LIONESS WEEKENDER COVER STORY
Uncover Skincare, an African wellness brand developing skincare products that are specifically approved and tested by melanated women.
Sneha Mehta and Jade Oyateru are the co-founders of Uncover Skincare, an African wellness brand developing skincare products that are specifically approved and tested by melanated women. Jade, born and raised in Nigeria, brings 15 years of work experience across FMCG (Unilever & Nestle) and e-commerce/fem-tech (Jumia, Kasha). She has vast experience in building consumer brands on the African continent and has led marketing at some of Africa’s leading e-commerce businesses. Sneha has over a decade of experience in finance and consulting having worked at McKinsey, Helios, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Grassroots Business Fund, and The World Bank. She has worked across 10 African markets scaling businesses and brings strategic, financial, and operational expertise.
LoA spoke with Sneha Mehta and Jade Oyateru about their own personal entrepreneurial journeys, their passion for skincare, and empowering women with knowledge to address their skincare challenges.
What does your company do?
We are a women's wellness brand that is on a mission to make melanated skin and stories a priority and not an afterthought. We are doing that by providing women fundamentally two things. The first is products, and we've started with skincare where we are developing skincare products that are specifically approved and tested by melanated women, formulated by women of color formula scientists. And an answer to the specific needs of women in Africa. We're leveraging Korean beauty technology to create these products along with our in-house formula scientists as I've said. We've started selling these products both online and offline in Kenya and Nigeria.
The second thing we do is provide women with knowledge. And the reason we do that is because when we started our company, we realized that products are part of the problem. But the second part of the problem is women don't actually know how to use skincare, what to use for their skin problems, and how to healthily address their key concerns.
We use technology to address this knowledge gap. We've built a tech platform that has a skin quiz, teleconsultations, WhatsApp commerce, all inbuilt, as well as leverage a very heavy content strategy that creates educational content that is fun and relatable on our social media and email platforms.
What inspired you to start your company?
I've had 10 years of experience in finance consulting and private equity prior to joining Uncover or founding Uncover rather. And as I was in this career, working up the ladder in finance, I realized two things. One is I didn't want to become a partner at one of these firms. And the second is I really wanted to do something where I could have greater impact. I wanted to put my money where my mouth is. I didn't want to consult or invest. I wanted to be the business. And so I decided to pursue the path of entrepreneurship. I joined a global incubator program called Antler. And that's where the idea for Uncover was born. But what I realized is that beyond my business strategy finance mind that I wanted to start a business and saw opportunities and gaps and problems on the continent, skincare is a deeply personal matter for me.
I've always had problem skin. I've always had troubled skin. And when I heard the idea of providing targeted solutions that have been tested and approved by melanated women like me or like my co-founder Jade, whatever shade you are, as well as providing knowledge, I got really excited because of my personal skincare journey where I not only had acne, but I was also burnt by a dermatologist and lived with a face burn my whole life.
So I think those are the two factors. The last thing is just that having never had what is traditionally called perfect skin or glass skin, I love the idea that skincare is a journey and that we are all just uncovering who we really are, our authentic selves. And so the broader values and brand values around Uncover excite me and inspire me as well.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
Firstly, when I talk about our product as our skincare product and the actual product, the first is it's tested and approved by melanated women. We are making products for melanated women, we're making Africa a priority and not an afterthought. This is not a brand that has created products in France or in Europe or in the US that is just dumping in Africa. We are actually creating for women here.
Secondly, both of our formula scientists have a decade of experience in each and they are both women of color themselves. So we are leveraging experts who understand the unique problems of melanated skin.
Thirdly, we're using the world's best technology, which is K-Beauty, to manufacture the products. So it's a global innovation for local needs. The products are extremely high quality and have very, very strong testimonials. We have high retention rates and repeat customer rates. The second reason why, beyond the product development process, is that we have infused all our products with African botanicals. We're really excited to use the global best ingredients like vitamin C or salicylic acid, but then infuse them with ingredients like baobab, rooibos, aloe vera, all sourced on the continent and harnessing the power of these botanicals in Africa.
Fourthly, it’s the brand Uncover. Whenever you pick up an Uncover product, you're picking up Pan-African unity, you're picking up prioritization of melanated skin and the philosophy that, you know, we're all here to uncover our authentic selves over our perfect skin.
Tell us a little about your team:
We are now a team of 30 spread across Kenya, Nigeria, and Korea. The team has grown, it's doubled in size over the last year, and like I said, we're currently operational in Kenya and Nigeria. We sell our products through distributors in Uganda and Ghana as well. I would say if I could describe our team, we are self-driven and motivated. We're passionate and customer-obsessed. We're lifelong learners. And we really own it. We have this ownership mindset. And so everybody within the company is passionate about Uncover's mission. We're building an extremely collaborative culture that looks at a person as their whole self, not just their working self. And we're very excited to embody the values of self-care that we push to our customers within the company as well.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
What is interesting is both Jade and I come from entrepreneurial backgrounds. Jade is my co-founder and Uncover COO, and I'm co-founder and CEO. Both our parents are entrepreneurs and it’s quite interesting to see us become entrepreneurs now, but our actual backgrounds for both of us are non-entrepreneurial. I’ve mentioned that I come from a finance and consulting background, I’ve worked at Merlyn Hinch, Helios, McKenzie, and World Bank, whereas Jade has a career in FCMG where she has worked at Unilever and Nestle for nearly a decade building global and local brands. I think what is exciting is that we have two very complimentary and unique backgrounds that have come together, and that partnership has helped fuel Uncover’s progress.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
To Uncover to the world!
Our mission is to become a household, Pan-African name. But also realizing that our mission is to make melanated skin and stories a priority and not an afterthought. We don’t have boundaries; women of color live all over the world and we started seeing this when they started reaching out to us asking us for our products and following us on our social media channels. We have ambitions to build a community of over a million women in 3 to 5 years, we are at 200,000 today. When we talk about community these are women who believe in our values where you are real and worthy of being seen, we are all uncovering who we really are and driving that community forward.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
I always talk about it like a full-body experience. Your highs are high, and your lows are low. It is like having a child, I think it is like parenting where there is so much satisfaction and gratification in putting in the hard work and feeling your impact on our team, on customers, on the community, and on products. We realize we truly have an impact on shaping this company. We can form what is our company culture, what is our tradition. What should the next product be? My satisfaction comes from the impact and the second biggest satisfaction as an entrepreneur is learning. I learn every day. Our company culture is lifelong learning, I do love to learn.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Dream big! Women often limit themselves in terms of thinking how far they can go, or how big they can get. I did too, to be honest. I think we need to be brave and bold to dream big. Second, create a network of other women founders around you and make sure that you are asking for help, support, and mentorship when you need it. It has been a big part of my journey in terms of my business and mental health. Make sure you are getting the right support.
Find out more:
Email: talkto@uncovereskincare.co
Website: https://uncoverskincare.com/ke/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncoverskincareco
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncoverskincareco
