CONTACTS: +254 726879488 (Mobile)
+254770 455 116 (Office)
Flame Tree Group has been on an acquisition mood as it seeks to diversify its portfolio in the robust consumer good market.
Last week the Group signed a pact with Suzie Beauty, a cosmetic company, with the pact becoming the third acquisition for the brand in less than three years since it listed at the NSE’s GEMs segment.
The Group’s Founder and Chief executive Heril Bangera said during the signing ceremony that the pact with Suzie Beauty will give the the company a leg up in the niche cosmetics industry.
“In Kenya, the current cosmetic market trades about US $ 60 million expected to grow to US $ 73 Million by 2018, the bigger picture is in east Africa presently the market is 152 million us beyond East Africa to the sub-Saharan Africa we a value of 13.2 billion,
The company which started as a Plastic molder in 1989 has since diversified into color cosmetics, hair products and food; recently it has made a move to strengthen that position by acquiring a high end “Suziebeauty”, a leading color cosmetic brand in Kenya.
Suzie Wokabi the founder of Suzie beauty says that they have always been looking for opportunities to reach more people with their unique proposition on beauty as they oversee future expansion of the cosmetic company.
“Working with flame tree group we can broaden our reach and significantly grow our brand. We have managed to get the market share, we will run the brand as we did before, with the help of flame tree and implement plans we were not been able to fulfill and achieve,” she says
She will join Flame Tree Group as the Chief Creative Officer for the cosmetic segment.
“Suziebeauty has a reputable and loyal following that gives it an excellent potential for expansion, it will wonderfully complement our brand in the cosmetic industry, and we are looking forward to working with Suzziebeauty,” Bangera.
The acquisition Suziebeauty in particular is of more niche product which is marketed to the high end, it’s a product we can take across Africa, and it’s not just about the price but it I the value to the customer ” says Bangera.
The acquisition worth was however not revealed.
He says that flame tree Injection of capital since it was listed by Nairobi Stocks Exchange (NSE) in 2014, grew by 8 per cent he also pointed out that Suzziebeauty is a strong brand and shares similar values as flame tree.
“It’s a huge market to enter we were not in it before and as an entrepreneur I believe it’s the right step because it will help us to grow into a more solid company” he adds.
Acquisition
Since last year flame tree group was seen to be on an extreme buying spree as it acquired four cosmetic brands from Beauty plus Trading East Africa which includes Miss Africa, beauty plus hair brands, Monalisa skincare brand and black angel.
Apart from that also flame tree acquired Chirag Kenya, within the food sector, four food and snack brands including Nature’s Own brand (spices), Chigs (potato crisps), Honeycomb and Go-nuts, Suzziebeauty being the third company under its stable, can be seen as a product with a growing popularity among local cosmetics within the mass market.
“The motive behind these acquisitions by flame group is that we see it as a great opportunity that is set to fast track the market space, we are strengthening our strategy, flame tree is a well-established brand and we need to take it to the next level ” explains Bangera
In 2015 Flame Tree posted a net profit of Sh 81 million.