It is a sunny Monday and SeKaf Ghana Limited has just purchased 18 metric tons of raw shea nuts from their women’s cooperative and brought to the warehouse. Sekaf is a social enterprise that produces natural and organic shea butter products, branded as TAMA. Tamale, the capital town of the Ghana’s Northern Region, is the fourth largest city in Ghana and is the home of SeKaf.
Sekaf’s premium Ghanaian shea butter products are now available in Canada, under the brand TAMA Cosmetics. The brand’s entry into the Canadian market is thanks in part to market research facilitated by TFO Canada through its “Market Entry Study” program.

It is no surprise that the best shea butter in the world comes from West Africa and Ghana. TAMA Cosmetics are unique because of the high percentage of natural shea butter. Products include shea butter soap, black soap, hand creams, body lotion, shea oil for body & hair, and unrefined shea butter—all made with high percentage of shea butter. Unique to TAMA is the beautiful packaging and branding, all designed and developed from Tamale.
A team of MBA students from the University of Ottawa, Telfer School of Management developed a marketing plan to guide TAMA’s entry into the Canadian market. The marketing plan has been a great guide to the Canadian CEO as she has navigated the first few months of marketing in the great white north.
TAMA Cosmetics products are currently on the shelves of four retailers in Ontario, and we seek expansion. One of our retailers, Little Green Planet, in Toronto’s Kensington Market, just placed their fifth order, and feedback has been positive from customers.
“The TAMA shea butter is absolutely divine and kept my skin soft and hydrated. I have chronic eczema and my skin is so happy now,” says happy customer Elisa from Toronto.
E-commerce was also identified as a market channel, and an online shop launched late last year. TAMA Cosmetics are available here: www.tamacosmetics.ca
The Canadian market offers many opportunities for future development. Premium shea butter products have been experiencing a rapid growth due to the high awareness of and demand for the benefits of natural shea butter.
Exporting TAMA shea butter from Ghana to Canada has a positive impact on the Ghanaian women, their rural communities, and promotes economic growth in Africa. “Our supplier produces at the SeKaf Shea Butter Village women’s cooperative and buys shea nuts from over 5,000 women, employs 95 women, and has trained over 1400 women on savings habits” says Tama Cosmetics Canada.
“For Sekaf, being able to sell more of our TAMA products in Canada means being able to provide sustainable income and employment. Once we are profitable, we have even bigger dreams of reinvesting in the communities in which we operate,” says Mirabelle Moreaux, CEO of SeKaf.