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By Seth Emmanuel
A Nairobi-based skin dermatologist Dr. Pranav Pancholi is eyeing Kenya’s lucrative beauty and cosmetics industry with a new revolutionary medical machine, already taking the market by storm.
Dr. Pancholi, a renowned business owner in an interview recently said he was keen to tap into the existing gaps in the beauty and personal care industry that is estimated to have grown by 400 percent from Sh26 billion in 2014 to over Sh 100 billion in 2018. That figure is believed to have more than tripled today.
Through the acquisition of his Sh25 Million EMSCULPT machine—the first and only non-invasive body shaping procedure to address both muscle and fat, Dr Pancholi believes that the body-contouring device – a fast in Kenya and in Africa — will be a game changer in the aesthetics industry.
“Emsculpt machine is going to revolutionize the industry, no doubt. The idea is to fill the gap in the industry while at the same time meeting the growing demand,” said Pancholi in an exclusive interview with the Financial Fortune media.
Adding that, “It is a unique product that promises maximum returns without any known side effects and it is certified with global medical bodies and the treatment continues to gain recognition by patients themselves.”
Beauty and cosmetics industry has progressively changed Kenya’s status as a new hub of investment with venture capitalists quietly establishing world class innovative lines of business to cash in on opportunities in the fast growing sector.
This is being attributed to the economic restructuring and regional integration which has, in turn, created a rising middle class that craves for new beauty and personal care products as well as procedures.
The machine was declared one of the “Most Worth It” procedures of 2019 by RealSelf, a leading online resource to learn about cosmetic treatments and connect consumers with medical aesthetic doctors.
The RealSelf “Most worth It” procedures are determined by patients “Worth it” ratings–a proprietary consumer satisfaction score based on their first hand reviews after a treatment, and rate them as “Worth It” or “Not Worth It.” EMSCULPT received a “Worth It” rating of 92 per cent in the latest ranking, which was based on a cumulative “Worth It” rating over a period of 12 months.
Emsculpt is a treatment approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or USFDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, an equivalent of Kenya’s Pharmacies and Poisons Board.
The ministries of Health and Agriculture are in the process of creating the Kenya Food and Drug Authority which will replace Pharmacies and Poisons Board.
This machine works to tone and strengthen the abdominal muscles, as well as tone and lift the buttocks.
It works by applying high-intensity focused electromagnetic energy to trigger supramaximal contractions, which cannot be achieved in voluntary muscle movement.
Dr Pancholi further says that to achieve maximum results, a patient needs to undertake four sessions with one session costing about Sh50, 000 for such procedures.
Equally the price varies depending on what doctor a patient chooses to see and which area of the body they are working on, but each session can cost between $750 and $1,000 in Europe. Since the usual program is four treatments total over a two week span, one can expect the total cost to be between $3,000 and $4,000 in such markets.
“This machine induces approximately 20,000 supramaximal muscle contractions per 30 minute session and is the only technology that destroys fat while simultaneously building muscle. The treatment is ideal for all age groups of patients who live a healthy and active lifestyle but looking to strengthen and define hard to target areas including the abdominals and buttocks,” says Pancholi who runs Avane Dermatology Clinic in Nairobi’s Yaya Centre.
The machine is also expected to give fitness outlets like gyms a run for their money, the high-associated cost notwithstanding, according to Dr. Pancholi who however, believes partnerships with such outlets will go a long way if the rare machine, popular among celebrities like Kim Kardashian, is to meet its intended purpose
Improvement and change in the current lifestyles of individuals have been among the key factors to the major growth of the Kenya Beauty and cosmetics industry. Consumers have now become more conscious regarding the usage of cosmetics in their daily lives in an effort to step up their style quotient and overall personality.