Entrepreneurship Zone: 29 November 2024: Kenyan company seeks to change the skincare game with Korean technology

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Entrepreneurship Zone: 29 November 2024: Kenyan company seeks to change the
skincare game with Korean technology

 


 

 




 


 

 


 

 

 

 <https://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/category/countries/kenya/> 

A selection of Uncover’s products

 

Kenya-based skincare company Uncover was founded with the goal of creating
products specifically tailored for African women. It leverages technology
from South Korea, which is known for its highly advanced skincare industry.
Uncover recently raised $1 million in its latest round of funding from
investors including FirstCheck Africa, Samata Capital, Future Africa and
IgniteXL.

In this interview, CEO and co-founder Sneha Mehta shares the story of
Uncover’s founding and the strategies the company pursued to grow its
business.


>From idea to reality


Uncover was founded by Mehta, Jade Oyateru, and Catherine Lee. Mehta has a
background in private equity in Africa, while Lee is a Korean living in
Kenya and an economist and filmmaker. Oyateru, originally from Nigeria, has
worked for companies such as Unilever and Nestlé as well as e-commerce
platforms Kasha and Jumia.

After years in the private equity industry, Mehta became inspired to pursue
her own entrepreneurial endeavours, rather than just supporting the growth
of other businesses. To achieve this, she enrolled in the Antler business
accelerator programme in Nairobi, where she met her co-founder, Lee.

The idea for Uncover came from Lee, who identified a gap in the market for
skincare products specifically tailored for African women. She proposed
building an African brand that leveraged technology from South Korea, which
is considered a leader in the global skincare industry.

Mehta was drawn to the idea, as she had her own traumatic skincare
experience several years earlier. She always had acne-prone skin and
hyperpigmentation and consulted with a top dermatologist in Nairobi but was
given a tube of medication with no instructions and the treatment resulted
in her entire face being burnt. This gave her confidence a massive knock and
Mehta was motivated to build a trusted skincare brand that is anchored in
not only health and safety but also efficacy.

In June 2020, the team presented their business proposal to an investment
committee at Antler, and subsequently received $100,000 in funding. Oyateru
joined the business right after the Antler investment. They spent the
following six months establishing supplier relationships in South Korea,
reaching out to retailers, working on packaging, developing marketing
content, and making their first hires. “Those early days were absolutely
crazy. I think we were working like 14-16 hours a day,” Mehta notes.


Product rollout


Mehta explains that the company was cautious in the rollout of its first
products. Initially, the plan was to test the market with third-party items
from Korea for a year, before developing the Uncover branded products.
However, it quickly became clear that the ultimate goal was to build the
company’s own brand, rather than becoming just another distributor.

The decision was made to enter the market with sheet masks, an affordable
item that retails for about $2 each. Sheet masks are a type of skincare
product that are made of a cotton fabric soaked in serum, which is placed on
the face to provide various benefits depending on the ingredients in the
serum. This allowed Uncover to build a community of women around the product
and establish a customer base before introducing more expensive items.

Uncover launched its sheet masks in December 2020, followed by pimple
patches, to treat acne, one year later. Nine months after that, it
introduced the Baobab Glow-C Serum. The company’s current range also
includes Rooibos Glow Toner, Argan Hydrating Moisturiser, Green Tea
Revitalising Cleanser and Aloe Invisible Sunscreen.


Manufacturing


Uncover outsources its manufacturing to a contract manufacturer in South
Korea, but maintains an active role in product development. It works closely
with a formula scientist based in the United States, who has experience at
L’Oreal. All products include at least one African-grown ingredient, such as
baobab, rooibos or argan. Additionally, before any products are released to
the market, they are tested on women on the African continent to ensure they
are suitable for the local market.


Packaging and branding


Uncover faced some challenges in finding the right packaging and branding
approach. Initially, the company worked with a well-known agency in Nairobi
but after two weeks didn’t feel that they understood their vision.
Eventually the Uncover co-founders decided to move on, although it meant
losing some money.

