Hair troubles that turned into business

Some of Hope Kayeny’s products that sell under the Frotextured brand name. She currently has 12 hair and skin care products. COURTESY PHOTO

What you need to know:

Hope Kayeny, turned her misery into an investment that is currently estimated by Shs50m. She spoke to Dorothy Nakaweesi about her business and experience.

In 2010, Hope Kayeny was admitted at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Malaysia, to pursue a Bachelors’ in Digital Film and Television
Life seemed to be happening for her as she enjoyed the bliss in Malaysia and the allure of a new study environment.
However, it was not long before her happiness turned into misery as her hair started to break out of the skull.
Yeah, you read right! Hair was suddenly breaking out as a result of change in environment.
And this was reason enough to cause Kayeny many sleepless nights as she thought for a solution.
“I couldn’t find products that worked for my hair because most of those on the shelves were not for the African hair texture and those that were available were quite expensive,” she says.
So many things ran through her head and the easy way out, which she convinced herself not to go for, was to either cut her hair or wear a wig.

Opening the way
Like they say, Kayeny’s troubles must have come with an idea that opened the way for what would become a serious business and reliable source of income.
“I went on the Internet to search for a solution and it is from my research that I started to mix different oils such as olive, coconut, castor oil and some herbs that I would apply to my hair,” she says.
Apparently, after a while, the home-made concoctions seemed to have worked and she started to regain her hair and it even became better than it was before.

“Meanwhile people started to inquire how I had restored my hair when others were losing it. That is when the idea of starting to sell my concoction came to mind,” she says.
First, she did it as a way of helping her colleagues until when she returned home.
“People continued to ask me and since I had mastered how to mix the concoction I convinced myself that I would make it as a business,” she says.

Filming company
Before this, Kayeny, together with her twin sister had started a filming and animation company, but her focus to start a cosmetics business was still alive.
“I did the cosmetics business on the side because I thought to myself that I needed to build it into something serious,” she says.
In 2014, Kayeny made a decision to concentrate on mixing hair oils in small containers that she would sell among her circle of friends.

Surprisingly, the interest and demand grew and that is when she developed the idea of packing the oils in different container sizes.
Apart from the oils, she also invested in hair care products such as leave-in treatments and conditioners after another round of research.
After a year, Kayeny enrolled for a course to perfect her business before seeking assistance from Uganda Industrial Research Institute to help her improve her products.

It is from UIRI, through working with chemists, that she improved the shelf-life of her products which were now selling under the Frotextured brand name.
Unlike other people, Kayeny uses organic raw materials to mix her products which are different from the synthetic products on the market.
To make it purely organic, Frotextured products are mixed with oils extracted from naturally grown castor seeds and coconut oils.

Investment
Kayeny started the business with only Shs500,000, which has now grown to more than Shs50m.
Currently, the business has not given Kayeny enough returns to write home about as she has to invest all the profits to introduce new product.
Frotextured has a product line of about 12 inventions ranging from hair to skin products.
She also hopes to add spa oils that help in order to reduce back and chest pains.
Her products have a price range of Shs8,000 and Shs30,000 but she also has special packages that sell at a relatively high price.
She employs eight people directly and of these two are in Rwanda and another two in Kenya.

Challenges
The business has not been without challenges as she has had to grapple with the issue of handling the expanding business as a sole proprietorship.
“Right now I have expanded to Rwanda and Kenya. To coordinate all this I have to travel a lot and you cannot be everywhere at the same time,” she says.

Beyond this, she has also found it difficult to introduce new products because the process is expensive yet they have low returns.
Additionally, she has had to re-invest all that she makes with the view of producing better products that have an edge over other products.
“I look more at oils that strengthen and thickens hair instead of having different products,” she says.