From left to proper: Sanya Anderson, Sherona Anderson (entrance), Sherika Anderson (co-owner of RaggaNats), Jimmoy Anderson and Abigail DuQuesnay are having a superb time on this life-style photograph exhibiting totally different individuals who makes use of RaggaNats merchandise.
RaggaNats, a haircare firm working from Portmore in St Catherine, is owned and operated by Wilma Cuff, a cosmetologist, and Sherika Anderson, a civil engineer turned haircare product researcher and formulator. They are mom and daughter.
Their natural hair and beard care solution-based merchandise carry the tagline ‘Strengthen from the roots’.
Started in August 2020, the corporate is now two years previous. The hair care service is the realisation of a dream of the mom and daughter duo. Cuff says that she grew up in rural Jamaica, the place she took a liking to styling hair and witnessed her personal mom making Jamaican black castor oil for her hair, her siblings’, and different group members’.
Cuff turned licensed in hair care and cosmetology, main her to start out providing this service. However, over time, she found many issues with utilizing store-bought merchandise and began making her personal hair remedies, utilizing Jamaican herbs for the totally different hair points current in her purchasers’ hair.
Sherika Anderson, Wilma’s daughter, though a civil engineer by occupation, was at all times fascinated by the science behind product formulations and began extra analysis, trying into the chemistry of the formulations.
In 2015 Anderson additionally began experiencing breakage and shedding together with her personal hair, and regardless that she tried many various merchandise available in the market, she realised that the outcomes have been short-term and led to different hair points.
“I began researching and found the historical past of herbs utilized in hair care by Maroons in Jamaica, the ladies in India, Chad, and Ghana,” Anderson remembers.
She started experimenting and testing totally different product formulations utilizing natural formulae. The consequence was “an intensive discount in hair shedding and breakage”, and her hair grew previous the usual shoulder-length.
In 2020 the mom and daughter mixed Wilma Cuff’s data of hair and making Jamaican black castor oil and Sherika Anderson’s pure Ayurvedic and African formulations to create RaggaNats.
They have since produced hair serums, butters, conditioners, and tea rinses. The merchandise have been examined on their hair and on that of their members of the family.
Wilma Cuff informed the Jamaica Observer, “We have been astonished by the effectiveness of the merchandise, which noticed broken hair repaired, curls revitalised, scalp points healed, and visual size retention.” With pleasure and enthusiasm the duo determined to share the merchandise with the world.
The enterprise presently doesn’t make use of anybody aside from the mom and daughter The operation of the enterprise is carried out by Cuff and Anderson, together with the help supplied by Cuff’s different kids.
Operating from their house in St Catherine, RaggaNats formulates and produces hair and beard care merchandise that concentrate on “strengthening the hair from the roots”.
Some of those merchandise embody deep conditioners, leave-in conditioners, hair masks, Jamaican black castor oil, hair serums, beard oils, hair fertilisers, and beard balms. More particulars about merchandise will be discovered on www.ragganats.com. Sales and advertising and marketing are executed on-line.
Anderson informed Sunday Finance, “ Unlike different hair care product producers, we concentrate on utilizing particular uncooked supplies from Jamaica, India, and Africa — an untapped and underdeveloped space within the trade, merging science and our ancestral hair secrets and techniques to create solution-based merchandise.
“With the usage of pimento, Jamaican black castor oil, henna, fenugreek, and chebe, all from totally different hair cultures in Jamaica, India, and Africa, RaggaNats actually epitomises the Jamaican motto, “Out of many, one folks”.
She provides, “We are distinctive in the best way we go about making our merchandise, with us getting all the pieces that’s doable from the pure herbs themselves. And not solely that, we preserve the event course of as near that of how we have been taught in order that we don’t lose the essence and make-up of the oil that individuals are used to and affiliate Jamaican black castor oil with.”
Demand for oils, Amazon gross sales
Products in most demand are the oils and deep conditioner. Slap Weh Ayurvfrican Hair Serum accounted for 24 per cent of gross sales in 2021.
“This oil has a mixture of over 25 herbs and oils that helps to make the hair thicker, promotes hair progress, and treats hair points reminiscent of alopecia and skinny edges.
“These are points which might be prevalent amongst primarily females in Jamaica, and for this purpose, together with the truth that the product works, has been the primary the explanation why this has been one in all our best-selling merchandise,” Anderson revealed.
Jamaican black castor oil accounted for 20 per cent of gross sales in 2021. Anderson states, “This is a widely known product that’s related to Jamaica. Given the top quality of our JBCO [Jamaican black castor oil], it has develop into one in all our best-selling merchandise, to the purpose that it has now develop into our first product that we promote on Amazon.”
Recently RaggaNats rebranded its hair teas as hydrating mists. This change has seen a better demand for the product, with it climbing to the highest as one of the vital sought-after merchandise.
Hair teas or hydrating mists will be sprayed on the hair and scalp to assist soothe itchiness, irritation, and on the identical time assist to maintain the hair hydrated and supply vitamins that make the hair stronger (cut back breakage) and promote progress.
RaggaNats makes use of a mixture of rosemary, espresso, fenugreek, henna, and clove to make the hydrating product which can be utilized at any time throughout the day.
Market segmentation
RaggaNats has chosen to focus on three areas of the market: environmentally conscious younger females who care about their hair and need to obtain wholesome hair; moms and different busy females who don’t actually have the time to take detailed care of their hair, however nonetheless need to have wholesome hair; and males who’re into beard and hair rising and grooming.
Anderson shared, “We have merchandise for all hair sorts and for individuals in several phases of their hair journey.”
Targeting is analogous for Jamaica and Amazon gross sales, which is getting used to service clientele internationally. The majority of gross sales are from the corporate’s on-line platform and native referrals.
Challenges skilled within the two years of operation embody sourcing of uncooked supplies and containers/packaging domestically; sourcing gear that can be utilized to extend manufacturing price; and getting merchandise into shops.
Anderson informed Sunday Finance, “The Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) has been a large assist in serving to me take my enterprise from the thought section to the place it’s now.” The mom and daughter haven’t been capable of get their merchandise in shops as but however are working in direction of clearing that hurdle within the close to future.
Anderson states, “RaggaNats wants to develop and to garner a bigger proportion of the hair market, each domestically and internationally. We need to do that by first getting our merchandise in store in order that we are able to have our merchandise on the cabinets so that folks can stroll in and buy our merchandise with ease.
“Along with this, we need to have better gross sales on the totally different e-commerce platforms. We should work on enhancing our advertising and marketing in order that we are able to generate extra gross sales through our on-line store and on on-line platforms, reminiscent of Amazon.”
To buttress advertising and marketing efforts, the mom and daughter are hoping to get funding help from the Development Bank of Jamaica, via the mediation of the Jamaica Business Development Corporation.
Romaine Nugent utilizing the Pimento Beard Oil to groom his beard..
Products by RaggaNats, the haircare firm from St Catherine.
Wilma Cuff (co-owner of RaggaNats) places on her security gear earlier than she begins making some RaggaNats merchandise..
Sherika Anderson with the Ayurvfrican Hair Serum that she makes use of to develop her edges in addition to on her scalp whereas her hair is in locs..
Sanya Anderson exhibiting the complete voluminous physique of hair that she has achieved from utilizing the RaggaNats merchandise on the desk in entrance of her..
https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/enterprise/ragganats-wants-store-exposure-for-new-haircare-lines/
