Modupe Mills, a dermatologist, is the chief executive officer and inventor of Momil Essential skin products. In this interview with newsmen at the just concluded 38th Kaduna International Trade Fair, she stress the need for Nigerians to patronize locally made products. Msue Aza was there for LEADERSHIPWhat is Momil all about'Momil is coined from my name, Modupe Mills. I took the first two alphabets from my name and take the last three from my last name that is Momil Essentials. I am a dermatologist by profession; a skin therapist. I love seeing beautiful and healthy skin, so I decided to come up with the soap that will remain and help those who want to come up with their natural beauty. I look at the soap people buy and use, they are mostly chemical based; taking the natural oil away from the skin. I intend to educate women to let them know about the chemicals they have been using, that they cause hyper pigmentation and hypo pigmentation. Some of them have stains on the forehead which we call instincts; that is as a result of the soap and cream they have been buying from the market. I want them to know about natural soap and advantages of using them.From what you are saying now, Momil products are made from natural ingredients. How do you source for them'Momil soaps are made from coconut oil, shea butter, avocado oil, alga oil, and sweet almond oil. Some of these are sourced from international companies abroad. I brought some essential oil from abroad but we can get local ones in Nigeria too, especially shea butter, avocado oil and coconut oil which I make myself. So, l am very sure of my natural products.Have your products been marketed outside Nigeria'I have my product in Senegal. I dont know how it got there but somebody called and told me she saw my products in Senegal and liked them. She demanded to have them distributed in the country. All this is done within the barely one year of Momils existence as a brand' But beyond that, the emphasis of all of us must be on encouraging thepatronage of locally made goods rather than displaying unnecessary quest for foreign goods. We must encourage made in Nigeria by cultivating the habit of buying goods produced within the country so as to grow our economy and help create more jobs.Do you intend to partner with the agency the Nigeria Export Promotion Council'Of course we will as we are bent on sustaining our production, expanding our visibility and eventually hitting the international scene. It will take some time because the whole process has to be gradual, but we are optimistic that we will get there, hence we will explore all avenues of partnership with the Export Promotion Council.As a matter of fact, we discussed with the Executive Director of the council, Olusegun Awolowo and he was impressed with what we are doing.What feedback or comments have you been receiving from users of your products'The most amazing feedback I got was from a customer of mine whose name is Yasmin. She came here and I convinced her to try the soap. To my amazement, she sent me a message on Whatsapp, saying she mustconfess that the soap is what she had been looking for and will come and pick more before we leave.How many categories of products do you have'I have a lot, like anti-aging, anti-aging/toning, acne face soap, pigmentation, hypo pigmentation and aloe-vera. I also have fruit peel soaps from pawpaw, pineapple, lemon, watermelon, mango, carrots and others. I made soap from fruits. So you are very sure of what you are applying on your skin should you buy our products.In how many cities or states do you have Momil products'Well, I have about four outlets in Abuja, three in Lagos and I came down to Kaduna to see if I will be able to get someone that could represent us here as a distributor.What is the response to your products at the Trade Fair'Being a new product, I am impressed. It is very difficult for one to sell and convince buyers about a new product. But I wish that the Trade Fair organisers will mobilize more people next time. I want to see a change because I will still be here next year. I am a goal-getter. There is the need to create greater awareness in advance ahead of the 2018 edition. The Fair should be well advertised few months ahead. Just like the Guangzhou Fair holding in china. They started advertising it for some time now and it is going to hold in April. I expect to see such change in Kaduna so that participants can come from other African countries to showcase what they have.
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