CONTACT Magazine (Vol.18 No.3 – December 2018)

looking outwards
courtesy sacha cosmetics
Kama Maharaj, the founder of Sacha
Cosmetics
Sacha Cosmetics: take advantage of T&T’s
trade agreements
Sacha Cosmetics first exported 15 years ago, to Caricom. It has also exported to Cuba
for over ten years now, and has made inroads online, selling on Amazon in Canada, the
European Union, the UK and the USA.
In 2015 Sacha entered the Latin American market, operating first in Panama
where it now owns five stores. Recently it signed an agreement to position its
makeup products in 115 retail outlets of the Colombian-based La Riviera Group, and
it plans to further increase its outlets worldwide using a franchising model.
Kama Maharaj, Sacha’s founder, says: “The major challenge of exporting to
Latin America is the time and costs required for completing regulatory and product
registrations. However, we persisted because Trinidad and Tobago has duty-free or
partial scope agreements with several of these markets.” In Colombia, import duties
on American and European brands are 15-20%, while Sacha can enter the market
duty-free.
Maharaj encourages exporters to identify their competitors, and to differentiate
their products and services. Sacha is positioned as a high-end brand in its export
markets, and as the only makeup line made specifically for multi-cultural women
with light, medium and dark complexions.
As Sacha looks to new markets in Africa, Maharaj recommends that local firms
should not restrict themselves to Caricom, as it’s a small market with limited growth
potential, and nearby Latin America provides additional scope.
40
Trinidad
and Tobago Chamber
of Industry and Commerce
www.chamber.org.tt/contact-magazine