When The MakeUp Shop co-founders, Nehal Hesham and Fady El Dwairy decided focused to focus on the beauty market, they discovered many problems such as over-priced products, counterfeit items, overseas & unavailable items.

Counterfeiting has a damaging effect on the business and the industries general economy. Consumers who knowingly purchase counterfeit products are unlikely to have purchased genuine equivalent, and often do so because the counterfeit versions are much cheaper. This means that legitimate companies face competitors that steal their intellectual property without paying taxes or complying with the regulations and quality standards that the former do. Counterfeit goods are not subject to the regulatory standards and production norms that govern legitimate products, their consumption can pose serious health risks. It also has an alarming number of potentially infection-causing bacteria that can lead to scarring, burning, and
disfigurement.

E-commerce reached $8.3 billion in 2017 in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with an annual growth rate of 30%. It is expected to reach $28.5 by 2022. The UAE is the region’s most competitive e-commerce industry with a penetration rate of 4.2%, close to Turkish and
Brazilian markets. Saudi Arabia (KSA), at 3.8%, closely follows the UAE and together they represent 60% of the e-commerce market in the region. Meanwhile, Egypt’s e-commerce market is rapidly growing, and is
projected to hit $3.5 billion by 2022.

Beauty the Billion Dollar Industry

MENA e-commerce can be divided into four key categories: Electronics, Grocery, Beauty and Fashion. Beauty is the second largest segment in E-commerce with 25% of all E-commerce investment. Its growth is driven by increasing consumer confidence in the authenticity of underlying products and the rising popularity of regional influencers. The beauty market’s size in Egypt reached EGP 70 billion ($4.4 billion) which is nearly double of the whole e-commerce market value.

For these reasons , in March 2020, Nehal Hesham and Fady El Dwairy launched The Makeup Shop! The Makeup Shop is an online e-commerce marketplace for authentic beauty products in Egypt. The Makeup Shop offers products across +140 product types including makeup, kits & tools, skincare, hair, bath & body, electrical, men’s and much more. The Makeup Shop is supported by The Makeup Talk Series; the largest beauty community in the MENA region.

The MakeUp Shop

The startup provide girls and women with authentic beauty products at a cheaper cost and easily via their online store. They have specialized beauty advisors team who help customers find the products that meet their needs. It is also within the beaty advisor scope to suggest products, explain how they work, and demonstrate how to use products. Additionally, they build customer relations through follow-up calls and emails.

People can easily visit their website and find lots of products that they
wouldn’t be able to find in a physical store. During the COVID-19 crisis, the beauty e-commerce saw 80% repeat customers and a huge rise in online shopping.

The startup has partnerships with sellers, they provide them with free marketing, more reach to customers and logistics & fulfillment support
to become not only sellers but also business gurus.

The MakeUp Shop collaborates with prestigious brands like L’Oreal, Bioderma, Bel Clinic, Napura and other international brands. It has collaborated with more than 244 brands with +2100 products. The platform has received thousands of orders in the few months in which it’s been operational. Their orders were delivered to four different countries. Additionally, their sales rate grows double every month!