Kenya is among the top three consumers of luxury beauty products from French multinational L’Oréal in sub-Saharan Africa.
Bettered only by Ivory Coast and Nigeria, Kenya’s taste for high-end fragrances, makeups, and skincare products is ever increasing. Ranking after Kenya is Angola.
“Those are my top four markets within sub-Saharan Africa, with Kenya and Ivory Coast being the most dynamic ones,” says Joe Zakour, the head of marketing for L’Oréal Luxe in sub-Saharan Africa.
To get an idea of a high-end beauty product, think of a perfume that costs Sh23,500 for a 100ml bottle. Or a 30ml skin serum that goes for Sh45,800. Or a 30ml foundation product that goes for Sh8,400.
Sub-Saharan African countries are also showing a unique trend in buying luxury beauty items, in that a majority of their luxury purchasers shop for fragrances, which are outselling luxury skincare products and makeup.
“Fragrance is the biggest growing category. Within Africa, it’s no secret whatsoever: fragrances are around 80 percent of the weight of business of the luxury beauty industry,” says Mr Zakour.
However, in the case of Kenya, there is a relative balance between fragrances and the other products.
“Kenya has a more balanced portfolio in terms of the weight of business where you have makeup and skincare, which really take a big place within the luxury beauty industry,” he adds.
L'Oréal Marketing Group Manager Joe Simon Zakour’s during an interview at Westgate Shopping Mall, Nairobi on May 8, 2025.
Photo credit: Lucy Wanjiru | Nation Media Group
Equally, he said, Africa has shown a preference for fragrances that are more intense and longer-lasting, while other markets in the world prefer lighter and subtler varieties.
Regarding skin care, he said, Africa tends to buy more hydration and ultraviolet protection products, “but less about anti-ageing and wrinkles just because the complexion of an African consumer is not going to be the same as someone who is white”.
Mr Zakour was speaking during an interview at Westgate Mall in Nairobi, where Lancôme, one of the products in the L’Oréal stable, had painted the mall pink in a marketing drive tapping into last week's Mother’s Day week. It saw the firm redesign the Artcaffé space on the first floor to create a Lancôme zone.
“We wanted to do things big and bring a little piece of Paris because Lancôme is from Paris and bring the small Lancôme Cafe, Parisian cafe vibes here into Kenya,” he said in an interview on May 8.
Lancôme, he noted, is one of the fastest-growing products in Kenya.
“It links back to the fact that we do offer a full range of skincare, makeup, and fragrances,” he said.
Other products like YSL and Armani, he said, are also doing well.
“Armani, I think, in fragrances, is the number one brand within the Kenyan market,” he said.
So, might L’Oréal consider opening its own outlet in Kenya? Mr Zakour said there is a remote possibility for that because their business model works with partnering with local sellers rather than running their own shops.
“L’Oréal does not have physical stores,” he said, adding that there are none even in Europe.
“It was never part of the DNA,” he added. “[We create] partnerships with people who have more insight about the market and more retail knowledge than us.”
The idea behind that, he said, is to develop local retail stores.
Locally, L’Oréal Luxe products are sold by Lintons Beauty World.
“Our ambition is not only to sell the products; it’s to help the retailers grow as well, give them all the information that we have from all our different markets, and we’re able to grow together, basically. So, for us it’s a win-win-win.”
However, such a model poses problems with delivering products to consumers.
He said one of the barriers to the business is the “distance from where the products are made to get them here.”
There is also the challenge of the proliferation of counterfeits in the market.
“The saying goes that imitation is the highest form of flattery,” he said.
“I guess we should feel flattered that our products are being copied, but it is unfortunately part of the game. Our local teams, whenever they find [fakes], try to scan to see where they’re coming from and try to legally stop it. But of course you can’t control 100 per cent of everything,” added the executive.
Asked whether L’Oréal is angling for the Gen Zs by making products that appeal to the newest kids on the block, Mr Zakour noted that targeting younger buyers is a gamble.
At the core of their clientele, he said, are the boomers’ generation aged 50 to 60.
“The boomers are really the core of the Lancôme brand,” he said. “But Lancôme always looks to reinvent itself and speak to different categories of all women...from 18 years old until 60 years old.”
Asked to explain the difference between a luxury beauty product and an ordinary one, Mr Zakour said it is all about the identity.
“When you’re buying into a luxury product, you’re buying into the brand as well. Of course, in terms of product formulation, they’re a bit more superior,” he said. “Also, in luxury, we’re not selling products; we’re selling full storytelling and the emotional connection behind it.”
