PATTING THE FRO’ WITH FRO’NIQUES
StartUpMag BW had a chart with the amazing ladies behind the brand Fro’Niques a locally made hair product based business.
Q: Please give us a background of yourself; a little bit on your upbringing as well as your academic background
A: Fro’Niques was founded by two sisters, Boitumelo Simon and Kefilwe Matake. Boitumelo holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Media Studies majoring in Public Relations and Kefilwe holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology both from the University of Botswana. We were born in Tutume a small village in the northern part of Botswana. From a very young age we’ve always had something in common the love for natural hair Africanism and beauty. We both kept and natured natural hair and throughout our natural hair journey it was always a challenge to find organic hair care products, most of the products were synthetic based ones containing chemicals (paraben, sulphate, silicone) that are not good for the hair. That’s when we decided to turn our passion into business by producing handmade hair care products made from organic and plant-based ingredients. As a way of filling the gap in the markets and as a way of bringing a solution to those who faced the same hair challenges like us.
Q: Growing a hairline product is a big challenge, how many people are involved in the manufacturing of your product?
A: It is one of the most challenging things we’ve done in our lives. Formulating is not all about mixing and packaging as some people think. It requires extensive research, understanding of ingredients and their purpose as well as their side effects because we are dealing with people’s hair, sleepless nights of formulating and packaging. That is why we found it fit to equip ourselves with information on how to formulate and the best ingredients to use. We enrolled in several Formulation master classes. It is only the two of us who are involved in the formulation and packaging of our products, Boitumelo gets to apply her skills in the marketing and branding of the company. Our aim is to involve a number of people as time goes on as way of creating employment and expanding production
Q: What are the challenges you have faced when starting this business?
A: We have encountered a number of challenges when starting Fro’Niques and one the biggest challenges is financial constraint. Cosmetic company like any other company needs funding in order to start and to operate. We are self-funded and till date. We had to contribute every month to buy machinery, ingredients, and packaging containers and also invested more in advertising and research because we believe that if you are passionate about something you will go for it no matter what. The other challenge we faced was sourcing of ingredients, it was a challenge to find ingredients here in Botswana. Most of them are in South Africa buying them and importing them here was expensive. Covid 19 was also one of our challenges as a company, it made it difficult to source ingredients, made it difficult so sell and meet our clients due to lock downs. People not believing in our capabilities was a challenge. People chose foreign goods over local ones, so we had to work extra hard to persuade and convince people that we are good at what we do.
Q: When did you venture in this path of production and what moved you to start your own hairline products brand?
A: We come from a family of small business owners. Our parents used to sell on the streets in order to raise us and pay for our school fees. That lifestyle taught us to be street smart. Through our parents we learnt how to create using our hands, how to deal with clients, learn negotiation skills, and I think those are the basics of being an entrepreneur. Fro’Niques was started in 2019 and officially registered in 2020. Difficulty in finding the right hair care products in the market moved us to start our own hairline products.
Q: What is it that is different about your products from the already existing ones?
A: Fro’Niques specializes in formulating homemade natural hair products using organic and plant-based ingredients. At Fro’Niques we do not just formulate and sell, we educate and empower people on the importance of taking care of their natural hair. We offer all-in-house natural hair care services from products, to styling and treating the hair, that’s what makes us different.
Q: Where and how are they manufactured?
A: Like we mentioned above, our products are handmade. Our products are made of carefully selected organic and plant-based ingredients that have countless benefits for the hair, and they are baby friendly. We are currently operating from home and looking to find an operational space to expand our production. Our products include Fro’Niques Hair butter, Curling Custard, Leave-in Conditioner, Hair Growth Oil and Shampoo bars which are manufactured using a formulation of different natural butters and oils.
Q: What are some of the areas of growth or opportunity in this field that you have made your key priority?
A: We have realized that the beauty industry keeps on evolving and changing as people face different hair challenges each day, as a company we have made it a priority to keep pace with the trends and keep up to date with market demands and opportunities for growth. As are company we have also made it a priority that we are always ahead of our competitors.
Q: Where can your products be found?
A: We sell our products online through our website: www.froniques.com, social media handles, Facebook: Fro’Niques, Instagram: Froniques or call: 77497209
Q: Any advice you would like to give to a young entrepreneur who wants to start what you started?
A: Entrepreneurship is not an easy journey, go for your dreams no matter the challenges.
Q: Apart from mixing chemicals into creating your product, what are your hobbies and likes?
A: Apart from running Fro’Niques, Kefilwe does modeling part time and Boitumelo is into photography, makeup and fashion.
