With Latino consumers’ purchasing power on the rise, The Jefas aims to be the premier destination for their beauty shopping needs.
Set to go live during Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, the e-commerce platform is starting with 20 to 30 Latina-founded makeup, skincare, haircare and candles brands. Wellness brands, particularly in the sexual wellness category, will be added to the assortment in the future. Negotiations with brands are underway.
Aurora Diaz, founder of The Jefas and a first-generation Mexican American, believes it’s the perfect time to introduce a beauty platform directed at Latinas. “There is a really strong Latino renaissance happening right now,” she says. “We’re seeing it with artists such as Bad Bunny being the No. 1 on Spotify. All of these big-name recognitions are occurring in award shows. That has never happened before. So, I think the Latino customer is really aware of their purchasing power right now.”
Preceding its e-commerce platform, The Jefas soft-launched in May with a beauty subscription box. Priced at $35, The Jefas Box contained five full-size makeup and skincare products from the brands Untamed Naturals, Vavica, Vive Cosmetics and Evio Beauty. While Evio Beauty wasn’t founded by a Latina, the lip liner and cream lipstick from the brand featured in the The Jefas Box was a collaboration with Latina beauty influencer Maria Gloriaa.
The Jefas sold out of 110 The Jefas Box units within two hours of it being available on its site. Diaz points out the sellout occurred despite customers not knowing what products were in it or nor being able to personalize it. She says, “That just speaks to the demand for these products and people being passionate about supporting these types of brands and this platform.”
The Jefas has been building its online community for three years. Diaz created The Jefas Group on Clubhouse, the audio-focused social networking app, as it was exploding when the pandemic spread to the United States. The group met once a week to discuss a range of topics, from the beauty industry to career advice. It promptly grew to 10,000 members, and many signed up for The Jefas once Diaz teased it during a group chat.
Although they had to wait three years until The Jefas had merchandise to sell as Diaz was saving money to launch the business, their enthusiasm didn’t wane. “The way that I positioned it from the very beginning through our emails is that you’re joining the Jefas, you are a Jefa now,” she says. “It’s just this feeling of empowerment, and it’s about supporting these other amazing founders who are also starting businesses. That’s where we really want to put our money.”
For Latina-founded beauty brands looking to find Latina audiences, Diaz argues the strength of The Jefas’ community will deliver tremendous value. She says, “We’re bringing together a Latina founder who is focusing on a Latina customer with a Latina customer who is more likely than not to become a repeat customer.”
An early subscriber to Birchbox and BoxyCharm, Diaz, a marketing and business development specialist who’s worked at leading technology and social media companies such as Meta and Google, is well-versed on the varied beauty subscription box landscape and originally planned to center The Jefas on subscription beauty boxes. Diaz says, “There’s Black beauty and Asian beauty, but there is nothing for Latinas. We spend $8 billion a year on cosmetics, but there is no platform for us, even today.”
As the subscription box market became challenged by declining sales and changing customer sentiment, Diaz stepped back from The Jefas’ box-only model and added e-commerce to its offering. Boxes will continue to play an important role in the business, though. Diaz notes The Jefas’ first box was profitable.
Diaz anticipates making The Jefas Boxes surprise drops to stoke customer excitement. The next box may be up for sale later this month. Diaz says, “A box just makes sense as an entry way for customers to learn more about these brands and then go shop from them on the e-commerce website.”
The Jefas is leveraging grants to help scale its operations. In June, it was selected as one of 15 technology companies to receive $5,000 from DigitalUndivided’s Breakthrough Program, a grant program sponsored by JPMorgan Chase that supports women of color entrepreneurs.
The Jefas is currently a semifinalist in the Black Ambition Prize competition. The competition’s winner receives up to $1 million. The Jefas also completed University of California at Berkeley’s SkyDeck Pad-13 Incubator program.
Friends and family are packing and shipping The Jefas’ orders from the company’s small office in Richmond, Calif., in advance of it securing a fulfillment center. To Diaz, their assistance underscores Latinos’ strong sense of community. She says, “We may not have the capital to provide to fellow business entrepreneurs, but we will have the manpower.”
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