Sipho Gumbo is a wife, mother, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. She studied and obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Traditional African Literature and thought and received her graduate certificate in Healthcare Administration. She continued her education and attained her MBA in International Business. Sipho is the creator and founder of Yangu Beauty and Munhu, Inc., a non-profit that supports and educates children orphaned by AIDS.
Sipho Gumbo has always been passionate about helping her community and inspiring others to embrace and love themselves for who they are. She is particularly passionate about having women of color define their own beauty and interested in the enhancement of that beauty rather than changing it. Yangu Beauty, a scientifically advanced Dallas-based skincare company designed for women of color is proud to announce its recent partnership with the Neiman Marcus brand.
MS: Welcome to the show Sipho. Tell us about your journey that got you where you are today.
SG: We started in 2016. I have super super sensitive skin and I could not find products on the market. So I said let me try to use the products that I used when I was little in Africa. And we built up Yangu Beauty which is the skincare line we are talking about and then we did a lot of research to find out what will work what will answer some of the problems women of color seem to have with their skin. It took a very long time just to showcase and share with others. I did a lot of traveling around the country as well as the small trade shows here in Dallas.
I think many people meet me at some of those shows. One of the most-visited churches I went to was the Friendship-West Baptist Church, and many times I was invited to go and share the products. And then from there, we went to other states.
Last year we decided to go up to New York State to a beauty trade show to meet with buyers. It is not an easy feat because buyers don’t usually stop by smaller brands. When you’re a smaller brand you’re in the back way back of the room. To attract those buyers to stop and come by and talk to you is quite a feat. We managed to be successful at the event because three of our products were chosen for best in the show. We were very excited to be a small brand and be chosen.
Then we went to Los Angeles in January where we managed to be in the final three. It was in L.A. where we meet with the Neiman Marcus buyers. They spent time with us and when we came back home we continued discussions with them. Then COVID hit and the discussions took a back burner.
MS: I’m interested in the name where did you get your name from and what does it mean?
SG: The name Yangu means mine so Yangu Beauty means my beauty. And Yangu is from the Zimbabwe langue Shona and also in Swahili; it means the same as my beauty. I used this name one because of the ownership it’s our skin that we need to take care of with our methods and also one of our leading oils product is in the line is Yangu Oil it is from a Cape Chestnut in Cape Town in South Africa.
Find Yangu Beauty at Neiman Marcus Department Stores.
There was so much more to this interview. Go here to hear the full episode.
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