Oke Maduewesi has been working in the cosmetics industry for a little more than a decade, and through the years, she has been very focused on delivering sleek premium quality products at affordable prices to enhance the lifestyle needs of African women. Backed with her knowledge and skills as a former Zenith Bank Manager, and an MBA holder from the University of Leeds, Oke Maduewesi built a contemporary innovative cosmetics brand that has grown to have over 25 franchise outlets and 800+ distributors in Nigeria and other African countries, whilst also contributing to the socio-economic development of Nigeria through job creation, enterprise development, strong corporate social responsibility and a business ethos anchored on reputation and trust.
Today, she is currently the Founder/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zaron group of companies, comprising Zaron International Limited and Zaron Cosmetics Limited.
In her interview with Business Insider Africa, Oke Maduewesi shared an exclusive sneak peek into the world of cosmetics, great advice on how to build a successful cosmetics brand and the 3 women she would wants to see wear her products.
See excerpts
On starting Zaron Cosmetics
The Zaron story was conceived in Leeds whilst I was doing an MBA at Leeds Business School. Prior to that, I was working in one of the leading Financial Institutions in Africa. I felt the need to grow but wasn’t sure of what exactly, except perhaps I thought to grow in managerial skills to elevate and dominate in the same sector. I remember selling everything I owned before moving to the UK with my two daughters who were 4+ and 2+ at the time; in pursuit of the next chapter.
Back to school and I remember vividly sitting in discussion groups and reviewing different case studies and having this restlessness within knowing that all the cases being reviewed were foreign businesses and I knew that that narrative had to change. My next step was to put pen to paper on what I thought I could do about it; what space could I play in, and all the how-to’s surrounding this. The only thing I was sure of then was that I would name the business after my daughters, so I started making different combinations with their names (Ona and Zara), and Zaron seemed more brandable; so the business name is a fusion of my daughters’ names.
The next step was to determine the space, and the Beauty and Wellness industry, which was one of the fastest-growing, seemed interesting. Plus, no prominent African brands were dominating that space. I immediately went to work by using my business proposal as my dissertation, and that was the start to what we see today.
On her ingredients for success
The Key ingredients for the success of the Zaron Brand is the reputation and trust we have gained over the years in creating and providing quality products at affordable pricing.
From inception, we have been focused on presenting quality products for the woman of colour recognising that we are best equipped to understand our skin tone and texture; taking into consideration our environmental conditions in creating the most suited products for us. One of the things we have been most proud of is that the Zaron brand is about products made for the woman of colour by the woman of colour.
On creating new products
When creating new products, our first focus is on market consideration. What are our consumers asking for? What gaps are there to fill? What product would we like to add to or improve in our range? The answers are determined by a thorough market survey carried out by ouresearch & Development team.
See full story here.