Koba is making feet sexy again
Written by Marianne Olaleye, JAIKU.
Yes, you read that correctly. Founder Thérèse M'Boungoubaya is making a stamp on the beauty industry with her award-winning foot cream and ethical skincare line.
Photo Edit by Krystal Neuvill
We all have insecurities, and for Thérèse M'Boungoubaya, it was her feet. “I didn’t like showing my feet in public,” she says. “Every time I went to pilates I was very aware of how dry they looked… they never looked polished.” Instead of settling for what was on the market, her frustration became the seed for Koba, a now Oprah Winfrey award-winning brand putting premium foot care back on the map.
“There was clearly a gap in the market for a foot cream that was effective but also pleasant to use,” she continues.
Forget lathering something thick and slippery that’s bound to be a tripping hazard, M'Boungoubaya developed a formula that penetrated quickly, smelt gorgeous - she worked with perfumers in Grasse, France to develop the fragrance - and was packaged sustainably. No wonder it’s still the brand’s best seller.
Launching Koba in 2022, M'Boungoubaya already had over a decade of experience in the beauty industry. After graduating from business school she worked at Clarins before launching her own subscription box, which was impressively later acquired by Birchbox. It’s safe to say entrepreneurship comes naturally to this French founder.
A year into setting up the brand, M'Boungoubaya moved to New York, and applied for BGF and Glossier’s Black Beauty Grant Programme. As a longstanding admirer of Glossier and their approach to community-building, it felt surreal to win and gain access to invaluable mentors and funding.
“I felt seen,” she says. “When you build a business, it often takes a long time to see the results of your work. That moment made me feel like what I was doing mattered, that people believed in me and thought it was worth investing in.”
Beyond building a connection with other grantees which she calls the “sisterhood”, M'Boungoubaya used the funding to launch her first big offline moment. “The pop-up was in New York and lasted three days,” she says. “We had press, buyers, customers, and community members come in to connect with the brand.” Being able to tell Koba’s story in person was invaluable.
In just three short years, M'Boungoubaya’s edit of clean beauty now spans across body, face and hair care and she’s stocked in 15 retailers internationally. With the US, UK and France as her key markets, the entrepreneur is now setting her sights on solidifying and growing her Direct-to-Consumer channels. “We’ve started selling on Amazon, which is now our second-biggest channel, and we’re expanding retail distribution,” she adds. “We're in Credo, Neiman Marcus, and about to launch with Bloomingdale’s.” Impressive.
Much like the brand’s ethos, the goal is to grow sustainably and break even financially by 2026.
“We made a bet to make feet sexy again, to talk about what’s usually taboo, and it’s paying off,” she continues. “Building a brand takes decades, and we need to talk about that more.”
Thank you so much to Therese for sharing her journey with us.
Connect with Therese or read more about the Black Beauty Grant programme here.
We’re eager to learn, collaborate, and share knowledge, so if you’re interested in working with us, say hello@blackgirlfest.com
BGF x
