Ganiyah Is Turning Skin Flawless With Natural Coconut Oils
By ANGEL JAMES
Foreign beauty and cosmetic products have got Nigerians’ following owing to the tales of flawless skin from international models who are users of the beauty products. This expectedly increases the cravings for products like Clinique,Tara, Sleek, Mac, and Maybelline, This is because our looks determine how we are rated and approached, and also what comes to us in some cases.
With the paucity of funds, however, our lust for foreign products begin to waneu
At about N400 to a dollar, Nigerians have been forced to look inwards for their beauty products especially with the realization that natural products like coconut oil, palm kernel, and shea butter perform wonders to our health, body as well glowing the skin.
Gradually, our chicken is coming home to roost.
Ganiyah Hassan Sulaimon took notice of this and, having learnt from her grandmum during school holidays at Badagry, it did not take her long to realise that life has presented an opportunity to make extra cash in addition to her earnings as a teacher now.
Today, Ganiyah can proudly beat her chest as the brain behind OMGee Oils, a brand known to provide everyone with natural oils such as coconut oil, palm kernel, and shea butter with no additives; for hair and skincare and also for coconut water.
Ganiyah, a native of Badagry, a town on the outskirt of Lagos, with a rich cultural heritage, has been able to turn herself to a destination for flawless skin and healthy body that we all desire.
A holder of B.Sc and M.Sc in History and International Studies from Lagos State University (LASU), Ganiyah started the venture to complement her earnings from her teaching jobs to support her family, but this has now grown into a business.
“I am an indigene of Badagry, and I have always lived with palm kernel and coconuts. This made me to know a lot about the fruit and its benefits”.
“I learnt how to make coconut oil from my grandmother during school holidays. She was trader of mats and coconut oil at that time and I was always at the packaging section to assist her until the day I finally decided to practice it.”
Ganiyah with N20,000 which was her savings from the school’s cooperative society, plunged into the business.
“I started with 40 Nigerian green dwarf and west coast coconuts from which i got about three (3) litres of oil”.
Coconut species are green dwarf coconut, west coast coconut, yellow dwarf coconut, and tall coconut but the most popular of them all are in our environment and are the Nigerian and Ghana coconuts classified as the west coast and green dwarf coconut.
She started to produce in small quantities for her friends, families, and neighbors who were her initial markets. By 2019 however, she was overwhelmed by the acceptance of her products, and this lauched her to the big scene.
OMGee products which come in varying sizes are Heat pressed coconut oil 250ml costs N1000, 500ml costs N1800.and the One litre jar size costs. N3800
For the Cold-pressed coconut oil, the 250ml costs N1500, 500ml costs N3000 and One litre size costs N5500. Its Coconut water 600ml costs 500ml
OMGee coconut oil, palm kernel oil and coconut water are produced under a neat environment in Badagry, while OMGee Shea butter is sourced from Oyo, Kwara and Niger states respectively.
She revels in the relevance and unique selling point of her products which have the ability to solve skin issues and the attendant health benefits that come from the freshness, and originality of her products and most importantly, a good customer service relationship.
OMGee prides itself with harvesting the very best of African nature and bringing it in the form of pure organic oils to the people of Nigeria, targeting children, men and women of all ages.
“For now most of our clients are based in Lagos, and we are currently working to reach other parts of the country soon” stated Ganiyah who is in urgent need of distributors for the brands that are now viral on online platforms and exposed to customers at recent trade fairs.
Ganiyah aims to make the brand a household name but paucity of funds has limited her dream.
“Capital is a major challenge having got over the intial problem of winning people over from chemical based lotions”
She has approached Lagos State Enterpreneurship Fund (LSTEF) and also some microfinance banks in her bid for expansion but the conditions attached are very difficult for new businesses
“It is a very lucrative business when there is good funding” she said
“Electricity, increasing government policies, poor leadership and weak governance have also hinder people like us to grow even with the 200 million population that provides the opportunity for good returns on investments”, she adds.
Follow Her On:
Instagram – OMGeeoils
Facebook – OMGeeoils
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