Shea Yeleen
Shea Yeleen is a DC-based social enterprise founded in 2005 that sells handcrafted, unrefined shea butter skincare — body creams, balms, soaps, gift sets and a soap subscription — direct-to-consumer worldwide, sourcing from women-owned cooperatives in Ghana at 5x local wage.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersWashington, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Shea Yeleen does
Shea Yeleen is a Washington, DC-based social enterprise founded in 2005 by Rahama Wright following her Peace Corps service in Ghana. The company sells handcrafted, unrefined shea butter skincare products under a "Yeleen Sourced" proprietary process that sources from women-owned cooperatives in sub-Saharan Africa, paying producers 5x the local minimum wage and supporting the education of 268+ children.
The product portfolio centers on three core lines: body creams (3.4 oz, $20), body balms (4 oz, $22), and shea butter soaps ($8 per bar), offered in multiple scent variants including Lavender Honeysuckle, Coconut Melon, Lemon Verbena, Tea Tree Charcoal, Oatmeal Spice and Lemongrass Peppermint. Value-added SKUs include bundles, gift sets ($30-$75), digital gift cards ($10-$100), a Mother's Day Wellness Gift Box co-branded with SoHookd, and a $20 Soap Club subscription for three soaps. All products are positioned as paraben-, petroleum-, sulfate-, phthalate- and cruelty-free.
Revenue is generated exclusively through direct-to-consumer e-commerce via the company's Shopify-powered storefront at sheayeleen.com, supplemented by a bulk-order channel (up to 20% discount on 6+ units), digital gift cards, and international shipping through UPS and USPS. The customer base consists of health-conscious consumers seeking natural skincare, gift buyers, and bulk buyers such as spas and salons. The company has not disclosed institutional funding beyond a 2013 round from PanAfrican Investment Co., and revenue figures are not publicly reported.
Shea Yeleen firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Shea Yeleen
- Legal name
- Shea Yeleen
- Website
- https://sheayeleen.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Shea Yeleen is a DC-based social enterprise founded in 2005 that sells handcrafted, unrefined shea butter skincare — body creams, balms, soaps, gift sets and a soap subscription — direct-to-consumer worldwide, sourcing from women-owned cooperatives in Ghana at 5x local wage.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Shea Yeleen industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Natural Skincare
- SIC
- Perfumes, Cosmetics & Other Toilet Preparations (2844)
- akta.pro industry
- Spa Body Treatments & Massage (Oils, Scrubs, Wraps)
Keywords
Where Shea Yeleen is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Washington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Shea Yeleen business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others
Revenue model
- Direct Product Sales (E-commerce): Revenue generated from direct-to-consumer sales of shea butter skincare products (body balms, body creams, soaps, gift sets) through their own e-commerce website. Products sold at various price points from $8 to $100.
- Bulk/Wholesale Orders: Bulk purchasing option available for customers buying 6+ products of the same collection, offering up to 20% discount. Supports both individual bulk buyers and potentially retail/reseller orders.
- Gift Cards: Digital gift cards sold in denominations of $10, $25, $50, and $100, delivered via email with instructions to redeem at checkout.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Body Balms - 4 oz size |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Body Creams - 3.4 oz size |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Shea Butter Soaps |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Soap Club - 3 Soaps |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Body Cream and Soap Bundle |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Mother's Day Wellness Gift Box |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Shea Butter Cream Gift Set |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Shea Butter Soap Giftbox |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Gift Cards |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Bulk Order Discount |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Shea Yeleen product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Shea Yeleen sells handcrafted, unrefined shea butter skincare products through its own e-commerce storefront, including body creams (3.4 oz), body balms (4 oz), bar soaps, gift sets, bundles, digital gift cards, and a Soap Club subscription. All products are formulated with pure, unrefined shea butter sourced from women-owned cooperatives in Ghana via the proprietary "Yeleen Sourced" process, which pays producers 5x the local minimum wage. The product line is free from parabens, petroleum, sulfates, pesticides, phthalates, and artificial dyes.
