Over the past few years, a small but promising league of women-led natural brands of all sizes have burst onto the beauty scene, Jula Cosmetics founded in July 2019 by Mariam Jobe has been one of the promising ones, the name Jula came from a nickname her namesake went by JULA meaning merchant.
Mariam a current student of the university of The Gambia makes all her products herself, she says “I’m a chemistry major at uni and I want to put my education to use by producing mineral cosmetics to lessen the rate of cosmetic imports in The Gambia while making gambian cosmetic users feel good that they’re using Gambian made quality cosmetics.”
We help people look their best and give them confidence. I can’t even count how often people have thanked me for just doing my job, and that I didn’t just sell them makeup, skincare products, or hair care products. I helped them achieve the vision that they have of themselves at their best. The cosmetics industry is extremely competitive, so you ensure that you get it right from the start. There are various sub-sectors to choose from, but one thing is certain, there is always a demand for cosmetics. Whether you choose to operate a beauty company, or you want to launch your cosmetics line, or you only want to stick to the retail aspect, there are always new products to make.
Starting up wasn’t easy getting the right publicity was also very difficult, there wasn’t anyone to talk to for advice and the cost of products to begin work were really expensive but a year later Jula is shipping cosmetics to buyers around the world and selling in a shop here. It’s exciting to see young beauty entrepreneurs taking the leap into the sector by empowering themselves to become formulators. “We’re looking to fill holes in the product offering,” the founder explained. “We want something that feels very special, often you feel a connection with something that really has to do with a product and its presentation, that’s a gut thing. We want products that are authentic and have heart.”
Mariam joined sellox late 2020, and within the first couple of weeks had received constant orders from local and international buyers, Jula Cosmetics went on to be the best-selling shop for November on the site, the first seller to achieve that during the first month. Currently, her products are available on her shop sellox store JULA Cosmetics
Her dream is to make Jula Cosmetics the ultimate Gambian beauty brand and export to other African countries, she is currently working on introducing new products in early 2021.
Follow JULA Cosmetics on instagram @julacosmetics
