Eunice Nuekie Cofie

She was named by Forbes recently as one of the 20 Youngest Power Women In Africa 2012. And no wonder. Eunice Nuekie Cofie has a lot going on. She’s a cosmetic chemist, entrepreneur, innovator and scholar. Some have called Cofie, president and chief cosmetic chemist of Ethnic Dermatology Pharmaceutical Company, the modern-day Madame C.J. Walker because of her breakthroughs in the beauty industry. Her company specializes in research and development of dermatological products for ethnic men and women.

Cofie, who is a graduate of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) with a degree in chemistry/molecular biology, is of Ghanaian heritage. The former Miss Black Florida USA has spent her summers working in a village community in Ghana implementing the Save a Million Lives HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention Program.

There’s more. Cofie is also the president of Enspiring Concepts, LLC, a life-empowerment firm which seeks to inspire others to follow their destiny, and she is the founder and executive producer of Moving Closer to My Dreams: A Young Women’s Empowerment Conference, an annual event designed to empower young professional women.

We grabbed a few minutes with Cofie to ask her about her career, community efforts, and her upcoming skincare line.

Madame Noire: What prompted you to start the company?

Eunice Nuekie Cofie: Growing up, I was made to feel like I was not beautiful because of my dark skin color and tightly coiled hair. I remember crying endlessly as I was being called names like “black,” “African booty scratcher,” or “nappy head.”  The bullying did not just stop at words but it became physical. Girls would take turns pulling on my hair. The constant teasing and bullying damaged my self-esteem. My saving grace was my father’s encouragement for me to pursue an understanding of science. In the first grade, my father entered me into my first school science fair. I won first place in the school science fair. From that moment, I began to gain confidence in myself.

MN: There aren’t many women in science fields.

EC: Science had become my oasis and my strength. One day while in my organic chemistry lab class, my eyes were opened to the world of cosmetic science. My professor, who also owned his own cosmetic company, wanted my classmates and me to understand how to practically apply organic chemistry to our everyday lives. So he made a decision to have us create lotions and hair relaxers instead of conducting the regular lab experiments. It was during my research with him that I realized that the cosmetic industry lacked effective treatment products that took into account the unique structure and function of ethnic skin and hair. This was just the impetus that I needed to develop my company Nuekie, Inc. Nuekie means “first daughter in the family” and “hardworking one” in the Adangbe language.

MN: What kind of skincare products does your company create?

EC:  My company provides quality dermatological products for ethnic people [i.e. African/African-American, Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, Native American, Pacific Islander]. My mission through Nuekie is to help men and women of color discover they are perfect in beauty.

MN:  Where can people buy Nuekie products?

EC: We plan to launch the full-skin care line in March 2013. But since we have got a so much response about our company, we decided to release our first product, Moisture Therapy Crème. People can buy the crème at our online shop. Also, people can sign up at the website to learn more about the upcoming launch, skin care tips and other exciting news about Nuekie.

MN: How did you initially fund the company?

EC: My company is fully bootstrapped by myself. I used my savings, personal income, and credit to fund my company. I recently won the ACCESS Florida Business Plan Competition which helped my company further its efforts in pursuing its mission to help men and women of color discover they perfect in beauty.

One of my obstacles was the lack of funding. I had to realize that there may never be enough money for me to pursue my dream and that I have to start from somewhere. Once you get started then resources for you to accomplish your goals start to flow to you. The key thing is getting started!

by Caletha Crawford

How the fast growth of minority groups in the United States is coloring the future of the cosmetics industry.

Open a magazine or simply turn on the TV and the ads for cosmetics are unavoidable. That’s not anything new. Advertising has always been a war paint battleground. What has changed are the faces showcasing these products. Where these promotions used to be filled with Caucasians, today they’re just as likely to feature African-Americans, Hispanics or Asians. Though it’s unclear how much of this shift has to do with a changing standard of beauty in the U.S., one thing is apparent: the cosmetics industry has recognized women of color as a growth opportunity.

