SULA LABS

The black beauty market is fast growing. Research shows that the global personal care contract manufacturing market was valued at $19.2 billion in 2022 and is projected to be valued at $ 33.62 billion by 2029 (Global Cosmetic Industries, 2022). Further, it is noted that Africa-Americans possess immense spending power in the beauty industry and accounted for 11.1% of the total US beauty market in 2021 (Cosmetic & Toiletries, 2022). However, MicKinsey & Co (2020) argues that black customers are 1.6 times more likely than white customers to be dissatisfied with skin care and hair care products. The SULA LABs comes in to provide a solution to this challenge.

SULA LABS is a research and product development & testing laboratory that develops products for black owned brands and dark skinned consumers. By aligning with the black beauty consumer and providing an efficient full stack research and development service, SULA LABS ultimately advances the future of black beauty.

 SULA LAB is involved in:

a)  Product formulation: development of custom and private label formulations informed by rigorous research and targeted   innovation tailored to the black beauty category.

b) Claim substantiation: Conducting in house claim substantiation trials via industry standards bioinstrumentation and clinical testing protocols catered to black consumer endpoints.

c) Raw material Development: Develops and distributes raw ingredients toeauty companies that cater for black consumer preferences and black beauty cultural impact.

AJ Addae is Ghanaian lady studying for a PhD qualification at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA. She is an award-winning cosmetic chemist, clinical researcher, and chemical Biology. Her innovation journey started when she was a clinical researcher and formulator at a medical-grade contract manufacturer when it dawned on her, how underserved and under-considered Black consumers are in the R&D process. After receiving a research grant from VanguardSTEM, she was empowered by her creativity and scientific freedom to leave her and start building products at SULA LABS. AJ's peer-reviewed research is published in the Journal of Drugs and Dermatology. In addition, AJ is an NIH Chemical Biology Interface Associate Fellow and LSN Global Future Leaders' 100 awardee. AJ is driven by her innate passion for using chemistry and clinical research as a means of change for representation for skin of color.

We celebrate her!