Musician turned billionaire, Robyn Rihanna Fenty, popularly known as Rihana will launch her beauty skincare products in Kenya on May 27, 2022.
Her Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin cosmetics products are backed by French luxury goods group LVMH.
Besides Kenya, the billionaire will also launch similar products in other seven African countries including South Africa and Zimbabwe.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment!! @fentybeauty & @fentyskin are finally dropping in AFRICA!!! Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe…we comin at ya May 27th and that’s just the beginning!!!” Rihana announced on her Twitter page.
Rihanna, aged 34, is a Barbados-born, island country in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. She is Barbados’s first billionaire.
In 2019, Bloomberg Business Week shortlisted Rihanna among the top 50 global innovators.
This is an honorary list of fifty innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders who impact the global business landscape in measurable ways.
Rihanna’s beauty company is known for its broad range of 50 skin tones, including dark shades products, which were rare when it launched in 2017.
This made it a leader in inclusivity in the industry catapulting the singer into huge wealth.
She was featured on Forbes’ billionaire list on April 6, 2022, due to her wildly successful ventures into fashion and beauty, ranking her 1,729.
Her Ksh.197.3 billion net worth is owed to the success of her Fenty Beauty company, which she co-owns with French luxury retailer LVMH.
Rihanna’s strategic move to launch her products in Kenya could be informed by a small percentage the business has penetrated a population of 50 million people.
She brings stiff competition to Kenyan-owned products like Keyara, which is operated and managed by businesswoman Terryanne Chebet.
The market in Kenya is gradually expanding with an estimated value of Ksh.20 billion, according to L’Oreal East which owns the local brand Nice & Lovely.
Only 30 percent of the Kenyan population, according to L’Oreal East are using beauty products.
“The penetration of face care products and makeup in the Kenyan market is very low. Only 30 percent of Kenyans are using face care products, for instance. When you look good, this has a psychological effect on your mood. You feel good and more confident,” said L’Oreal East’s Managing Director Serge Sacre who spoke to Business Daily.
According to Datamonitor, the beauty and personal care market in Africa will grow by Ksh.144.9 billion between 2021 and 2025.
Global sales stood at Ksh.19.7 trillion in 2011 with the biggest gains being realised from skincare products which account for 27 to 31 percent of the global sales.
Others are hair care and fragrance.
