Alaffia
Alaffia is a privately held, fair trade social enterprise that formulates and sells shea butter, coconut oil, and African Black Soap personal care products for body, hair, face, and baby care, sourced from women-led cooperatives in Togo and Ghana and distributed via DTC e-commerce and major U.S. and Canadian natural grocery retailers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersOlympia, United States
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Alaffia does
Alaffia is a privately held, founder-controlled social enterprise founded in 2003 in Olympia, Washington, that manufactures and distributes fair trade personal care products under its own brand and through major retail partners. The company's core product portfolio spans the EveryDay Shea and EveryDay Coconut collections, Authentic African Black Soap, Pure Unrefined Shea Butter and Coconut Oil, a Babies & Kids collection, the Beautiful Curls textured-hair range (with sub-lines targeted to hair types 2A through 4C), Good Soap Bars, and Good Fizz Bath Bombs. Manufacturing relies on traditional African recipes using unrefined raw shea butter, coconut oil, and orangutan-safe West African palm oil sourced from women-led cooperatives in Togo and Ghana, with finished goods produced in U.S. facilities.
The company operates a hybrid go-to-market model. Direct-to-consumer sales run through alaffia.com with free shipping over $59, a Subscribe & Save subscription option at 10% off, Shop Pay Installments, and a loyalty rewards program. Wholesale distribution covers Whole Foods Market (primary partner and exclusive distributor of Good Soap and Good Fizz), Sprouts, Wegmans, Natural Grocers, H-E-B, Central Market, Earth Fare, Fresh Thyme, Amazon, ThriveMarket.com, VitaCost.com, iHerb.com, Instacart, and Loblaws in Canada, with reported placement across 2,500+ U.S. retail stores as of 2018. Trade partners pay 15-25% above market price for shea nuts, and cooperative members reportedly earn roughly three times the average family income in Togo.
Alaffia holds ECOCERT For Life fair trade certification (since 2008), Leaping Bunny cruelty-free certification, and Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) certification, and received the U.S. State Department's Award for Corporate Excellence for Women's Economic Empowerment in 2018. The company is the operational arm of a broader impact model executed through the Global Alliance for Community Empowerment (GACE), a 501(c)(3) partner that has built 17 schools in Togo and Ghana since 2011, supported maternal health programs, installed water wells serving 100+ families daily, and run reforestation and tree-nursery training initiatives reaching over 1 million people. Founder and CEO Olowo-n'djo Tchala continues to lead the company, which remains privately held with no disclosed institutional funding rounds.
Alaffia firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Alaffia
- Legal name
- Alaffia
- Website
- https://alaffia.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Alaffia is a privately held, fair trade social enterprise that formulates and sells shea butter, coconut oil, and African Black Soap personal care products for body, hair, face, and baby care, sourced from women-led cooperatives in Togo and Ghana and distributed via DTC e-commerce and major U.S. and Canadian natural grocery retailers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Alaffia industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Natural and Fair Trade Personal Care
- NAICS
- Soap and Cleaning Compound Manufacturing (32561), Cosmetics, Beauty Supplies, and Perfume Retailers (456120)
- SIC
- Perfumes, Cosmetics & Other Toilet Preparations (2844), Soap, Detergents, Cleang Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics (2840)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Hand & Body Care (Lotions, Creams, Body Oils) (CRADANAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Conditioners & Hair Masks (CRABABAB)
Keywords
Where Alaffia is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Olympia
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Alaffia business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Direct-to-Consumer E-commerce: Alaffia sells products directly through alaffia.com with free shipping over $59, subscription options offering 10% savings, and a loyalty rewards program
- Retail/Wholesale Distribution: Products sold through major retail partners including Whole Foods Market, Sprouts, Wegmans, Natural Grocers, H-E-B, Central Market, Earth Fare, Fresh Thyme, ThriveMarket.com, VitaCost.com, iHerb.com, Amazon.com, and independent health food stores
- Wholesale B2B: B2B wholesale accounts with retailers and independent health food stores throughout the U.S. and Canada
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Under $10 products |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | $10-$15 products |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | $15-$20 products |
| Subscription | Monthly | Subscription - Subscribe & Save |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels9 records
Marketing channels5 records
Alaffia product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Alaffia manufactures and sells fair trade, handcrafted personal care products for hair, face, and body using ingredients sourced from women-led cooperatives in West Africa. Core offerings include the EveryDay Shea and EveryDay Coconut collections, Authentic African Black Soap, Pure Unrefined Shea Butter and Coconut Oil, the Beautiful Curls line for textured hair, Babies & Kids care, Face Care, and Fragrance Free collections, plus Good Soap bars and Good Fizz bath bombs distributed exclusively through Whole Foods Market.
Product overview
Alaffia is a fair trade beauty and personal care company offering a diverse portfolio of hair, face, and body care products. The core product lines include the EveryDay Shea Collection and EveryDay Coconut Collection featuring body lotions, washes, shampoos, and conditioners; Authentic African Black Soap in various formats; Pure Unrefined Shea Butter and Coconut Oil; and the Babies & Kids Collection. The Beautiful Curls Collection provides curl-enhancing hair care for all curl types (2A-4C), while the Face Care Collection includes cleansers and creams. Newer offerings include Good Soap Bars and Good Fizz Bath Bombs available exclusively at Whole Foods Market. Products are handcrafted by women-led cooperatives in West Africa using traditional recipes and fair trade ingredients, with emphasis on shea butter, coconut oil, and African Black Soap as key raw materials.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- EveryDay Shea Collection
Quantifiable outcome
- 15-25% above market price paid for shea nuts
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Alaffia
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Alaffia technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature3 records
Alaffia partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Whole Foods MarketcoreMajor retail partner and exclusive distributor of Good Soap and Good Fizz product lines. Whole Foods Market has also funded school construction projects in Togo through Alaffia partnership.
