Celebrating the success of Bangladeshis abroad finding jobs in prestigious companies or leadership roles has become a normal sight on social media. Another similar sight is to see fellow Bangladeshis in the country daring to become entrepreneurs and gradually finding success.

Such is the story of Zanash Cosmetics - an online makeup brand that serves both American and Bangladeshi markets. Its founder, Zannatun Tania, is a Bangladeshi American woman who works during the day as a robotics and machine learning engineer at a top US defence and space manufacturing company. In just over two years, this brand has garnered a massive following that is giving even well-established brands like Mac and Sephora a run for their money.

Origins

As a first-generation immigrant, Tania faced financial constraints which led her to study a STEM degree to achieve financial independence.

However, ambitious humans with a flair for creativity and design usually do not let go of their dream to make something out of their passion. In Tania's case, it was her childhood love for makeup.

When the world came to a standstill during the pandemic, Tania found herself with unexpected free time and decided that if she did not do something about her purpose now, she might never. But to establish a business, she had to start small by choosing a specific product that would be widely accepted by a huge market.

So, she observed her personal habits and talked to fellow women to find out which cosmetic product was a must-have in their makeup routines.

"It's lipstick. This is what starts the makeup experience. During the pandemic, women were wearing it even with masks," she concluded. "No matter what your age is, lipstick adds a spark to your entire look."

What Makes Zanash Different

The US makeup industry is highly competitive and dominated by established brands. For an unknown ethnic first-time entrepreneur, unless your product delivered either quality or price or had something truly different about it, selling would be tough.

Fortunately, Zanash Cosmetics ticks all three of the checklists.

After spending six to eight months researching the available lipstick products in the market and talking to women about their pain points, Tania came to the conclusion that (even premium) lipsticks belonged to two categories: either pigmented but dry or comfortable but transparent.

Zanash lipsticks are the marriage of the two. They're both comfortable and highly pigmented. "The idea was to make them long-lasting matte with a comfortable finish. Smudge-proof and easy to take-off as well," says Tania.

Secondly, customers get a premium 100 per cent vegan product at drugstore prices. Apart from the top-notch quality, they receive luxurious packaging plus vibrant colour options like red, pink, fuchsia, and dark wine. These colour options did not exist in the market before.

The third differentiating factor is probably the most interesting one. Before Zanash came into being, the makeup industry products were highly catered to either very white skin tones or very dark skin tones. There were little products that would be suitable for South Asian or brown skin tones.

But, the main target audience for Zanash Cosmetics was this very niche market that was still untapped. It was also a huge potential market since the US is a multicultural country where South Asians are a growing demographic, comprising about 2 per cent of the entire population.

Zanash Success

Zanash Cosmetics started with an online presence via a website, social media alongside resale options on Amazon and Etsy. They began with 8 liquid matte lipsticks. Within one year, 24,000 units were sold out. The following year, they added 6 more shades and brought in new products: 5 eyeshadow palettes and 3 different eyeliners. This time, all products were sold out within 3 months.

Suffice to say, the niche brand has carved a name for itself in the very competitive makeup market of the US. They even boast a retention rate of at least 50 per cent.

For a brand less than two years old, Zanash found good success in Bangladesh as well. Here, they retail through the online beauty store, Shajgoj.

Future Ambitions

Being an affordable lauded brand means there is good scope for expansion into different geographies. Zanash Cosmetics plans to open production hubs and online stores in Europe and Turkey. They might even open pop-up stores in the future.

Currently, they're in the process of adding 20 more shades of liquid matte lipstick along with highlighter and blush palettes.

"I am truly overwhelmed by the amount of love and appreciation I have received from women here and in Bangladesh," gushes Tania. "This is what keeps me going despite the dual demanding schedules of being a full-time job-holder and a full-time solopreneur. As such, Zanash is continuously working towards improving product quality and service for our customers."

Despite the budding success of Zanash Cosmetics, they have not forgotten their Bangladeshi roots. Especially their founder who, as a woman especially, knows the financial obstacles all too well. Thus, the thought of giving back is woven into the core identity of Zanash. With Tania having received her cosmetology license in NYS, one of Zanash's major ambitions is to open makeup training centres in the US and in Bangladesh. To lessen the financial burden, the centres would also have scholarship schemes available for aspirants.