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JAFRA Cosmetics International is one of the world’s leading cosmetics manufacturers and has approximately 526,000 Consultants in 11 countries. As the company prepares for further expansion within Europe and beyond, Direct Selling News Europe’s Madeline Clark discovers how the company is helping more and more women across the globe achieve success …

When JAFRA was founded in 1956 the dream behind it was to provide women in the USA with the opportunity to gain financial independence within a caring, sharing environment while also providing them with quality cosmetic products.

That goal is as relevant today as it was then - particularly since the onset of the current economic downturn which has seen more women than ever seeking a means of additional income by taking up the opportunity to become JAFRA Consultants.

Meanwhile, the JAFRA culture of helping women achieve success has resulted in the company’s own, ongoing success story as it continues to expand rapidly across the globe.

JAFRA, which became part of the German-based Vorwerk group in 2004, currently sells its cosmetic products in 11 countries through direct, person to person methods and product demonstrations. Although its biggest markets are in Mexico and the USA, the company now also operates in several European countries with further expansion in the pipeline. Meanwhile, in 2008 the company set a milestone by starting a sales operation in the emerging market of Brazil and next year plans are afoot for expansion into India.

Among those at the helm of the latest developments are Dr. Friedrich Kroos who was appointed President and CEO of the company in January this year and Janice Jackson, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer since June 2008.

“This is a very exciting time for us,” said Dr. Kroos. “We are investing heavily at the moment which makes sense in our industry. Our view is that those who invest now in the downturn will be the strongest at the end of the downturn.

“Countries we are currently operating in within Europe include Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Russia, with further expansion underway - particularly in Russia. These are countries that have extremely high demand for our low ticket items which is fantastic because those high productivities mean good income for our Consultants.”

Meanwhile, as the company goes from strength to strength, marketing boss Janice believes JAFRA is set to become a household name across the globe. “In our strongest market of Mexico eight out of ten people have heard of JAFRA and are very favourable towards the brand,” said Janice. “I am confident we will see this happening in every market that we operate.

“Sales are going up despite the recession, most likely due to what we call the ‘Lipstick index’ – the name for the phenomenon where sales of lipstick increase whenever there is a recession’. We think it is because affordable luxuries are important during a downturn because they cheer people up.

We are fortunate because in direct selling we are not only providing opportunities for people looking for additional income but we are also providing people with affordable luxuries, so we are benefiting people two fold.”

JAFRA was originally established as a family company by Jan and Frank Day, in Malibu, California, and is today one of the world’s largest cosmetics manufacturers of skin care, beauty and fragrance products. Its parent company, Vorwerk is an international family enterprise established in 1883 and specialises in the direct sales of superior products for the home.

“Vorwerk’s expertise in the field of direct sales is unique in all sales channels,” Dr. Kroos pointed out. “The company attaches the utmost importance to giving both customers and Consultants a fair deal. Through Vorwerk JAFRA is receiving the support it needs for long term strategic thinking, so we have the chance to build something really great with this company.”

By far the company’s most exciting development this year, and the largest investment by JAFRA’s parent group, has been the completion of a brand new, purpose built manufacturing facility in Queretaro, Mexico. “The location and infrastructure has provided us with the opportunity to build a plant with the most modern standards for cosmetics production and was strategically selected to allow growth,” Dr. Kroos explained.

He pointed out that the new site and the investment in new production equipment will further improve JAFRA’S ability to produce high quality, innovative products, in strong cooperation with its Research and Development department at JAFRA’s headquarters in Westlake Village, California.

The new plant increases the size of the company’s current manufacturing facility by 50 per cent, with room for even further expansion. It will be JAFRA’s leading manufacturing facility, supplying worldwide operations and continuing the company’s tradition of environmental responsibility and ‘green’ business practices.

Janice believes high quality products, such as JAFRA’s flagship Royal Jelly Milk Balm Advanced, its recently unveiled Legacy autumn cosmetics range and its groundbreaking new Men Dynamics skin line, are at the heart of JAFRA’s success, along with the company’s attractive compensation plan and the excellent relationship JAFRA has with more than 526,000 Consultants worldwide.

Both Janice and Dr. Kroos believe it is primarily the quality of the products that creates such a fantastic level of loyalty among the customers as well as the Consultants. “Attracting and retaining our Consultants is also about fulfilling our promises,” explained Dr. Kroos.

“You can only convince a new Consultant to become a Consultant and stay within the company if we keep the promises we make and this is all about the effectiveness of our programme.”

Janice added: “We pride ourselves in having the best compensation plan in the MLM market place with fabulous commissions and discounts at the early stages so that it helps new Consultants to get off to a really good start.

“As far as our products are concerned, I am particularly passionate about our ‘stay young’ portfolio. We prefer the term ‘stay young’ rather than anti-aging which we feel is a kind of negative term. Our products appeal to women of all ages and it is a high demand category to be working in.

