 to why in the morning if it's Tuesday it's entrepreneurship Tuesday at Y254 channel is where you can find us across all our social media handles at Michelle Ashira is where you can find me across all my social in this particular session we dive into an interview that looks at the beauty and cosmetic industry you and I know that the cosmetic business in Kenya is a profitable venture you can start right so with the increased demand for beauty products you can make huge profits and that's the reason why we are having this conversation with none other than James Montbury who is the founder of Sanura beauty hi James thank you for creating time to be with us first of all before even go for the ride I want to appreciate the name of the of your brand I find it so African yeah so let's go back to what inspired this particular name of the of the brand and a little bit of a brief story of who James Montbury is okay I'm I'll start by the name of the company it's an oramines kitten I'm actually a cat person and it's also a common girl named the in the cost I like how it ends with an air and they just love names ending with theirs and Sanura just you know hit my head during that time James Montbury is from Teta Taveta okay I went through industrial chemistry in jacoats and I'm currently doing my masters in environmental chemistry but I must say that this is something this you know came out of nowhere five months ago I actually it was out of ego you know my sister kept telling me that I'm having this degree in industrial chemistry that is and won't really using it so I just came up with you know the formulations of just easy making easy making ways of making sanitizers and actually shared with my parents and my family members and friends and they said it's actually working and I've been an admirer of how of the African skin the African hair and this especially the shade trees the shade trees and I make in Africa and I use it mostly to make to make these products and I've currently been I've been having nice reviews of the same so it's just been it's an it's like I'm on autopilot okay I've just been making these products it's just fun I just found myself here you make it sound so easy it's easy when you like it when you like doing whatever you do yeah so initially before we go to have this conversation live with you guys we're talking about the aspect of an employment in the country and you have also been oppositional by your experienced you've been in in a situation where you have been unemployed so take me through what inspired Sanora is this the first like first project or have you done a couple of other things before you settle for the Sanora and underscore beauty yeah on social media okay so this is not this is actually my first project I haven't really done something to do with cosmetics beauty or what what have you I did this because I saw the niche it's actually it's actually making money in the US for example they make up to 89 that's 2018 data they make up to 89,000 I mean 89 million dollars as GDP for just the cosmetics on alone during that year it's it's what we made as a whole as a whole country so I was thinking maybe if we just made sense out of whatever we have currently in Kenya and Africa as as a large I think we could make so much out of this you know that brings about creation of employment it brings about improvement of lifestyle it brings about you know appreciation of Africa as a culture and as what we are yeah so I that is a small business in the making there are many small businesses around that's what's going to fix this an employment issue we don't have to really look for help out of you know the government well wishes and all that we can just come out in this problem which is you know basic concepts like this and that comes from what what you say that actually make our own products yeah make it good and we can make it local yeah I like that I like that so for someone who is watching this and they are wondering how how did you go about coming up with these products where do you find your own materials that is okay I'm I get them locally I try as much as I can to get them locally because obviously when you come when you get to importation of these products it's quite expensive they are diverse the the stuff where I get the you know the raw materials from but majorly it's it's just like an example of an example is the hair butter and the body butter it's just you know I collect it's an agglomeration of oils I get these oils from around it'll be an endless list to tell you where I get this but it's quite easy to get them if you compare it with you know importation charges and all that and it just needs a little bit of literature you just have to go through you know the basic concepts when it comes to soap formulation shampoo formulation and all this and you just have to look for a niche in which you can just dive in and you make it sound so simple actually so take us through what are the couple of skills that are required in making probably let's start with the shampoo that's a rosemary mint what are the skills and also probably can mention the raw materials that you use yeah so basically I have when it comes to shampoos that's a that's a basic cleansing agent yeah it falls in the same category as the multipurpose soap just anything that cleanses out so they are basic to there this there's two basic things that come into a cleansing agent and an example is the shampoo the stuff that forms and stuff that just cleans out the dirt I that's a basic shampoo it works as is but now to make it look a little bit more unique I add in some oils I add in some rosemary and some mint oils they actually work on the scalp especially with people who have locks they are they are quite my clients yeah we have locks they have the problems that you know come with itching the dandruff yeah so that's what I I really do but there's room for improvement yeah I'm still looking into ways into which I can just improve the product further and further all right how did you get how did you gain the skills for you okay yeah as I said I did industrial chemistry okay in jquart and there's couple there's a couple of units that deal with soap formulation cosmetics and toiletry but it's you know it's shallow so you just have to go into you know going into it yeah that's where we are yeah so for someone who is watching this conversation and they want to get into this same business all right what would be your advice for that particular person how to go about just gaining the skills okay yeah the fact that this person wants to get into this enterprise it means that he is interested he or she is interested wait so I don't think they're going they're going to be hard they're going to be having so much trouble into going through these literature and information there's just there's so much to do with cosmetics and and related products there's upcoming trends there's new materials that you're going to use