Skincare entrepreneur urges support for Black Pound Day

AN ENTREPRENEUR who started her company after struggling to find a remedy for her newborn baby’s eczema is urging people to get behind today’s Black Pound Day.

British-Nigerian pharmacist Shalom Lloyd founded Naturally Tribal Skincare after creating a homemade remedy to alleviate her son’s severe eczema.

Launched in 2016, the company now has customers in Europe, the US and Africa.

Boost

But Llyod says the support she got during the inaugural Black Pound Day in June provided a huge boost to her business and she wants the community to get behind other black owned businesses.

She told The Voice: “During the last Black Pound Day via our website we took nearly 20% of our month’s sales in that one day. I hope events like Black Pound Day give black-owned businesses the visibility they deserve.”

GLOBAL SUCCESS: Some of the products from the Naturally Tribal Skincare range

Naturally Tribal Skincare has developed into a global premium skincare business since its launch four years ago.

The primary ingredient, shea butter is ethically sourced from the Essan Kingdom in Nigeria, where the company has a factory, and provides jobs and childcare for local women.

Outside of the UK, Europe and the US are key regions for the business and last year the Department of International Trade (DIT) supported its Nigerian launch at the British High commission in Lagos.

Along with launching its Nigeran e-commerce website last week, the company plans to sell in up to 10 stores and generate over £100,000 in revenue this year in Nigeria. DIT is now supporting further expansion across the continent into Kenya and Ghana.

Lloyd said: “After going through four cycles of IVF and giving birth to twins at 40, I was so desperate to find a natural remedy for my son’s eczema, which made his skin bleed. With no natural effective remedies available, I created one myself.

“I never intended to start a skincare business, but I am extremely proud that people of all ethnicities love our products which infuse my British and Nigerian heritage.”

E-commerce

She continued: “During lockdown we realised how vital e-commerce is for us and our international trade adviser at the Department for International Trade has been invaluable in helping us enter key markets.”

PROUD: Lloyd says her products blend her British and Nigerian heritage

A Voice analysis of figures from the Federation of Small Businesses suggests that African Caribbean businesses contribute £4 bn to the UK’s Gross Value Added.

Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) for Africa Emma Wade-Smith OBE said: “Naturally Tribal Skincare’s success is a fabulous example of the positive power of cultural heritage and the ability of the UK’s diversity to inspire entrepreneurs to export.

“DIT’s support for Naturally Tribal Skincare, in the UK and Africa, demonstrates how the partnership between government and business can help UK companies of all sizes to identify new export markets and draw on DIT’s in-country expertise to expand their businesses.

Wade-Smith added: “Such activity has never been more important as our economies recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. It is great to see recognition for the leadership that Black and Black-British businesses are showing in driving enterprise and exports.”