They then hired an agency in the UK for a “ridiculous amount of money”.
However, despite numerous tries, this agency too couldn’t get it right. The
agency’s interpretation of what Africa is was too cliché. For instance,
Mehta says they put baobab trees and Masaai prints on the packaging. That
relationship also ended after four months.

The fledgling skincare startup was now $10,000 in the red on design
expenses but still didn’t have any packaging. Feeling stuck, the company
turned to a graphic designer intern they found on Instagram who at the time
recently joined their team for social media. They assigned her the challenge
of developing the packaging, and her ideas ended up being the foundation for
the final design. Once they had the concept, they then gave it to an expert
packaging designer to finalise.



Uncover founders (left to right) Catherine Lee, Jade Oyateru and Sneha
Mehta


Target market


The company’s products are positioned to be affordable to the middle-income
segment of the population. It sees itself as “masstige”, meaning affordable
to the mass market but perceived as prestigious. The products are slightly
more expensive than brands like Nivea and Garnier, but cheaper than high-end
luxury labels.


Building a community and knowledge platform


Mehta highlights the strategy of building a digital community and a
knowledge platform as key aspects of the business. In addition to launching
a six-step online skincare quiz and offering a teleconsultation service
through its e-commerce platform, the company also produces skincare-related
educational content which are distributed through its social media channels,
blog and email newsletter. This focus on community and education has allowed
Uncover to increase brand awareness and drive customer retention.


Retail channels


Uncover began by distributing its products through a select group of
stores, both online and offline, chosen after conducting a survey on where
women typically shop for skincare products. These included East Africa’s
largest pharmacy chain, Goodlife, health and nutrition retailer Healthy U,
as well as two specialty beauty stores. The company also partnered with
online retailers, Jumia and Mydawa. Initially, the larger retailers operated
on consignment while others only purchased a small number of units for
testing. Over time, these consignment arrangements evolved into outright
sales and order sizes increased.

The company launched its own e-commerce platform in March 2021 with the aim
of having direct interactions with customers. To handle order fulfillment,
Uncover has its own warehouse and partners with Sendy, a third-party
delivery service that functions like the “Uber for deliveries”. The
e-commerce store has been a significant contributor to the company’s
revenue, accounting for approximately one-third of its total business.


Data driven


Uncover has implemented a data-driven approach in managing its business.
While still at the Antler accelerator, before it had launched any products,
the founders conducted a survey to gather information on primary skincare
concerns and shopping habits from nearly 1,000 women. This survey revealed
that less than half of the women were using sunscreen, 40% had acne and were
making it worse through harsh scrubs and exfoliation, and only a quarter
were adhering to a basic skincare routine.

Additionally, data from its online skin quiz is used to not only suggest
products to customers to address their specific skin issues, but also to
create a comprehensive customer profile. Uncover also utilises data
collected from its e-commerce platform, along with other sources, to inform
product development, marketing strategies, messaging, and other business
decisions. When deciding on a tagline for its products, Uncover conducted
surveys to gather customer responses on different options presented to them.
It followed a similar process in terms of its packaging design.


Expansion to Nigeria


Uncover will soon expand to Nigeria, which will allow the company to tap
into the second biggest skincare market in sub-Saharan Africa after South
Africa. Co-founder, Jade Oyateru, is Nigerian, making it a natural next
step. The expansion will also bring economies of scale and increase volumes,
allowing the company to benefit from improved unit economics.


Working capital and competitive hurdles


Mehta says one of Uncover’s biggest challenges is managing working capital,
specifically the issue of paying suppliers upfront and then having to wait
30 to 60 days for shipments to arrive. To address this, the company is
currently in the process of negotiating terms with suppliers. Additionally,
growing sales from its own online store is helping with cash flow as it
allows Uncover to receive payments immediately.

The CEO also highlights competition from international players with larger
marketing budgets as a challenge for Uncover.

—Howwemadeitinafrica

 

 


 


 


 

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