Top suppliers honoured

South Africa’s leading suppliers to the beauty and nail industry were honoured at the INDUSTRY AWARDS gala dinner, which took place on 15 March at The Venue Melrose Arch in Johannesburg, as part of the annual PROFESSIONAL BEAUTY AWARDS. he Industry Awards are nominated by the industry itself – no judges are involved. Once three nominees in each category are tallied, the industry then votes again to determine the winners. Here are the nominees in each category, with winners highlighted in red. T

Best Skin Care Supplier

• RégimA • Dermalogica • Environ • Six Skincare

Best Training Supplier

• Young Nails • Dermalogica • Sparkle Academy • Kalahari

Best Nail Product Supplier

• Sparkle • Young Nails • Bio Sculpture • LCN

Best Body Product / WAX Supplier

• Spalicious • Smart Buy Depilève • Theravine • Lilian Terry

Best Marketing Material & Campaigns

• Environ Skincare • Sparkle Gelish & Morgan Taylor • Young Nails • Dermalogica

Best Sales Representative

• Nicole de Fonseca - Sparkle • Marlelize Kuhn - TheraVine • Lynn Du Plessis - Twincare • Tanya van Rooyen – DMK

Best Skin Care Supplier

RégimA

This is the 4th time that RégimA has triumphed in this category. Please comment.

The bestowment of honour through an accolade in recognition of achievement is the surest indication that we are doing something right. We all have personal and professional goals that we work towards, so winning a most prestigious award is the ultimate achievement. It is an amazing career highlight to be so proud of, and the RégimA brand name is further strengthened.

How important is your team in terms of meeting the needs of your clients?

Our RégimA team have amazing people skills and certainly tick all the boxes. Therapists and salon and spa owners have numerous wants and needs, and it is essential if one is going to provide the very best service, to gain client confidence and establish their main clientele in order to personalise their start-up orders and continuity of care. Our team is an integral part of the successful running of the company. Even during lockdown, members of the RégimA team offered ‘Power Hour’ sessions via Skype or Zoom, ensuring therapists remain motivated, using that opportunity to brush up on product knowledge, and sharing experiences.

What sets you apart from other suppliers?

Our unique Aroma Psychology concept of tailor-making the treatment experience to suit the client’s needs, where they choose their own aroma to enhance the treatment experience. We also do annual limited edition aromas to keep clients engaged and loyal. From a brand partner perspective, we have a holistic approach to the way we do business with focus and attention being given to therapists, owners, managers and the consumers.

Best Body Product / Wax Supplier

What sort of initiatives do you undertake to engage with your client base?

We do motivation and inspiration training sessions for therapist teams to build confidence. Our incentives are tailor-made to suit each therapist team’s needs. We engage with clients on social media on a regular basis and we host business seminars, both online and in conferences.

How do you keep your team motivated?

We have regular motivational training sessions, headed by myself, where we invite new therapists, as well as seasoned RégimA therapists, to participate in refresher trainings where I share my many experiences over the past 20 plus years. These sessions are empowering for the therapists, the distributors and reps. (Response by Jacqui Faucitt, owner)

How do you keep your team motivated?

I asked my team this question and they responded thus: “Constantly firing up our inner creativity and energy. Your enthusiasm, energy for life, guidance and inspiration to be entrepreneurs. Transparency and good constant communication. Keeping the working environment fun. Your contagious energy and the feeling of always being cared for. Allowing us to give our input and ideas, while keeping our spirits lifted. Your passion for the industry and personal attention to everyone.” (Response by Marisa Dimitriadis, owner)

Best Training Supplier

Young Nails

How does it feel to have won this award three times in a row?

It is such an honor and I am ecstatic with the acknowledgment. This proves that we must be doing something right. For all our mentors, it is such a privilege to guide and empower future nail technicians.

Why do you think Young Nails stands out in the market in terms of training?

We never compromise on our standards. It’s important for us that everyone leaving our training facility is current and on trend with international standards, which results in our company never stagnating. Having a post graduate diploma in tertiary education also helps me to guide our mentors on how to offer classes and not just show our techniques.

How do you go about identifying the best mentors for your team?

Environ Skin Care

What does winning this award mean to you?

It was indeed a delight to have won. Great marketing is never created in isolation and at Environ, it is incubated in an environment of strong leadership, innovation and teamwork.

Best Marketing Material & Campaigns

The Focus Care Clarity+ Range (Focus on Flawless, Conquer with Clarity+) launched in September 2019 was a great success, not only locally but also globally. Our research showed that the confidence levels of people who suffered from breakoutprone skin was often negatively affected. Dr Des Fernandes, founder and scientific director of Environ, created this easy 3-step range as he believes everyone should have clear and healthy-looking skin. The objective was to restage existing products and launch new additions to the range. It was a multi-faceted approach, where we created an educational and engaging social media campaign and a focused drive through trade education. This allowed our skin care professional to confidently and competently recommend and support the campaign. Education has always been key for Environ for almost 30 years and in this campaign we

Please describe a recent marketing campaign.

As an international company, we take great pride in our company culture and anyone applying for a mentor position needs to fit in with our culture. If they share the passion for improving the industry and mentoring aspiring techs, we continue to give them proper mentor training. (Response by Yolande Bekker, managing director)

launched with an innovative and fun card game, which served to teach our therapists all about acne, bust-myths, and train on the products and key ingredients. Consumer engagement was successfully driven through a trial campaign to create user generated testimonials, which were utilised across our social media platforms. The results achieved by these trialists were incredible. It was evident that they achieved less congested, less oily and clearer skin in the 6-week trial period. (Response by Susan O’Keeffe, Environ brand director)

Best Nail Product Supplier Sparkle

You have won this award multiple times in the past – what is the secret to your ongoing success?

Passion, integrity, focus and a win-win attitude to client service.

Do you use these award wins in terms of marketing your company?

Winning this award gives us credibility in the industry as it affirms our client-focused approach to business.

What sort of qualities do you look for in your team of ‘Sparkles’?

Nicole de Fonseca

How does it feel to have been voted the Sales Representative of the Year?

It has been a privilege and honour being awarded this title, but completely humbling to be recognised for doing what I love to do.

How do you strengthen your relationships with clients?

I give all my clients my 100% commitment and always look out for their best interests. At the end of the day, none of this would be possible without them and without their trust in me.

How do you attract new business?

By being myself because first impressions last a lifetime. I am so lucky to work for a company like Sparkle Cosmetics, who are committed to my success and the success of my valued clients.

Best Sales Representative

They need to love what they do and be a great team player.

Why are you passionate about your profession?

I love people! Our industry is all about people and about making people feel good about themselves. My profession allows me to meet and interact with all sorts of people on a daily basis and this feeds my soul.