Africa Alive LLC

What Africa Alive LLC does

Africa Alive LLC is a privately held, for-profit limited liability company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that operates the "Shea du Mali" brand of natural personal-care products. The company sells shea butter-based skincare, haircare, and African black soap items direct to consumers through its e-commerce website, sheadumali.com. The product positioning anchors the line to Malian shea butter, a specific geographic and cultural provenance that the brand uses to differentiate within the natural beauty category.

The core product set spans three adjacent categories — skincare, haircare, and traditional African black soap — all built around a single primary ingredient (shea butter) sourced from or inspired by Mali. The technical footprint is that of a standard small-business e-commerce storefront; no proprietary technology, custom platform, API, mobile app, or integrations were disclosed in the source material, and the company website renders as a generic loading/verification page with no substantive product or technology detail.

The business model is direct-to-consumer retail of branded specialty beauty goods. With a headcount of 1-10 employees and no recorded outside funding, the operation is consistent with a bootstrapped micro-enterprise. No pricing model, customer segmentation, marketing channel mix, distribution partners, or revenue mechanics are disclosed in the available data, which constrains any deeper financial or commercial characterization.

Name

Africa Alive LLC

Website

https://sheadumali.com

Company type

Private

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Africa Alive LLC operates the Shea du Mali brand, selling natural shea butter skincare, haircare, and African black soap products direct to consumers through its online store at sheadumali.com.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Natural Personal Care & Cosmetics

NAICS

Cosmetics, Beauty Supplies, and Perfume Retailers (456120)

SIC

Perfumes, Cosmetics & Other Toilet Preparations (2844)

akta.pro primary industry

Natural/Organic & Clean Skincare (CRABAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Hair Care (Shampoo, Conditioner, Styling, Treatments) (CRADANAE)

Keywords

• Natural skincare products
• Shea butter cosmetics
• African black soap
• Natural haircare products
• Handcrafted body care

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel

Core offering

Africa Alive LLC, operating under the Shea du Mali brand, sells natural shea butter-based skincare, haircare, and traditional African black soap products directly to consumers via its online store at sheadumali.com. The product line is centered on personal-care items formulated with shea butter and related African-sourced natural ingredients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Shea du Mali Natural Shea Butter Skincare Natural skincare line formulated with shea butter, sold under the Shea du Mali brand to individual consumers via the sheadumali.com online store.
• Shea du Mali Natural Shea Butter Haircare Natural haircare products made with shea butter, sold under the Shea du Mali brand to individual consumers online.
• African Black Soap Traditional African black soap offered as part of the Shea du Mali product range, sold directly to consumers through the brand's online store.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• L'Occitane en Provence: Natural-ingredient skincare and body care brand with shea butter ranges. Overlaps with Shea du Mali on the shea butter body care product category and the natural ingredient positioning, though at much larger scale and global retail presence.
• The Body Shop: Global natural and ethically sourced personal care retailer with body butters, soaps, and skincare lines. Competes for the same consumer shopping for natural skincare and body care, with greater scale and international retail footprint.
• SheaMoisture: The dominant natural shea butter-based skincare and haircare brand, now owned by Unilever. Directly comparable ingredient story and product categories (shea butter soaps, lotions, hair treatments) targeting the same consumer seeking natural personal care.
• Dr. Bronner's: Established natural soap and personal care brand known for organic, fair-trade castile and bar soaps including African black soap. Overlaps on the natural cleansing and skin-contact product categories and competes for the same ethically sourced, natural-minded consumer.

Emerging players

• Epara: Luxury African-inspired skincare brand using shea-based formulations. Comparable on the African heritage + skincare intersection and targets a premium natural-skincare consumer, though positioned at a higher price tier.
• Mented Cosmetics: DTC beauty brand built around an underserved demographic community, sold primarily online. Comparable DTC-only distribution model and underdog-brand-to-incumbent dynamics that mirror Shea du Mali's market position.
• Hanahana Beauty: Small-batch, African-sourced shea butter skincare brand with ethical sourcing story. Closely comparable in size, ingredient focus (shea butter), cultural-heritage positioning, and DTC go-to-market motion.

Direct peers

• Sundial Brands: Parent company of SheaMoisture and Nubian Heritage and itself a Black-owned natural beauty holding company. Directly comparable on cultural-heritage brand portfolio, shea-centric product portfolio, and DTC/retail distribution.
• Nubian Heritage: African-inspired natural skincare and soap brand using shea butter and black soap. Closest direct competitor to Shea du Mali with overlapping product assortment (bar soap, body care, hair care) and similar heritage-based brand positioning.
• Alaffia: West African-inspired natural personal care brand built around shea butter and fair-trade sourcing. Comparable product range (body care, hair care, skincare) and similar ethical-sourcing brand narrative targeting the natural/clean beauty consumer.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat1 record

Key risks4 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/africa-alive-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Africa Alive LLC