these there's there's always something new in the cosmetic industry so I'd urge them to you know once they just put in the leg they shouldn't just come out even if it's a 5% effort you already put that effort so you just have to go all the way you just find the flow inside the business I want to give so much detail about that but you just find yourself in the flow but I can can be look for you can you oh yeah yeah in terms of yeah I can always help I like talking to my clients especially new clients and I find fun in just explaining what the product is about okay so let's go back to where it all started your initial capital so what was your initial capital starting off okay so I was lucky enough to have my siblings around my parents they're very supportive in actual figures I'd say around 50k okay yeah so that would cover in terms of you know initial raw materials and you have to test them out you can just come up I didn't just come up with that bottle when it comes to the shampoo I just said about different bottles and clients are like no you can just improve on this so I need I use that cash initially there's also cash that is needed when it comes to experimentation all right you can just come up with a perfect body but you have to walk your way through it so when starting off with that particular capital you were what it did actually sustain with each shampoo also I see they they share better is there any other products okay so the the the initial capital covered the shampoo first it's the first product that I got and over time you know when you just keep talking to people about the shampoo you stop me doing and you're like okay you've done you've done washing your shampoo what are you going what else are you going to do with your hair so I just came up with that idea of you know you can just condition your hair with this hair butter so I started just you know gaging some cash out of whatever I make out of the shampoo to make the hair butter and then following after the body butter all right yeah way so we have so many beauty products on shelves and different shops out here so what makes a newer beauty quite different in the market okay the product currently is it's affordable for people who have used butters in the market right now could get it for thrice the price that I'm selling this product so I'm trying as much as I can to make it affordable and you know it'll be at the same time efficient just to serve its purposes I also I'm working on you know the inputs we just working we just looking at a bears you know the active purpose if it's a shampoo it just deals with the washing of the hair you see so I'm just looking into ways into which I can just twist it a little it's our in progress but currently I'm having awesome reviews in this in this product and I can say when it comes to the affordability of the product of the product sorry and also the ingredients itself I think it's quite unique okay yeah so for a potential client right if you bring out the issue of course it's affordable then I feel a little bit easier yeah then the next question is I'll ask you to make me feel comfortable enough to use credibility is it of good quality yeah so it's it's been a challenge I should say I we've heard of these illegitimate products going around in the market you know pyramid schemes people just come up with products they just import them and images they have the word of mouth you know just tell you that this product is nice and it ends up bug-firing yeah and even in a situation where they tell you the product is organic and then you end up having chemicals and reacting that's very true so that's that's one of the of the problems that I'm facing as a as a producer and as a person who is giving this product to people I have to have that first phase of telling people okay this is this is what I produce they actually shopped that actually produce this we think I just get it from somewhere and resell it so there's that phase of me trying to convince you that this product works and after I think once I'm past that phase people just get through it is and they'll actually like it so how do you what is your marketing strategy to reach out to clients who are yet to to hear about Sanora beauty so I like telling people that I'm not really a marketer I am a scientist but currently I've done I've actually seen the wonders of social media okay yeah I've really used social media I have my Instagram page at Sanora and that's called beauty and Facebook page as well son at Sanora and that's called beauty so that's where I've been pushing really and it's been of a lot of thanks the people who use these products they actually tell it to other people that's actually one of the ways of really yeah I've really used that criteria to just just make sure that you're comfortable with the products yeah I do I do resells if you're not comfortable with the product yeah but the overall you know feedback has been nice what going back to credibility and one of the most important aspect of it is the product has it been tested to look at skin friendliness because your people who have oily skin sensitive then have the dry skin so has the product undergone the test to see if it's actually friendly okay I'm in the five months that have been operating I'm actually trying to get to the clients so that they can just actually feel the product and as I said I'm using I'm using the products as well on my body and it's especially the hair people have been you know I've been saying that okay your hair looks nice and I'm like can I just use my product you actually does yeah so yeah I've been telling them that I've been using my products and this is what happens I've been having testimonials of people when it comes to having it you know certified you know there's that aspect of certifications yeah I had planned to I am on the you know on the verge of getting it certified yeah yeah but you know like currently I'm just making sure that it works actually on the people around me I've been giving it to people around me and they've been saying that it's it's nice okay now take us through you've looked at the shampoo take us through I'm seeing these the body butter and the hair butter so what is what does which do the red one okay that's the hair butter then have the white one which is the body the body but the importance and just how to to use okay yeah so with the two the major ingredient is shea butter now shea butter is is as I said endemic in Africa it's in the worst African belt and it's in the you know Ethiopian belt actually Kenya is a nice country to make this it's quite the conditions are quite nice the hair butter has the the shea butter as a major ingredient as I said and it's it has so many properties I just fell in love with the shea butter because of its properties it's this is for the microbial yeah the hair for the hair but the orange one yeah we've got antimicrobial properties we've got anti-inflammatory properties