About us
Produced in Namibia
Impresario Beauty Oils Africa is a bulk manufacturer and distributor of cosmetic grade Marula -, Mongongo -, Kalahari Melon oil to the international beauty and personal care industries.
Our Head Office and extraction facility is situated in Windhoek, Namibia.
We pride ourselves in being the biggest private marula oil producer in the world and our business philosophy is to shorten the supply chain from source to user and to ensure sustainability and repeatable quality. To enable us to produce bulk quantities of repeatable quality, we have invested in certification (Organic, Fair for Life and ISO 9001) to give our international business partners peace of mind when it comes to quality and supply standards and social responsibility. We are the first Marula oil manufacturer ever that has achieved Fair-for-Life certification
Our business is moulded by our strategy of supply on an individual client’s demand - based on prescheduling; meaning that our clients always receive the freshest and “cosmetic”- ready quality oil when and where needed.
Our raw material is collected on a sustainable basis by our wild harvesters, within the guidelines of traceability and ethical trade. Our oil further differs from other manufacturers in that oils from the seasonal dry lands of Namibia, which has a very broad range of temperatures from sub-freezing to scorching desert, has a softer feel compared to oils from the other regions.
All our raw material is decorticated by hand (supporting the age-old traditions of the indigenous people). Most of the other manufacturers collects nuts (old and new) under trees and use mechanical equipment which lends itself to variance in quality and genetic material.
Our total supply chain (raw material collection and processing facility) is structured to allow for growth, and we currently have capacity for 100 tons of organic Marula oil annually; the factory can manufacture 400 kg of Marula Oil per day alone.
Quality
Our oils are endorsed by our international clientele as being of superior quality. The quality and exceptional colour- and odour profiles was endorsed by a renowned international cosmetics manufacturer (our oil was chosen from a group of oil manufacturers after it went through the most stringent quality and sustainability assessments possible to reach the top position).
The quality of the oil is attained by a 3-tier ultra-fine filtering process. Our systems remove fines and water, yeasts and moulds and bacteria. The final tier of filtering is 0.1 micron.
We have recently fine-tuned our advanced purification system and the outcome was that the average Free Fatty Acid values of the Marula oil decreased by 4% from 1.27 to 1.22 g/100g and our peroxide values was kept at 0.2 mEO2/kg (the lowest detection limit of the laboratory).
The use of top-quality raw material, a product of our raw material supply chain, and a 3-tier filtering system makes our oil formulation-ready. The total colony count, yeast and moulds and e-coli values are exceptionally low, most of the time not detectable. Our filtering systems are also engineered to remove all resin and gums, leaving the oil thin and soft, without changing the natural composition of the oil.
Before shipping, every lot of oil is subjected to a chemical (FFA and PV) and microbiology batch analysis done at accredited independent facilities.
The oil is packaged in 210 litre tight head food grade plastic drums and each drum is given an individual lot number, making the oil completely traceable back to source of raw material. Our general manufacturing processes are audited by ECOCERT annually to ensure that we present a 100% organic and natural product.
| Peroxide Value (Meg/kg) | < 0.2 |
| Free Fatty Acid % (mg/KOH/g) | 2 mgKOH/g |
| Acid Value (mg KOH/g) | 4 mgKOH/g |
Refined Oil
In addition to our normal organic and natural oils, we are also able to produce refined oil. The refinement process is done without the use of any chemical substances or processes and tested refined samples have proofed that the natural composition of the oil remains unchanged. The methodology can also produce oil with the colour, but without the smell.
Sustainability
All our raw material is collected in the traditional communal land of northern Namibia. Wood provides fuel for the heat and cooking fires as well as fence post and fences, which has put a strain on the fauna and flora as trees are being felled to fulfil this need. The Marula tree is one of the indigenous trees of the region and it was also under pressure of being chopped down. The introduction of Marula kernel purchasing gave the Marula tree a new lease on live as it gave it more value and conservation of the trees became very important.
Marula fruit is wild in Northern Namibia where the trees grows naturally and wild. The Marula tree sheds its fruit naturally and it harvested by women. The fruits are used by indigenous people to produce beer/cooldrink. In the past the cracked nuts were used for burning and the kernels for consumption. Once the fruit flesh is used, the nuts are cracked and decorticated by the local women.
The nuts and/or fruit not harvested are left in the soil and can regenerate naturally to produce new trees, or act as food for animals (goats and cattle). Once passed through the gut of animals, Marula seeds germinate easier.
The bearing capacity of trees depend on the climate and rain during each specific season. The sustainable use and trade of indigenous plants has created valuable economic opportunities for Namibian women and their communities.
Marula fruit is wild harvested by ladies The Marula tree sheds its fruit naturally and the fruits are used by indigenous people to produce beer/cooldrink. Once the fruit flesh is used, the nuts are cracked and decorticated by the local woman.
The nuts and/or fruit not harvested are left in the soil and can regenerate naturally to produce new trees.
We ensure that all the raw material we use for our oil is collected on a sustainable basis by our community partners within the guidelines of ethical trade and traceability.
Our business philosophy
Our business is moulded by our strategy of supply on an individual client’s demand - based on prescheduling; meaning that our clients always receive the freshest and “cosmetic”-ready quality oil when and where needed. Our model has certain advantages for our partners in the sense that they do not have to continuously look for product, resulting in severe differences in quality, price, genetic material variances (fatty acid profiles) and logistic difficulties. We believe our partners should focus on their core activities and we on ours.
The philosophy is to grow sustainable with our partners. We pride ourselves in long term business relationships as it is the only way to drive our philosophy of sustainability. All that this mean is that we are not in the market to sell to once-off buyers. We view the quality of our product to be superior to others and are destined for partners who appreciate and relate to our principles and quality.