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Chichi Eburu, founder of Juvia’s Place.
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Despite a challenging makeup market created by COVID-19, Juvia’s Place continues to find success with consumers, social media influencers, and retailers — thanks to an energetic color palette and infectious passion embedded into the brand.
Reports this year have placed Juvia’s Place in the top 10 color brands with products including the Shade Stick foundation especially popular on social media. Though beyond captivating audience-alluring, bold colors, Juvia’s Place has earned loyalty in followers with its unique story and an ability to illustrate inspirations from Queen Nefertiti to the founder’s own experiences.
Here, Chichi Eburu, founder of Juvia’s Place, discusses the importance of knowing the consumer, celebrating women, and how her passion behind the brand fueled a steadfast position in a highly competitive market.
WWD Studios: What qualities separate Juvia’s Place from other brands in the market?
Chichi Eburu: There is only one Juvia’s Place. We hit a unique demographic of consumers that have been ignored and abandoned for the longest time. The inclusive story is not something we had to quickly jump on to make the public happy. We know the struggles and we understand what it takes to fill in that black space in the market. I do not believe other big brands have figured it out quite yet.
Juvia’s Place provides one of the best quality products for our customers at an accessible price point while being different creatively at it.
WWD Studios: In your own words, what is today’s beauty consumer looking for from a brand?
C.E.: I think consumers are looking for products that perform. Brands need to stand firm on their claims and back it up. Consumers want to see products that are unique and affordable.
I also believe consumers want an insight into how brands are being inclusive not just with their brand story but through their actions. They are watching and taking notes. We can all claim to be inclusive, make bold public statements, and start movements, but consumers want to see the actionable items. It’s not about the noise and promises.
Aside from providing top-notch quality products, consumers want to know the little details from a brand’s stand on testing on animals. They want to know how ingredients are sourced. Consumers today are holding brands accountable for sustainability. I also believe consumers want a personal feel from brands. Ultimately, they want to be heard and acknowledged.
WWD Studios: What has made the brand so popular with influencers?
C.E.: The uniqueness of the products has made it easy for influencers to continue to talk about Juvia’s Place. When you see a Juvia’s Place product you cannot miss it! That is what sets us apart from the rest. Influencers tend to gravitate towards unique products in other to create good content. We provide good quality products, accessible price points, and we tell unique and beautiful stories through our products.
When I started Juvia’s Place I wanted to tell beautiful stories with my products. Every color is symbolic of an African festivity or culture. I wanted my products to attract people from a distance. Its uniqueness speaks to people from different cultures around the world and that was exactly what I wanted to accomplish. I’m an African woman with a very passionate culture and it shows in the products we create.
WWD Studios: How has Juvia’s Place used packaging as a tool to promote a sense of self-love to its consumers?
C.E.: Juvia’s place is all about strong African figures who were immensely powerful, confident, and beautiful. We use those figures to emphasize the beauty of a black woman. The names of each palette also help create a sense of self-love and appreciation. The warrior palette is all about confidence, overcoming life obstacles, an embodiment of strength, and boldness. We want our customers to genuinely believe they are magic! They are Warriors! They are one of a kind!
WWD Studios: How does the brand celebrate women?
C.E.: Juvia’s Place is all about female empowerment. I made it a mission to always celebrate women. 98 percent of our team members are women from different parts of the world with a different and innovative perspective on how to run a business. The goal is to always provide an environment for these women to live their lives freely and independently while winning professionally. I call them the Juvia’s Army.
Most importantly, Juvia’s Place is working on a not for profit organization that will empower women around the world through issuing grants for female education. An educated woman is powerful and confident. A confident woman can conquer the world.
The Juvia’s Girl Initiative will also give strong emphasis to African female children who have zero access to education and free will. The goal is to equip these young girls with what they need to build their confidence and enable them to pursue fruitful careers.
In certain parts of Northern Nigeria, female children are handed off to an early marriage without being even the opportunity to pick up a book to read – It still happens. With our initiative, we want to give those girls hope.
WWD Studios: What impact has the Black Lives Matter movement had on Juvia’s Place as a Black-owned brand?
C.E.: Black Lives Matter Movement is such an astounding movement in modern-day America. It’s given Juvia’s Place a voice to tell our story without barriers and fear. In recent years, we have always had an extraordinarily strong e-commerce business, however, with the Black Lives Matter Movement, our sales grew outstandingly and have continued to do very well this year even with the pandemic.
WWD Studios: How is Juvia’s Place empowering Black businesses?
C.E.: This year we launched the Juvia’s Place Black Business grant. We will be donating $300,000 spread across six small black businesses. When I launched Juvia’s Place I did not have any capital. I received a gift of $2,000 and this gift was all I needed to push through and believe in myself. It was truly a blessing.
