PZ Cussons East Africa today announced a major strategic shift in its regional business approach, doubling down on its investment in production, distribution, innovation, and placing greater emphasis on the younger Generation Z and Millennials aged below 35. Factors driving this redirection are changing market tastes, channel redesign, and portfolio refocusing, requiring the company to invest a total of shs150 million over the next year.
Speaking when he revealed a revamped flagship Imperial Leather range, PS Cussons EA Managing Director Sekar Ramamoorthy stated that the company’s move responds to rapid evolution in consumer behaviour in its personal care category, where younger shoppers experiment more, demand a wider range of scents and formats, and adopt new brands and innovations faster than older cohorts. Kenya’s beauty & personal-care market is estimated at Kshs 20 billion and shows a steady high-single-digit growth rate. These are the demand dynamics that make investment in growth a sensible choice.
“Our research shows that consumers in this region under 35 years are adventurous with fragrance and personal care, consistently stretching their imagination and experimentation with new formats, favouring bold, differentiated scents, and buying across online and modern retail channels,” he said, adding that they comprise more than a third to nearly one half (35% to 45%) of personal-care spend in urban/modern-trade channels.
To deepen its grasp in the market where the firm maintains a strong lead at 25 per cent, Ramamoorthy pointed out that the company had arrived at a pivotal moment in its 60-plus years of operating in the local market, to increase its production capacity, deepen distribution through newer relationships, innovate with new pack sizes, packaging and fragrances and widen its appeal to younger populations.
“The category we play in is increasingly becoming more nuanced, with differentiation leaning towards niche markets. We are opting to go for broader sections of the population, having recognized that they have more in common,” said Ramamoorthy, adding that PZ Cussons intends to grow here and has no plans to divest from the local market.
PZ Cussons trains guns on the shs64 billion luxury skincare market
He affirmed that the company’s expanding regional investments mirrored global and regional strategic priorities to strengthen brands and focus resources on categories and geographies with better, sustainable returns.
To allay concerns about its continued presence in East Africa, the PZ Cussons EA MD reiterated that the regional business remains a strategic market for the firm’s Africa agenda. He pointed to positive, volume-led growth in modern and general trade and the targeted reinvestment in consumer-facing innovation and distribution as evidence of its commitment to the market.
Echoing his remarks, PZ Cussons Africa Marketing Director Hafsa Athur stated that the relaunch of the flagship Imperial Leather range was in deep respect to its legacy of luxury, trust, and timeless care.
“We are not just unveiling a range of carefully crafted, insight-led products – we are reigniting a relationship and commissioning the next generation who share in our values,” she explained, noting the brand was responding to home truths about legacy, cultural relevance, and purposeful innovation.
She pointed out that relaunch is a reaffirmation of the brand’s promise to stick with the local market through generations, through changing lifestyles, and through evolving aspirations.