Product overview
Shea Yeleen is a handcrafted skincare brand offering a unified product portfolio centered on pure, ethically sourced shea butter from women-owned cooperatives in Ghana. The core offerings span three main product lines: (1) Body Creams in Lavender Honeysuckle, Coconut Melon, and Lemon Verbena variants (3.4 oz), providing ultra-hydrating moisture with vitamins A, E, D and beta-carotene; (2) Body Balms in matching scents (4 oz), offering deeper moisturization for dry skin on elbows, knees, feet and hands; and (3) Shea Butter Soaps in five variants (Lavender Ylang Ylang, Lemon Patchouli, Lemongrass Peppermint, Oatmeal Spice, Tea Tree Charcoal) featuring organic base oils and essential oils. The company also offers value-added bundles including Body Cream and Soap bundles, Shea Butter Cream Gift Sets, Shea Butter Soap Giftboxes, and a limited-edition Mother's Day Wellness Gift Box created with partner SoHookd. A Soap Club subscription provides recurring delivery of 3 soaps for $20. All products feature unrefined shea butter, are free from parabens, petroleum, sulfates, pesticides, phthalates, and artificial dyes, and are never tested on animals.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Lavender Honeysuckle Shea Butter Body Cream (3.4 oz)
Quantifiable outcome
- 268+ children supported through education
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Shea Yeleen
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Shea Yeleen technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Shea Yeleen partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- SoHookdminorPartnership with SoHookd for the limited-edition Mother's Day Wellness Gift Box. The gift box features five handcrafted Shea Yeleen soaps made with nourishing, ethically sourced shea butter. The collaboration emphasizes the wellness experience and support for women-owned cooperatives in West Africa.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Shea Yeleen competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Sundial Brands: Parent of SheaMoisture and Nubian Heritage. Relevant comparator because it scaled mission-driven shea-butter brands into major retail distribution before being acquired by Unilever.
- Dr. Bronner's: Mission-driven, fair-trade-certified natural personal-care brand. Comparable on ethical-sourcing values and natural ingredient positioning, but much broader in product range and scale.
- Burt's Bees: Mass-market natural personal-care brand with adjacent body-care SKUs. Competes for natural and ethically minded consumers and provides a benchmark on commercializing mission-led ingredients at scale.
- The Body Shop: Established global retailer of ethically sourced, naturally formulated beauty products including shea-butter lines. Competes for the values-driven natural-beauty consumer at significantly larger scale.
- L'Occitane: Global premium beauty brand with a flagship shea-butter product line sourced from Burkina Faso. Overlaps on shea-butter skincare but operates at much larger scale across a broad beauty portfolio.
Direct peers
- Nubian Heritage: Black-owned natural beauty brand with multiple shea-butter products aimed at a similar demographic and retail channels. Same ingredient-driven positioning makes it a direct substitute in many SKUs.
- SheaMoisture: Direct competitor specializing in shea-butter-based hair and skin care for similar multicultural, natural-product consumers. Overlap is strongest in the body-care and soap lines where Shea Yeleen competes.
- Alaffia: Social-enterprise / fair-trade shea-butter brand sourcing from women-led cooperatives in West Africa. Closest comparable on mission, supply-chain model, and product mix, including body care and soaps.
- Dr. Woods: Shea-butter-focused personal care brand selling soaps, lotions, and body products in similar price bands ($5–$20). Closely comparable on product line depth and ingredient-led marketing.
Emerging players
- Asili Pure & Natural: Smaller African-sourced shea-butter brand with a similar fair-trade, single-ingredient positioning. Useful emerging-peer benchmark for what direct-DTC competition looks like at comparable scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Shea Yeleen social profiles
Digital presenceShea Yeleen financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Shea Yeleen leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Shea Yeleen funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Shea Yeleen 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 Shea Yeleen
What does Shea Yeleen do?
Shea Yeleen sells handcrafted, unrefined shea butter skincare products through its own e-commerce storefront, including body creams (3.4 oz), body balms (4 oz), bar soaps, gift sets, bundles, digital gift cards, and a Soap Club subscription. All products are formulated with pure, unrefined shea butter sourced from women-owned cooperatives in Ghana via the proprietary "Yeleen Sourced" process, which pays producers 5x the local minimum wage. The product line is free from parabens, petroleum, sulfates, pesticides, phthalates, and artificial dyes.
Is Shea Yeleen a public or private company?
Shea Yeleen is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Shea Yeleen founded?
Shea Yeleen was founded in 2005. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Shea Yeleen based?
Shea Yeleen is headquartered in Washington, United States, in the North America region.
How does Shea Yeleen make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Direct Product Sales (E-commerce) is the primary driver. The others are bulk/Wholesale Orders and gift Cards.
Who are Shea Yeleen's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Sundial Brands, Dr. Bronner's, Burt's Bees, The Body Shop and L'Occitane. Direct peers are Nubian Heritage, SheaMoisture, Alaffia and Dr. Woods. Asili Pure & Natural is listed as an emerging player.
Does Shea Yeleen have an API?
No public API is recorded for Shea Yeleen.
What industry is Shea Yeleen in?
Shea Yeleen's product category is Natural Skincare. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRABALAG, Spa Body Treatments & Massage (Oils, Scrubs, Wraps). Its SIC code is 2844.