Temitope Mayegun,
President & Chairman,
Board of Directors,
Avila Naturalle Group,
Nigeria

WGF World’s Most Promising Brands

Audacious Vision To Inspire A Healthier and Happier World

By Temitope Mayegun

President & Chairman,
Board of Directors,
Avila Naturalle Group,
Nigeria

The journey towards actualising the audacious vision to inspire a healthier and happier world has been nothing short of being interesting, innovative, encouraging and very challenging. From the very inception of the company, having to deal with human capital, filling job positions that require a high level of competence and professionalism, to dealing with consumers’ acceptance of the products being a new company, to the challenge of sourcing the right and the best quality raw materials to finding the right partnership and having to deal with farms that would not easily adhere to strict regulation of 100 percent naturally grown produce as opposed to fertilizer-aided ones, the insecurity in the country which also affected the total output of produce, the challenges and learning curves have been in abundance.

Since its inception in July 2017, Avila Naturalle has left no stone unturned in enriching lives, and has remained unflinching in its brand philosophy to ‘RIGHT’ the ‘WRONG’ in the society by providing Nigerians and Africans at large with all-natural, safe, healthy solutions that will also enrich the skin, making it healthy and glow naturally.

Celebrating African Pride through Inspiration & Innovation

From just ₦30,000 worth of coconut oil to building a rapidly growing company of African pride, who else can tell the story better? With so much to say about a company that started only about five years ago, only Mrs. Mayegun can rightly recount the God-given vision that has led to the establishment of an entity that is rapidly becoming the pride of Africa and mounting the global pedestal.

Mrs. Mayegun shares with World Growth Forums, “I got the divine inspiration in 2017 to start working with natural ingredients to proffer solutions to thousands of people having skincare issues. So, I conducted a research and the result revealed that a lot of people had skin issues like dark patches, sunburn, stretch marks, etc. I also discovered that the beauty industry is filled with non-natural beauty products that have wreaked havoc on people’s skin.

“Some of the products are produced with harmful substances that are used wrongly because of the desire to have a fair skin. So, for Avila Naturalle, I was immensely inspired to offer natural products that will have no side effects on users, products that will make them happier and will also make their skin healthier. I also explored the need to proffer solutions to people who had stretch marks, sunburn, skin discoloration and hair issues.”

Mrs Mayegun recounts, “So, bearing in mind one of our core values which is Innovation, we strategize regularly, we try to ensure that we meet our customer expectations, and we give them a pleasant experience.”

Avila products are 100 per cent natural, free of parabens, animal by-products, propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulphates, mineral oils, colourants, petroleum and chemicals, while being based on purely natural ingredients. The company’s Research and Development team are well-equipped and constantly focused on the future. This allows Avila to stay ahead of trends, latest developments and competition.

Engraving Challenges into Sculpted Destiny

This fairy-tale-like journey was not smooth-sailing at all. Avila Naturalle had to deal with several challenges, from start-up capital, to being alone in the truly natural product business, to having to deal with customers’ expectations and educating them on how natural products work. But these challenges were only there to strengthen the company even more.

Although the vision was clear from the beginning, the first challenge the company had to deal with was not having many similar companies in the exact same line of business to benchmark with, as most of the ones available then, were not truly organic or natural, and what made it worse was that, many of them were not even producing. They were only importing and repackaging finished products.

Another challenge was getting people to understand how natural products work. The company was not going to compromise its brand ideal which is to promote the use of organic and natural products because of the dangers caused by inorganic products.

There is usually a transitioning stage when using natural products, particularly for those who have been using other chemical-based products that have bleaching or toning effects on their skin. The switch to natural products often requires a transitioning period that may result in skin purging, therefore, getting new customers to understand that these products are truly natural and so, may not rapidly turn the skin around within five to seven days the way chemical-based products work, is a daunting task.

Determination & Perseverance is the Key

Another challenge was capital, which may have been expected, but not as much as the company faced following the eventual high market acceptance rate and demand for the products. Avila, as a company, runs a well-structured system that is beyond just sitting down somewhere and mixing stuff up. The company operates a standard factory where products are manufactured under stringent processes and in compliance to GMP standards. Avila boasts of professional and non-professional staff members in diverse segments of the company’s operations.

Mrs. Mayegun narrates, “The beginning was not easy I must tell you, getting the right staff to fit into the roles needed as well as getting the desired output was not that easy, but at the end of the day, through consistency and hard work we are getting better by the day.”

Surely, the acceptance rate was great, because many people had been looking forward to switching to natural products. So, within three to six months of starting Avila, the company needed to expand its operations, procure more machines, set up an international standard factory, meet up with NAFDAC specifications or requirements, and so on. These may have been challenging in the beginning; however, they also provided the platform for sustainable growth.