Though the slate of Black, Latino, Asian and Indian spokesmodels is long now—Rihanna for Cover Girl, Halle Berry for Revlon, Eva Longoria Parker and Aishwarya Rai for L’Oreal and Jessica White for Maybelline, to name a few—it’s important to note that the first African-American model wasn’t signed to a major brand until 1992 when Cover Girl tapped Lana Ogilvie. This means that all but the youngest of today’s adult women came of age without seeing themselves reflected in cosmetics ads or offerings.

Before these companies can capitalize on this market, many beauty brands will need to kiss and make up with communities that often felt marginalized by the industry. After all, as a recent study by market research firm Mintel revealed, black women don’t believe the majority of beauty advertisers are speaking to them. Further, only 35 percent of these women feel they are positively reflected in the media in general.

Strength In Numbers

While consumers might be hesitant to embrace this new inclusive normal, today women of color often take center stage in the marketing and R&D initiatives for many entrepreneurial brands as well as cosmetics conglomerates. According to Bob Wallner, national sales manager for Milani Cosmetics, this shift occurred for one very good reason. “As a result of the 2000 census, all of the major retailers selling cosmetics in this country focused on the browning of America,” he said. “All of them initiated a search for brands to answer that constituency—not just African-Americans but also Hispanics.”

And taking a look at the numbers, it’s easy to see what sparked merchants’ interest. According to the Census, both the African-American and Hispanic populations had a higher growth rate than the overall U.S. population from 1990 to 2000. While the U.S. expanded by 13 percent during that time, African-Americans grew by 15.6 percent to 34.7 million. And the number of Hispanics in this country jumped 61 percent to 35.2 million.

Taken as a whole, these statistics add up to big potential for brands that can address these demographics. While accurate numbers are difficult to come by for cosmetics specifically, market research publisher Packaged Facts has reported that ethnic haircare, makeup and skincare products combined constituted a $3 billion business in 2009.

Flori Roberts launched in 1966 as the first African-American cosmetics line to sell in department stores.

These numbers are sure to skyrocket as we move toward a point—some say as early as 2042—when minorities are the majority in this country.

“Times have changed dramatically and there are many more options available for women of color than in the past,” stated Sandra Hutson, brand director for Black Opal. “The industry is finally starting to recognize that women of color really do need products that are developed especially for their them.”

Whether they’re going about it with overt messaging and products like Cover Girls’ Queen Collection, which is fronted by Queen Latifah, or through broader marketing campaigns like that of L’Oreal USA’s HIP line, which simply offers colors with higher pigmentation which work better on darker skin, it is clear marketers are taking this consumer group into account when developing new products.

Blurring the Lines

Offering the right product is only part of the solution. How companies choose to reach out to these groups will be critical to their growth. As the 2000 Census also showcased by allowing respondents to identify themselves as more than one race, our society is a melting pot. In response, Don Montuori, publisher of Packaged Facts, said many beauty companies have already started to shy away from targeting any one group. “In 2010, there is a strong trend to position beauty products multi-culturally. That is, not only to the three principal minorities consisting of Hispanics, African-Americans, and Asians, but also to Arabs, Native Americans, South Asians, and others,” he said. “A strength of using the term ‘multicultural’ is that products carrying the label can be marketed to everybody, including Caucasians.”

Flori Roberts, which launched in 1966 as the first African-American cosmetics line to sell in department stores, has since become sensitive to marketing to a wider spectrum. “Our audience is broader in that we have moved over to other ethnicities,” said Sharon Boone, president of Flori Roberts’ parent company Color Me Beautiful. “Depending on their skin tone, Latinos and Indians still have to look to brands like us to find shades that are a perfect match. Once you start going yellow, golden or olive [mainstream] brands still have a bit of old school thought mixed in when it comes to addressing skin color.”