we've got the major one moisturizing moisturizer it's a moisturizer so when it comes to the hair butter once you've just washed with Sonura shampoo once you've done washing your hair and you just use the hair butter easily you know you just apply on the hair strands in that way it just locks the moisture and then you know the hair will become you know moisturized for an elongated time does it have to improve the texture yeah it improves the texture it softens the texture as I said it's there's an endless list of you know peer-reviewed journals talking about shea butter yeah it makes it softens it shines I also have ingredients inside the hair but that makes your hair you know grow improves on the scalp I have some mint oil in there in the product for the guys who have natural hair they will agree with me that it's quite expensive to maintain a natural hair so having something that is affordable and of good quality the way to go right that's the way to go check us through the body butter now the body butter is also majorly the shea butter it's actually around 80% I like comparing the body butter to a lotion for example now you see the lotion has in its place 80% water it evaporates quite easily but now with the shea butter has you know I'll save you the chemistry of the parmetic acid thank you very much yeah so it has those oils that will moisturize your skin for at least 24 hours yeah and it smells heavenly I wish you could just smell the hair rule to that or just confirm for my viewers and how it smells for the sequel sequel for the team yeah yeah it smells heavenly yeah it smells really nice all right so what a couple of financial lessons that you have learnt along this in I know it's not like a long time yeah since you started but a couple of financial lessons that you've learnt along the way okay I'm currently I'm I used to be poor at you know keeping track of the finances when it comes to this because it was actually a side hustle of sorts yeah um this year I made a resolution to you know just pick my receipts and have them you know put aside and I'll have to maybe look for a partner you know and it comes to the marketing and the finances because it's it's it's growing it's a growing company and I think I really need to do that does it even give you space to be able to create more and you know true yeah so that's I've been very poor when it comes to financing this but I'm sure I'll get there I was I for real I wasn't really sure this is going to be this big but you're still a student right I'm still a student yeah you're taking your master's yeah so are you looking forward to how you're going to now you know balance the business and also school okay um it's my resolution to have finances as well investors in the company I think there's going to there's going to be a little help when it comes to managing this as well as a project in I'm in my second year so it's just it's project work and it's similarly you know related to this and yeah I think when I get invested I'll have to a little stuff you know a small team that is going to help me when it comes to deliveries when it comes to you know even making I can just be there to just show them however to make the stuff so I think I'm going to have so much help this year because I'll have to balance it out true like the fact that you've actually recognized that you need help because most of the time we want to go all in yeah baby want to you know embrace it just very true because you know who has the vision right yeah so let's look at a couple of challenges that you're facing okay so I'll start first by you know the the whole trading you know I'm the certification and and it comes to trade licenses as a small business I think I'm speaking for the other guys that it's been quite tactic I trying to you know purchase these licenses and you know this there's just so much going into certification of legitimizing my my small business I think it'll be better if the government just simplified the whole process of you know making a product you know just to be you I have to be set for the product I can just put it in shelves in supermarkets I need those certifications so those certifications have been a little bit hectic to get but I'm working on that also when it comes to life I mean the the capital itself it's quite hard to get you know you during this time it's usually hard to just get cash to just do your research you know do your R&D when it comes to these products so I can say majorly those two are quite troubling when it comes to running a business of this kind but I can say that you've really done quite well considering the that you've been into them into the business and I like to look at what what does the vision look like like I don't want to give you a specific time frame okay okay so what give yourself a time frame okay then give us a vision okay where you want to see a scenario I'd say in two years in two years I'd like to articulate you know individual problems you know when it comes to say you know people have say just acne I can just work on that specifically that's what they do actually abroad they can have specific people specific types of you know issues and they can just handle it it could be a particular solving a particular problem it could be just as little as a thousand people power products but you know we just taking care of them yeah so I think that we haven't done that much in in Africa or Kenya and I think it's it's high time we you know we just make ourselves feel you know special in terms of articulating our own physical beauty I like that I like how you just bring it back home and just looking on different ways to solve problems that's how we actually start business by solving problem in the market so how can guys find you on social media so on Instagram I'll be at Sanura underscore beauty and on Facebook also it's a Facebook page at Sanura underscore beauty you can just go there they're testimonials there is there's nice photos and there's everything you want to know about the product everything is just highlighted and you just forgot about your merchandise just like that sorry yeah so I have Mr. J here I do hoodies I do t-shirts but mostly this has been the most selling merchandise that's the same symbol on there yeah that's the same symbol yeah that's the Mr. J that's my little guy there oh yeah so I do this at 2500 you can just you know highlight me main books my DM of the pages I get back to you okay thank you very much James Mambo for creating time to be with us I'm looking forward to have this conversation again in two years time okay yeah nice nice thank you much so guys that is James Mambo founder of Sanura beauty so make sure you stay tuned we have so much coming your way right here on why in the morning Tuesday entrepreneurship Tuesday at why 254 channel is you can find us across all our social media handles at Michelle Ashira so you can find me across all my social we'll be right back