As a marketing person it is wonderful not only to believe in the product but also to believe in the programme and what the company does in supporting women in all the countries where we are active to achieve their goals. There aren’t many jobs that are so rewarding.”

Janice continued: “At every event we go to all over the world we hear success stories and it is so uplifting to know that all our hard work is really making such a difference to so many people’s lives.”

Scottish-born Janice brings 25 years of marketing experience to her current position. This includes 11 years with MLM giant, Alticor, rising from Marketing Manager, Europe, based in London, UK, where she led the company’s regional marketing organisation across 19 European markets, to Vice President of Global Brands, based in Michigan, USA, where she headed a global marketing organisation of 50 employees – with 15 brands across Alticor’s three core categories.

Meanwhile, Dr. Kroos spent 12 years in various management level positions within the Vorwerk group, before taking up his latest position at JAFRA. In his current role as President and CEO, Dr. Kroos reports directly to the Executive Board at Vorwerk and is responsible for the overall management of JAFRA and for overseeing the development and implementation of the company’s ongoing business strategies. Shortly after joining JAFRA he also took on responsibility for the European Markets.

Dr. Kroos was born in Arolsen, Germany, studied at the University of Aachen and received his Doctorate from the University of Hanover. He is fluent in English, German and Italian.

On a management level generally, JAFRA has an extremely multicultural team. Its management board at the Westlake Village headquarters is made up of people from all over the world. Janice points out that out of her marketing and R&D team of 30, very few are American.

Though JAFRA was originally set up with women in mind, today some of its successful Consultants and leaders are also men. And with the introduction of the company’s latest Men Dynamics male grooming range and the growing demand for male grooming products generally, there has been some speculation that the number of male Consultants could increase.

“We tend to think of ourselves as a company for women and a few good men!” said Janice. “But it is quite possible that the introduction of our new men’s range could result in more male Consultants.”

However, Dr. Kroos is quick to point out that the male grooming products weren’t developed with this in mind.

“Male grooming products are usually bought by women for their men,” he said. “Nevertheless, everybody - male or female - is welcome to join us.”

Both Janice and Dr. Kroos agree that the new men’s range is something the company is really proud of. Janice enthused, “We did extensive research to discover what men are looking for in the grooming line and it seems they want products with multiple uses and multiple benefits – such as our triple duty wash that works for hair, face and body. Most men don’t want to spend hours in the bathroom. It’s the ultimate guy product line.”

She added: “Other research shows men’s desire for grooming products is growing every year and that the men’s segment is one of the primary drivers of growth in the US skin caremarket, having grown 42 per cent between 2000 and 2005, compared with just 23 per cent for the market as a whole.”

Meanwhile, JAFRA’s new Legacy line for women has been inspired by the fashions in Paris, Milan and New York. “We always like to stay on trend and our Legacy line leverages today’s catwalk trends and is perfect for women who want a contemporary look inspired by classic beauty,” Janice said.

With the launch of new products such as these and further expansion pointing to an exciting year ahead for JAFRA in 2010, future objectives for the company will include continuing to develop leadership and improve training of sales Consultants while positioning the product more intensively to ensure even greater success.

But Dr. Kroos concluded, “The key to our success today is still very much about the culture of personal contact and developing people to a level of leadership they never thought they could achieve and, ultimately, helping more women make a success of their lives.”

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Quality Control Fact File

QUALITY control is at the heart of JAFRA’s ongoing goal to exceed customer expectations and provide customer satisfaction guarantees for every product it sells. This aim is behind every JAFRA decision, including the location and construction of its new skin care, cosmetic and fragrance manufacturing facility in Queretaro, Mexico.

JAFRA’S world-class research and development team at its headquarters in Westlake Village, California, oversees all phases of product creation and production, including research, formulation, testing and manufacturing.

The Research and Development team includes biologists, chemists, toxicologists and clinicians highly proficient in the use of sophisticated, high-tech laboratory instrumentation.

Every JAFRA product is extensively researched and tested in all phases of development and manufacturing to ensure its quality, safety and effectiveness. Tests include year long reviews by dermatologists, ophthalmologists, estheticians, paediatricians and toxicologists at independent, reputable test laboratories in the US and France.

After a new formula passes scrutiny at Research and Development’s quality control laboratory in California, it undergoes another series of tests at JAFRA’s manufacturing centre in Mexico City.

The Mexico facility processes over 3,000 different ingredients in the production of some 500 products for sale worldwide which must meet JAFRA’s high standards for excellence and effectiveness as well as the customer needs and regulatory requirements of the international market. Quality control and
manufacturing experts then test production batches throughout the manufacturing process.

Samples are taken at the beginning, middle and end of a production run to ensure the purity and efficacy of the end product. Only then is the product deemed worthy of the JAFRA brand.

NO animals are used in the testing of JAFRA products.