Azania launches on-line make-up shopping
color, privately-owned Azania has launched on-line shopping service
for its newly developed cosmetics line.
The company is aiming to tap into the growing market for ethnic cosmetics products by focusing sales with internet shopping. The move is similar to that made by cosmetics companies such as Jafra, who have recently ventured into on-line sales as a specific way of targeting Latinas.
Azania says that the launch of its on-line shopping site will be a two-pronged affair, with the current phase offering lipsticks, lip liners, eye shadows, eye liners foundation, powders and blushers.
The second phase will introduce a skin care range incorporating products that specifically cater to the needs of ethnic skin, giving consumers comprehensive choice of both skin care and cosmetics products.
The company says that it will be donating a portion of its profits to the Feed the Children Organization, in an effort to benefit children in Africa and other developing nations.
Tyrone McClain, SVP of Strategic Business Development at the company said, "Azania Cosmetics was created specifically with women of color in mind."
McClain said that although the range has been developed with women of African heritage in mind, it had also proved popular with a range of women who simply enjoyed the specific colors in the product line.
In May of this year, direct cosmetic seller Jafra launched a Spanish language version of its website specifically targeting women of Latin American origin. At the time the company pointed to the high rates of internet use amongst ethnic females in the US, with 65 per cent saying they regularly used it.
L'Oreal has proved to be a market innovator in the field of ethnic cosmetics, having opened a research facility in Chicago in 2003, following a multi-million dollar investment. The L'Oreal Institute for Ethnic Hair and Skin Research is the first of its kind to focus specifically on the ethnic market.
While much of the lab's efforts will centre on skin and hair care needs of people of African descent, research is set to expand to cover Asian, Hispanic and Caucasian consumers as the scope for the market grows.
