Out of Africa promotes natural skin care

Chain Drug Review, June 30, 2008

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Launched in 2005 by entrepreneur Victor Lulla, Out of Africa is a manufacturing and distribution company that develops and markets natural, organic skin and body care products.

A chance meeting was the catalyst for the company. At the Natural Products Expo West Show in 2005, Lulla was seeking a partner to help him broaden the range of organic products he offered.

Meanwhile, Gilles Adamon, owner of Natura Sarl of Benin, Africa, was also at the show and was looking for buyers for shea butter soaps and cosmetics.

The two met, and the rest is history. Soon after, Lulla and Adamon signed a partnership: Lulla would purchase state-of-the-art production equipment and raw materials, and Adamon's team, in collaboration with a West African women's cooperative, would supply locally sourced organic unrefined butter.

Cut to the present: Lulla and Adamon are in a longterm agreement to create exports and jobs in one of the world's poorest countries. The company-owned factory in Benin now produces 200,000 bars of soap a month, among an expanding range of other shea butter products. They are shipped to Out of Africa for distribution under the trademarked brand Out of Africa.

The company's shea butter products nourish the skin with 100% organic, unrefined shea butter from Benin. A natural moisturizer and emollient, shea butter contains antioxidant vitamins A, E and F as well as beneficial fatty acids that leave the skin feeling restored and refreshed.

The Out of Africa line includes Organic Shea Butter Bar Soap, with 20% unrefined shea butter. Most others contain less than 2%.

Shea Butter Hand & Body Wash, meanwhile, is paraben-and sulfate-free, with essential oil, while Organic Shea Butter Tins are billed as helping to prevent wrinkles, stretch marks and eczema.

The Out of Africa line also contains natural aroma diffusers, including 10 natural essential oils from Australia in a decorative hardwood box, offering the latest trends in home fragrance.

But producing quality skin care items is only half of the company's story.

Out of Africa Shea Butter creates jobs for several women's cooperatives and sponsors a groundbreaking project in Benin called Schoolchildren Unite, donating 3% of all sales to this global leadership initiative.

"When someone purchases Out of Africa products, their choice supports the emerging economy of Benin," states Lulla.

Out of Africa

737 Lairport St.

El Segundo, Calif. 90245

Key contact: Victor Lulla, President

Web site: outofafricashea.com

Phone: (310) 322-3335

Fax: (310) 322-3339

Primary business: BEAUTY CARE

Natural bath and body care

Marketplace booth #3514