- Global Alliance for Community Empowerment (GACE)coreGACE is Alaffia's mission partner, a 501(c)(3) organization that executes community empowerment projects in Togo and Ghana including maternal health services, school construction, clean water access, climate/reforestation initiatives, and bicycles for education. GACE has impacted over 1 million people through these programs.
- Project CUREminorMedical supply partnership providing equipment and supplies to over 50 clinics in partnership with GACE's maternal health program in Togo.
- Portland NeoNatal HospitalminorMedical supply partnership supporting maternal health services by providing medical equipment and supplies to clinics in Togo.
- ECOCERTcoreECOCERT provides For Life fair trade certification for Alaffia's products containing shea, black soap, white soap, or coconut, ensuring compliance with strict social and fair trade standards.
- AYÉYAminorSister organization providing handwoven baskets from co-ops in West Africa. Weavers receive upfront fair-trade wages. Partnership has helped provide potable water for weavers in Sumbrungu Atampure and Shirigu near Bolgatanga.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Alaffia competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SheaMoisture: SheaMoisture is a leading natural haircare and body care brand also built around unrefined shea butter and ethically sourced African ingredients. It is the most direct head-to-head competitor to Alaffia, sharing the same target customers (textured hair consumers, natural beauty shoppers) and core ingredient story, but at substantially larger scale as a Unilever-owned brand.
- Carol's Daughter: Carol's Daughter is a natural hair and body care brand focused on textured hair types and multicultural consumers with products like hair masks, lotions, and body washes. Founded with a similar founder-driven heritage story and now owned by L'Oréal, it directly competes with Alaffia's Beautiful Curls and Everyday Shea collections for shelf space and consumers.
- Dr. Bronner's: Dr. Bronner's is a family-owned, mission-driven natural soap and personal care company famous for its castile soaps and fair-trade, organic ingredient sourcing. It competes directly with Alaffia's African Black Soap and bar soap lines, shares the social-enterprise ethos and natural-channel retail presence, and offers a comparable product format overlap.
Broad incumbents
- Burt's Bees: Burt's Bees is a large natural personal care brand owned by Clorox offering lip balms, lotions, soaps, and body washes. While broader in portfolio and serving a wider price point range, it competes with Alaffia for natural-channel shelf space at Whole Foods, Sprouts, and other key retailers and shares the natural ingredient positioning.
- Drunk Elephant: Drunk Elephant is a clean, biocompatible skincare brand owned by Shiseido that competes in the same natural-beauty-conscious consumer segment as Alaffia. While primarily focused on skincare rather than body/hair care, it shares the clean-ingredient, premium positioning and overlapping retail distribution at Sephora and natural channels.
- The Honest Company: The Honest Company is a clean, sustainably-focused consumer products company offering personal care, baby, and beauty products. It directly overlaps with Alaffia's clean ingredient positioning and Babies & Kids collection, and competes for similar conscious consumers, though at a larger scale and broader product portfolio.
- Sundial Brands: Sundial Brands (parent of SheaMoisture and Nubian Heritage) is a natural beauty company focused on shea butter-based products rooted in African heritage. It competes most directly with Alaffia's shea-based product line and shared heritage positioning, but operates at significantly greater scale under Unilever ownership.
Emerging players
- Method Products: Method Products (part of Ecover) makes eco-friendly personal care and household cleaning products with similar natural, sustainably-positioned branding. While primarily known for hand soaps and cleaning products, Method competes with Alaffia in the hand/body wash category and shares the natural-channel retail footprint.
- Pai Skincare: Pai Skincare is a certified organic, clean beauty skincare brand focused on sensitive skin. While primarily a skincare brand rather than full-body care, it competes with Alaffia's Face Care and Fragrance Free collections for the same sensitive-skin-conscious, natural-ingredient-seeking consumer segment.
- Native: Native is a personal care brand offering natural deodorant, body wash, and bar soap products with simple ingredient formulations. It overlaps with Alaffia's body wash, bar soap, and clean-ingredient positioning, and shares the natural-channel and DTC retail presence, though Native focuses more heavily on deodorants.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Alaffia social profiles
Digital presenceAlaffia compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Alaffia financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Alaffia leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Alaffia funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Alaffia M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Alaffia
What does Alaffia do?
Alaffia manufactures and sells fair trade, handcrafted personal care products for hair, face, and body using ingredients sourced from women-led cooperatives in West Africa. Core offerings include the EveryDay Shea and EveryDay Coconut collections, Authentic African Black Soap, Pure Unrefined Shea Butter and Coconut Oil, the Beautiful Curls line for textured hair, Babies & Kids care, Face Care, and Fragrance Free collections, plus Good Soap bars and Good Fizz bath bombs distributed exclusively through Whole Foods Market.
Is Alaffia a public or private company?
Alaffia is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Alaffia founded?
Alaffia was founded in 2003. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Alaffia based?
Alaffia is headquartered in Olympia, United States, in the North America region.
How does Alaffia make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Direct-to-Consumer E-commerce is the primary driver. The others are retail/Wholesale Distribution and wholesale B2B.
Who are Alaffia's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SheaMoisture, Carol's Daughter and Dr. Bronner's. Broad incumbents are Burt's Bees, Drunk Elephant, The Honest Company and Sundial Brands. Emerging players are Method Products, Pai Skincare and Native.
Does Alaffia have an API?
No public API is recorded for Alaffia.
What industry is Alaffia in?
Alaffia's product category is Natural and Fair Trade Personal Care. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRADANAC, Hand & Body Care (Lotions, Creams, Body Oils), with a secondary code of CRABABAB, Conditioners & Hair Masks. Its NAICS code is 32561 and its SIC code is 2844.