A Growing Trend

Africa’s multi-billion dollar hair care industry is seeing more indigenous brands and consumers rooting for the natural look. Also in existence – a ‘hair mafia’.

- Ancillar Mangena

$5.6 BILLION. THAT’S HOW MUCH the Middle East and African hair care market is worth, according to Euro-monitor International, a global market intelligence publisher. Rubab Bangash-Shaikh Abdoolla, a hair industry research analyst at Euromonitor International, says hair is the new boom in town. She says between 2016 and 2017, there was a 9% growth in the sub-Saharan Africa hair industry with some countries experiencing double-digit growth.

“For example, Ethiopia saw 40% growth and Ghana 20%…What we need to be careful about when talking about countries experiencing double-digit growth though is that very often they are growing from a low base…sometimes it is because of urbanization, an increase in disposable income and economic growth,” she tells FORBES WOMAN AFRICA. The industry has been growing quickly for close to a decade. According to a Euromonitor report, in South Africa, hair care was one of the fastest-growing categories between 2010 and 2015 with sales climbing 38%. Ethnic hair care products are seeing the biggest growth.

“Demand for Caucasian hair care was slow-moving in 2017 due to a lack of innovative products and new product launches. However, sales were more dynamic for ethnic-related products,” says Euromonitor in another report.

Key players in the industry are already changing their strategies to meet new demand from black consumers.

For example, in 2016, the L’Oréal Group launched a Research & Innovation Centre in South Africa to study African hair and expectations of sub-Saharan consumers.