Further exacerbated by the wave of the Black Lives Matter protests globally, businesses and brands are beginning to take the issue of diversity and inclusivity more seriously. In September, after the admission by Anna Wintour that Vogue has not elevated Black creatives enough in its business, Chioma Nnadi, a London native of Nigerian and Swiss-German descent, was named the editor for vogue.com. At the Milan Fashion Week, Italian designers of African descent were given a platform to showcase their work. Now, Neiman Marcus has announced that it will be adding to its beauty collection catering to women of colour an African-owned skincare brand, Yangu Beauty.
Zimbabwean entrepreneur Sipho Gumbo is the founder of Yangu Beauty – a Bantu/Swahili word which translates to ‘my beauty’ – and creates her products based on traditional Bantu beauty herbs and recipes handed to her by her grandmother. Her award-winning products all include plant-based ingredients that cater to women of colour while implementing sustainable business practices.
Scientifically, the difficulties for women of colour come down to hyperpigmentation as a result of excess melanin, sensitivity of the skin due to larger pore size, and scar tissue that develops as acne heals. Yangu Beauty offers gentle solutions to all three.
Gumbo hopes that the new partnership with Neiman Marcus will help expose her brand to new consumers looking for high-quality products that cater to their skin. “Our brand partnership with Neiman Marcus is a validation of our quality, luxurious products that can compete head-to-head with some of the most renowned brands on the market,” Gumbo stated in a press statement.
“To be added on the Neiman Marcus list is a great achievement that we are most certainly proud of. This means a lot especially for women of colour to now have a complete product line of high quality — created especially for them and available in this luxury space for their shopping convenience. We are just so excited and ask that everyone supports us to stay at Neiman Marcus for the foreseeable future.”
Source: Black Enterprise
