In our quest to expand the global market for shea, it is important to show skincare manufacturers the potential of shea butter and how it can be of benefit to the end user. Many of us believe that shea butter is a viable replacement for petroleum based emollients that are currently used by some cosmetic manufacturers.

The bioactive substances in shea butter reside in the unsaponifiable fraction – the oil-soluble constituents that would not react with alkali to form soap – which is a by-product of the CBE/CBI production process. They include anti-oxidants such as tocopherols (vitamin E) and catechins (also found in green tea).

Alander and Andersson (2002) and Alander (2004) identified other specific compounds such as triterpene alcohols, known to reduce inflammation; cinnamic acid esters, which have limited capacity to absorb ultraviolet (UV) radiation; and lupeol, which prevents the effects of skin aging by inhibiting enzymes that degrade skin proteins. Shea butter also protects skin by stimulating production of structural proteins by specialized skin cells.

Excerpt taken from Reinforcing sound management through trade: shea tree products in Africa
E.T. Masters, J.A. Yidana and P.N. Lovett

Shea butter is used as an edible in ingredient in Europe and Asia for ice cream, chocolates, pastries and other confections. Unfortunately the presence and use of shea butter in these products is not always obvious to the end user. Having the Africa Shea logo on finished products conaining shea butter will bring consumer awareness to the product and establish this uniquely African oil as a staple in the food and cosmetic industry.

Sheanuts, a vital ingredient

European chocolates with shea butter

Shea Butter Product by L'occitaine

Approximately 90% of the shea nuts produced are shipped to Asia, Europe and the US for use in the food industry.
One of the goals of branding African Shea is to use the Africa Shea logo wherever Shea is used. This means that a chocolate bar that has Shea Butter used as a Cocoa Butter Equivalent (CBE) will bear that logo. The goal is to bring more visibility to the use and sources of Shea butter anywhere it is used.

The cooperatives bring processed shea butter to the Union center where further filtering and packaging is done to produce a premium grade of shea butter for the local market.

They have future goals of targeting the international market, but right now they are meeting the local demand within Mali and the neighboring countries for quality shea and soap bars to be used for personal care.

Madam Fatima displays finished soap bar

Soap Bars Ready for Sale

Shea Butter Packaged in 1kg tubs for local use

SAGNARIGU, Jun 11, 2008 (IPS) – “Wherever I went, they laughed at me and called me ‘Habiba the empty mouth.’ I was always embarrassed,” says 45-year-old Habiba Alhassan. “I could not afford to smile; I could not open my mouth in public, when I took photographs I had to close my mouth so that I wouldn’t look ugly.”

With all her front teeth missing, Alhassan was an object of mockery in her village, Sagnarigu, in the northern region of Ghana. Too poor to afford artificial teeth, she seemed destined to live with the embarrassment for life. “My petty trade in cocoa drinks was hardly enough to feed me let alone replace my lost teeth,” she said.

But all that changed early last year, when she joined a rural women’s cooperative producing soap from shea butter. In less than six months, she was able to save more than $300 from her earnings to replace the missing teeth. “Nobody believed me when I said I was determined to replace the missing teeth, now I have done it,” Habiba said proudly.

The cooperative, known as the Ideal Woman Shea Butter Producers and Pickers Association is the product of a poverty eradication initiative for rural women in Northern Ghana. The initiative is backed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Japanese government under the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). TICAD is a global framework for collaboration between Asia and Africa to promote economic development in Africa.

A strategic partnership between AgroBotanicals, the overseas marketing and logisitical coordination and and Saleton, the production company providing hands on training and coordinating production activities of local womens cooperatives in Nigeria.

This partnership was made possible through the efforts of the West African Trade Hub. Several visits and training opportunities sponsored by the hub in Nigeria have made it possible for these to companies to leverage their strengths and bring quality shea butter to the international market.

Shea Radiance-AgroBotanicals attended this event with USAID/West African Trade Hub to:

* Promote West African shea butter at an important cosmetic ingredient show that is well attended by importer/distributors (as exhibitors) and buyers (cosmetic formulators, manufacturers) from across the globe.
* Discuss issues and problems facing the shea butter industry and how those issues might be best addressed.

Fair Trade encourages the women to value the Shea trees that grow in their areas. When they know that the fruits from the tree bring in a good income, they will protect the tree from being cut down and used for firewood.