The Sunday News
Stanford Chiwanga, Sunday News Reporter
A BULAWAYO chemicals and detergents manufacturing company, Tierra Chemicals, has announced that it is venturing into cosmetics production.
In an interview the CEO of Tierra Chemicals, Mr Edward Muchengeti said his company will make cosmetics that are largely a mixture of chemical compounds.
“I know about chemicals as I have a Degree in Applied Chemistry from the National University of Science and Technology so we saw it fit to pursue a cosmetics business. When I started this business I used to manufacture chloride of lime which is used to treat water and sewer disinfectants but we have ventured into detergents and now we want to do cosmetics.
“We have done our research and we found out that cosmetics are in demand in Zimbabwe. The country imports a lot of cosmetics every year and that contributes to the huge import bill that Zimbabwe intends to bring down through import substitution. If we make cosmetics and we are starting next year, we will capture the local market and in time we will venture into regional and international markets,” said Mr Muchengeti.
Mr Muchengeti said the cosmetics will be more affordable compared to imported products.
“Our operating costs will be very low considering that we have most of the machines already and they can be modified locally. We will also make use of locally available active ingredients in the formulations, this will mean it will not be expensive to manufacture the cosmetics. We are planning to develop uniquely shaped bottles for packaging to make our products more identifiable. We are very confident that the cosmetics will be a hit because the new products will ride on the success of our existing products, the detergents and chloride of lime.”
Its distribution partner, Merry Birds Investments, will spearhead the sales and marketing of the cosmetics. Mr Samuel Dube, the managing director of Merry Birds Investments, said his company, which used to distribute imported cosmetics throughout Zimbabwe, will be the official distributor of the cosmetics products.
“Merry Birds Investments used to distribute imported cosmetics to retail outlets throughout the country but now we need to sell Zimbabwean products. We have learnt a lot over the years and now we believe it is time we have our own cosmetics and we are happy that Tierra Chemicals has accepted the challenge.
“With Tierra Chemicals specialising in production and Merry Birds Investments in marketing, we are confident that we will bridge the cosmetics market which is currently dominated by foreign products. This is part of our long term strategy, to achieve countrywide circulation of forthcoming cosmetics products. In an emerging market like Zimbabwe, it means a lot to have the lipstick or perfume, even if you can’t afford the handbag or expensive suit,” said Mr Dube.
