Startup Story
For decades, women across the African continent have known how good shea butter is for the skin. Now, Ruth Wewura Guribie, the founder of Sava Shea Company Limited in Ghana, is creating a natural skincare brand that celebrates this much-loved local ingredient.
LoA chatted to founder Ruth Wewura Guribie to find out more.
What does your company do?
Sava Shea Company Ltd is a female-owned cosmetics company established in 2015 in Ghana to solve the growing need for natural skincare products by manufacturing and distributing high quality skincare products. Our products are made from premium quality unrefined shea butter handcrafted by rural women in the Northern parts of Ghana and infused with oils and other natural ingredients that are purchased locally. Our products are simple, natural, and portray to the world what Ghana has to offer in skin care. Our products include Body Creams/Butters, African Black Soap Shower Gel, Lip balm, Hair/Beard growth Oil and unrefined shea butter.
“Sava Shea is differentiated from other brands on the basis that we focus on manufacturing products that are safe for all skin types and ages, effective and free of chemicals.”
What inspired you to start your company?
I was motivated to start Save Shea when I discovered that most of the skincare products I used were full of synthetic chemicals; some of which were not even listed in the ingredients. My skin was being soaked in a cocktail of chemicals everyday with unknown long-term effects. So I decided to start listening to my body and stopped using these products. I began experimenting in the kitchen making products using only natural oils and butters that I knew were safe and could be sourced sustainably.
Quite simply, if a product is made using organic ingredients, you are guaranteed that it has the environment and sustainable practice at heart. So, I felt producing organic skincare products would be my way of helping the process of slowing down the ever increasing speed at which our world is degrading. I never wanted to be just another company making natural products. I wanted to make sure my customers were enjoying best quality products for the most reasonable price I could sell them at.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
Sava Shea is differentiated from other brands on the basis that we focus on manufacturing products that are safe for all skin types and ages, effective and free of chemicals. Our products offer peace of mind and give customers freedom to enjoy the luxuries of quality skincare worry-free. We fully disclose the ingredients in our products and ensure that only high-quality natural ingredients are sourced locally. We also educate our consumers by providing materials to inform them of the harmful ingredients in mainstream cosmetics and ensure good branding and packaging methods.
“Our products are made from premium quality unrefined shea butter handcrafted by rural women in the Northern parts of Ghana and infused with oils and other natural ingredients that are purchased locally.”
Tell us a little about your team
Sava Shea believes that when women engage in economic endeavours, the overall well-being of communities improve. This is why we have created income generating activities for many in the production, marketing, sales and raw material sourcing sectors and currently have 3 permanent workers, 15 regional sales agents and 1,000s of end users.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
Having worked as a business development manager for an energy services company, I received an awakening at some point in my career. I knew that I needed to start my own business where I would be employing all my knowledge, skills, and experience but on my own terms and building something of which I could truly be proud.
If anyone asked me as a child if I would ever become an entrepreneur, I would honestly look back into my childhood and say yes. I was a very resourceful child. I loaned my siblings money given to me for school to be repaid with 100% interest. I bought candies and stationery and sold them to my family members with a 100% mark up. I always knew how to make money and, more importantly, how to grow it.
Of course, I started this business with the goal of financial success. However, this company is so much more. Save Shea represents me. It is a manifestation of my passion, dedication, skills, and talents. It’s been 5 years since I started this journey, and like any other start up founder, I have had my shares of highs and lows. I certainly had some interesting learnings along the way, which has helped me become a better person and an entrepreneur. I have learned that I am not capable of doing everything nor knowing everything, so I had to learn to get the right people on my team, ask for help, and say no to things I was incapable of delivering. I knew the journey was going to be both exciting and painful, but just as my mother had always taught me growing up, this was MY journey and both my successes and failures are direct results of ME and by ME! I am ready to walk it through and make it work despite the odds.
“Sava Shea believes that when women engage in economic endeavours, the overall well-being of communities improve.”
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
To become a leader in the global cosmetics industry by using best systems of manufacturing, packaging, quality control and logistics to provide our customers with the finest Shea based skin products.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
The ability to own and create something that is truly my vision and to use that to improve the quality of life of those around me gives me the most satisfaction as an entrepreneur.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
You will have many reasons to quit at some point, but don’t. Be passionate about what you do and communicate it in the way that feels most inspired, natural and unique to you
Contact or follow Sava Shea Company Ltd
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | EMAIL savasheabutter@gmail.com
Why LoA loves it….
Ruth Wewura Guribie is an entrepreneur who understands and harnesses the power of business to create economic opportunity for her community and country. She is part of a movement to extend the value chain of local commodities such as shea butter and turn them into world class products and brands. Her unique differentiator is that she is creating a range of products that are kind to skin and the environment, taking a natural approach to beauty. Her growing business is testament to the market appreciating that approach and, of course, the quality of her products. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo of Lionesses of Africa