SPOTLIGHT ON —Evelyne Nyairo— Ellie Bianca

A Note on Expansion

Imet Evelyne Nyairo a few years ago while she was doing a pop-up shop at Blush Lane on Whyte Ave. Since then, her brand Ellie Bianca has grown exponentially with a vision to become a billion-dollar brand. The Ellie Bianca brand now has its stand-alone store in Calgary along with a growing list of retail partners such as Blush Lane, The Bay, and, coming soon, Costco, to name a few.

What is Ellie Bianca?

Evelyne will tell you that she works for her daughter with an eye on her future. The authenticity of this sentiment quickly registers when you learn that Ellie Bianca is named after her daughter. This elevated approach to presenting beauty is coupled with a background in Chemistry. The collaboration delivers a quality product-line adapted by women looking for skincare solutions.

It’s not an easy road.

As a Black woman in the beauty and cosmetic industry, Evelyne explains that she often has to go above and beyond to showcase her credentials, plus behind the scenes of product development, all to gain trust and acceptance from retailers and consumers alike. To build this trust, Evelyne spends a lot of time on the road, working with retailers to achieve face time with potential customers. “Oh, you made this in your kitchen” is often one of many initial reactions she gets as a Black woman in this space. Conversations will sometimes include showcasing photos from the production process or various bits of lab data to establish credibility in the consumer’s mind. However, one of Evelyne’s goals is to transcend beyond having to put in the extra effort to find validation in the market and be positioned as a trusted brand.

Some of the Keys to Success

Understanding what you know and what you don’t know. When you understand what you don’t know, you will lean on experts to help you build the road map for your business. For example, what does the financial roadmap look like? You need the right people around you to help you understand the essential aspects of business that you don’t know.

Your customer is not ONLY the Black community. Consumers and retailers automatically place you in a market box because you are a Black woman. Understanding if the market is large enough to sustain your brand is essential. Ellie Bianca has worked to establish that the brand is for women of all backgrounds in search of quality skin care products.

A proper pricing strategy allows you to make a sustainable profit margin and work with retail partners and wholesalers. Far too often in our community, we undervalue our rates, which does not allow for growth in the long term.

As a single-mom immigrant woman from Kenya, Evelyne works to tell a different narrative on what it means to be Black and thrive in Canada. Far too often, she sees the mainstream media that being Black is juxtaposed with negative news and stories.

“Being Kind to Women ‘’ is a crucial pillar for the Ellie Bianca brand, which leads Evelyne to work with groups such as Black Canadian Women in Action (BCW). This partnership is a critical way to encourage and educate more Black women on what they need to do to reach ultimate success. “Together we get there faster” is the underlying sentiment behind giving back to the community, as the more success stories we have, the stronger our community will be.