hair care products packed with vitamins and nutrients. Included in the Shea & Coco Collection is the Deep Cleansing Shampoo (sulphate free with shea butter), Replenishing Conditioner with Avocado Oil and Detangling Cream with Coconut Oil. Start your healthy hair journey today www.nilotiqa.com.