Who We Are

Nilotica shea butter, also known as East African shea butter or shea Nilotica, is the rare cousin of West African shea butter (INCI: Butyrospermum Parkii). It is made from the nuts of the Nilotica shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa ssp. Nilotica) which only grows on the remote savannahs of Northern Uganda and South Sudan.

Shea butter is a product traditionally made by hand by the women in rural villages to use as a food and cosmetics oil. Until about a decade ago, North Uganda was inaccessible due to the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency, and South Sudan is a chal lenging area to access even today. It is no surprise that Nilotica shea butter is still mostly unknown on the international market due to its limited supply and marketing. However, given the unique and beneficial properties of the product and the positive social impact it can create in the areas where the trees grow, it is a very valuable product.

Nilotica shea butter is naturally soft and creamy in texture. It has an ivory yellow colour and a subtle sweet chocolatey
scent making it easy to use both pure and as a key ingredient in a wide variety of skincare and cosmetics products.

West African shea on the other hand is often hard, with a waxy consistency and a strong scent which makes it difficult to use in high concentrations in cosmetic products. The difference in texture of Nilotica is due to the up to 30 % higher oil (oleic acid) contents compared to West African shea butter. The resulting much lower melting point gives it a buttery consistency at room temperature, and the moment it touches the skin it melts into oil. Hence it is often
described as balm-to-oil moisturizer.