The company also recently hit another remarkable expansion milestone with the launch of its new Fashion brand in February 2022. Avila Fashion is inspired by the need to further ignite the feeling of happiness in people by offering good quality and affordable clothing that will not only meet their needs but also give a sense of class and style.

Making Footprints Faraway and Beyond

Today, Avila Naturalle has over 2,000 distributors across different cadres and different towns and cities in Nigeria and other African countries like Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Republic of Benin and Zambia, as well as in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America. The company hopes to expand its distribution channels to more countries like the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Sweden, the Middle East, European Countries and other countries in Africa.

With Faith in God, Quality, Passion, Integrity, Innovation, Due Diligence and Customer-centric being its core values, Avila is consolidating its growth trajectory with the establishment of other divisions such as the Foods & Supplements Division as well as the Water & Drinks Division. Avilan Naturalle Foods and Supplements is a company that provides the highest quality 100% natural, healthy and nutritious food products to Nigerians and Africans at large. The company is committed to enriching lives through natural, healthy, safe and affordable food products that are necessary for a better quality of life. The Division has over 100 products across varying categories comprising Healthy Flours, Teas, Supplements, Spices, Cereals, Beverage Food Drinks and many more.

Avila Water & Drinks Division was birthed in November 2020, and subsequently hit the market with the launch of eight products including Avilan Premium Water, Avilan Blizz Rosselle, Blackseed Iced-Tea Drink, Ginger & Turmeric Iced-Tea Drink amongst other healthy drinks for Nigerians’ taste delight. The Division is part of the company’s strategic business direction that emphasizes productivity and expansion in line with its commitment to help Nigerians eat right and ultimately lead a healthier lifestyle.

The company also recently hit another remarkable expansion milestone with the launch of its new Fashion brand in February 2022. Avila Fashion is inspired by the need to further ignite the feeling of happiness in people by offering good quality and affordable clothing that will not only meet their needs but also give a sense of class and style.

Avila Fashion offers exquisite designs with the modern family in mind. The brand combines bold statement masterpieces with creative touches to give people a variety of unique and elegant ready-to-wear garments. Avila Fashion is divinely inspired to further the company’s vision to inspire a healthier and happier world by changing the narratives in modern fashion trends and clothing people with decent and imperial styles that boost self-confidence and make them feel like kings and queens.

Bearing in mind one of our core values which is Innovation, we strategize regularly, we try to ensure that we meet our customer expectations, and we give them a pleasant experience.

Dedicated to Better the Society and the World

With a vision to inspire a healthier and happier world, Avila Naturalle is out to address the challenge of low self-esteem associated with skin type and complexion which has caused so many, young and old alike, to start bleaching their skins.

The company is driven by the need to help Nigerians break free from toxic and harmful chemical-based body care Products. The whole essence of Avila Naturalle is to right the wrong in the society, to get people to appreciate their skin, and to get people to solve the self-esteem issues. A lot of people have self-esteem issues caused by the belief that only fair people are beautiful, and that is why they use bleaching products. Avila Naturalle is here to let such people know that whatever complexion they have, they are still beautiful.

In a society where the average users of skincare products already have a mindset that their body care products must have a significant impact on their skin, if any brand claims to have the moral grounds to ask people to stop using unhealthy skin-lightening products, then, they must be able to stand in confidence of the quality and integrity of the products they are presenting to the people. Interestingly, this is where many brands that claim to be Natural or Organic fall flat and Avila Naturalle stands tall in integrity and Quality. The company constantly strives to ensure sustainable growth through continuous improvement in its products and processes to enrich the lives of its customers.

Having products that are 100 per cent natural and cater for the hair, face, body, mouth, feet and other needs would not have been possible without the divine inspiration from God as well as the passion and resilience of the company’s leadership to follow through with the divine vision without compromising. This is the company’s secret to creating products that are not only pleasant but also effective in enhancing skin glow naturally, or providing solutions to skin-related challenges.

Avila products are 100 per cent natural, free of parabens, animal by-products, propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulphates, mineral oils, colourants, petroleum and chemicals, while being based on purely natural ingredients. The company’s Research and Development team are well-equipped and constantly focused on the future. This allows Avila to stay ahead of trends, latest developments and competition.

With all of these, there are obviously more to come in terms of growth, there is no doubt that Avila Naturalle may have embarked on an audacious move to inspire a healthier and happier world, the company is strongly positioned for the required growth, and is already moving in the right direction to deliver on the God-given mandate.