From Tradition to Premium: The Transformation of Moroccan Natural Cosmetics

The Moroccan natural cosmetics market is no longer just a simple artisanal segment carried by tradition. It is now a structured competitive space, moving upmarket, where European regulatory requirements, the sophistication of the urban consumer, and the quest for authenticity intersect.

This sector, producing based on local products, has experienced, over the last ten years, growth estimated at 15%. Although there are very few specific figures for this segment, professionals suggest it represents a share ranging between 20 and 30% of the overall Moroccan cosmetics market.

The latter is estimated, in 2025, at around 8 billion dirhams and could, according to the same sources, reach, in the next two years, 9.7 billion dirhams. A growth driven by the development of e-commerce and operator innovation.

Relying on local authenticity and fueled by the enthusiasm for “clean beauty,” this market is attracting an increasingly local and tourist clientele, predominantly female, sensitive to organic and fair-trade trends.

In this changing sector, there are more than thirty small and medium-sized natural cosmetics producing companies. In their conquest, both of the domestic and international markets, they are doubling their efforts to offer a quality product: selection of local products, choice of cooperatives supplying raw materials and suppliers of containers and packaging to guarantee a competitive and quality offering.

These efforts are necessary because operators are aware that local products (argan oil, prickly pear, rhassoul), despite their quality, are no longer enough to build the reputation of the offering that distinguishes brands both in the local market and in foreign outlets.

Ingredients and Business Model

In this rapidly changing market, the focus is shifting more towards the choice of business model than the qualitative evaluation of inputs. Retail or e-commerce, ultra-premium niche or gradual brand-building, immediate export or local consolidation: brands are working to refine their strategic choices.

Thus, the two trajectories of Hendya and Nelya, two young companies, particularly illustrate this dynamic. While the former has chosen physical retail and international expansion, the latter is betting, rather, on digital agility and the rationalization of its product portfolio.

Founded in 2018 by Hasna Alami, Hendya has anchored its offering in a premium niche, that of prickly pear seed oil. “It is indeed a rare product with a high extraction cost, but whose benefits are certain. This allows us to stand out from the competition, local and foreign, and to build the brand image,” explains Alami.

The young entrepreneur positioned herself from the start in a high-value-added niche: prickly pear seed oil to justify her premium positioning.

The brand has built its image around this emblematic ingredient, which has become a symbol of a Moroccan natural luxury. For Alami, it’s a way to valorize Moroccan local products, because “we must move away from this folkloric aspect of sales in souks to build an image of ‘made in Morocco’ and a reputation not only for my brand, but for the entire sector.

The idea of starting in this sector came to me when I was a student in France; I had to go to the medina and souks to buy local products for friends when returning from vacations.”

Hendya has helped make prickly pear seed oil, previously little-known, recognized. But it has also opened up, to manufacture its products, to other ingredients, such as poppy powder, pomegranate powder, honey, and argan.

Its valorization strategy has also helped revive kohl and lipstick based on local products. A diversification that enriches its offering, which already includes four product ranges: skincare, face, hair, and home, notably hand gels, room perfumes, diffusers, and very recently, candles.

The products are sold in the five stores located in Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech, and Tangier. A second opening is planned this year in the economic capital.

Production is 100% Moroccan

“the formulations are done by our pharmaceutical chemist and manufacturing is carried out by a pharmaceutical laboratory. Just as sourcing is done from local cooperatives,” explains the CEO of Hendya, who has bet on conquering the local clientele and aims to position itself in export markets.

Beyond exports that started four years ago now, the brand has not hesitated to establish itself abroad. A Hendya store opened a month ago in Paris.

A strategic establishment that marks an important step in its international ambition, leading it from Germany, where a partnership was signed with Heimman, a major distributor, to the Middle East, as its products have been on sale in Dubai and Jeddah since 2025.

Digital and Quest for Recognition

Nelya, founded two years ago by three women from three different generations, has adopted a different model. Positioned exclusively on e-commerce, the brand does not yet have physical points of sale and concentrates its activity on the national market.

But, specifies Abla Essakali, CEO of Nelya, “we plan to go towards foreign markets and open a first store in Casablanca. These two projects are under study and should materialize in the short term.”

For reference, the brand has corners in several stores, in Duty Free shops as well as on board RAM aircraft. Today, Nelya is in a full phase of strategic restructuring: reducing the number of SKUs to gain clarity, modernizing packaging and containers, and revamping its visual identity.

The objective is clear for Abla Essakali, “strengthen brand recognition and establish the brand in a universe where the natural offering is becoming increasingly dense.” This rationalization of the offering reflects a broader trend in the sector: faced with the multiplication of references, brands understand that coherence and branding strength take precedence over the abundance of product lines.

This has led Nelya to reduce its four ranges (skincare, hair, face, and home) to two references instead of the initial seven. Furthermore, the brand offers personalized gift sets for its clientele and also emphasizes its offering intended for hotels.

If the brand initially manufactured products based on honey and argan, it later introduced other local inputs such as argan oil and aloe vera.

Price-wise, both brands remain accessible

With a price range from 100 to 2,000 dirhams, Hendya clearly assumes its affordable high-end positioning. At Nelya, the price range (150 to 600 dirhams) places it in an intermediate, accessible, but qualitative segment.

Certified to European standards, the brand combines local roots and export projection. It caters primarily to a female clientele (90% of sales), while gradually developing the male segment and partnerships with hotels and spas. Its best sellers remain creams and shampoos, proof that daily care remains the market driver.

Although their trajectories differ, the two companies share structuring characteristics: compliance with European standards, qualitative positioning, mixed but predominantly female target, and presence in hotels and spas.

While remaining discreet about their sales and other turnover figures, the two brands say women represent 80 to 90% of the clientele versus 20 to 10% men. The demand from these gentlemen focuses more on hair products, notably shampoo and styling cream.

For the two competitors, one thing is certain: Moroccan natural cosmetics is entering a phase of advanced professionalization. And in this new era, only brands capable of combining authenticity, clear strategy, and marketing discipline will succeed in transforming a plant-based heritage into a real growth lever.