Amfa Beauty, Amfa Beauty House, Amfa Mag, AMV Consulting… Awa Mballo Tall is clearly building her empire brick by brick beyond the borders of Senegal!
During our meeting, the discussion was so rich that I could not bring myself to condense everything into a single article! We'll talk about her journey and her tips for launching a successful e-commerce in our next article.
But first, today I present to you the AMFA phenomenon.
AMFA, the origins
Composed of the initials of loved ones, AMFA was born from a simple idea: to make an e-commerce site to sell perfumes.
“I had a company that specialized in children's events, but I had a lot of trouble interacting with customers face to face. I decided to create something different and above all that allowed me to have the screen that separates me from customers, hence the E-commerce site. »
During a trip with her sister, she bought perfumes that she sold to her other sisters. Having managed to generate some money, she decided to create an e-commerce site where you could directly find the products she bought during her travels. This is how Amfa Beauty began. Then the idea of creating her own make-up brand began to mature.
"Seeing the concerns we had as black women, African women to find makeup that suited us, I wondered why not make an African Sephora, and create my own makeup brand. this is where Amfa Beauty started."
Finally AMFA has now become a universal make-up brand for all skin tones, suitable for everyone. But initially it was a brand for Afro-Carribean women.
From Amfa Beauty to Amfa Beauty House
To start her makeup brand Amfa Beauty, the hardest part was finding the right suppliers, quality products, the choice of colors, and the tests to be done.
“I initially worked with partners in China, but I changed to work with Italians, because in terms of quality, they are the best in the world for everything cosmetic. »
Although the Amfa Beauty products made in China are of very good quality, tested and certified, the transport of the products was very complicated especially since the restrictions due to Covid19. In addition, you had to be on site and go there every 3 months to check if the tests and certifications were well done and respected, if the products were "vegan" and not tested on animals, etc.
Changing to Europe is certainly much more expensive, but it allows the Amfa Beauty brand to be much more upscale also in terms of makeup and skincare soon.
"All Amfa products will be made in Italy from March 2023. Again, I have to go back and forth to watch everything. I'm going to work with factories that work with the best brands in the world. I'm very proud of that because not everyone can do that. "
Amfa Beauty House naturally came next. Having an unused space of her own on the road to the airport in Dakar, Awa first wanted to turn it into a shop to sell Amfa products.
“After reflection, with a shop, the products are just put there and there is no life, no more interactions than that with our customers. I thought to myself why not make a beauty salon where women can sublimate themselves for a day. Sometimes we have women who come here at 9 a.m. and leave at 6/7 p.m. They can do their facials, body treatments, nails, massages, hairdressing, makeup etc, there is everything. »
Opened in December 2019, the first Amfa institute had to close barely 2 months later due to restrictions due to Covid19.
“The advantage is that the space where I was belonged to me so I had no rent to pay. With my savings, I was able to pay my employees during this period when they could not work. We had to start from scratch in August. »
Given the demand from the clientele, the first institute was too far for some clients who left from the Plateau. Already having a large team, Awa was able to split it into 2 to open a second beauty institute, closer to the city center.
Today there are 3 Amfa Beauty Houses, one of which has just opened in Abidjan, Ivory Coast for 3 months.
“While staying with my husband, someone suggested that I open an Amfa Beauty House there too because Ivorian women like to look beautiful just like Senegalese women, and we know that Amfa has a certain level of quality sought after here. I went back afterwards and everything went very quickly! the last 2 salons opened the same year in 2022. »
Ivory Coast is a country that has a high level in terms of services offered. Amfa's brand and know-how are therefore very well suited to local demand and customer feedback has been very favourable.
The new beauty institute opened 3 months ago and in a hotel but there is already great feedback from customers there. Remote management is going very well thanks to a trusted team that she was able to bring together on site.
«My nanny is Ivorian, and she has worked with me for many years. she helped me find very good profiles on the spot, including her sister. I was very lucky to be well surrounded. I don't need to go there all the time, I go there every 3 months or when I get the chance, but I know it's well managed and well structured. »
The other gems of the Amfa Group
In addition to Amfa Mag, which is the digital women's magazine of the Amfa Group, there is also AMV Consulting, a communication agency specializing in everything related to artistic direction, branding, image consulting, community management and events.
“I started with AMV Consulting, which was originally created to represent the Amfa group.
The company very quickly found itself with other contracts, for clothing brands, hotels, etc…”
An afternoon at Amfa Beauty House
I had a great experience at Amfa Beauty House, for an afternoon! From the reception to the treatments and the staff, everything was there to make me feel special.
The quality/price ratio is excellent and the institute offers really varied and complete treatments and services! You can find everything there and it is accessible to all budgets. The next step is to try their makeup and skincare range for me!