Our Story
Born in the fields of northern Benin.
Direct sourcing from West and Central Africa. Real cooperatives. A real founder who grew up in the fields. Shipping from Cotonou, Benin via DHL Express, with phytosanitary certificate.
A founder who grew up in the soil
My name is Zinsou Gislain. I am Beninese, and I grew up in the north of Benin a region where life revolves around agriculture, livestock, hunting, and gathering. I have personally worked the cotton, maize, soy, and many other crops that feed the world’s textile and cosmetics industries.
For more than ten years in this environment, I observed something that no one talks about: the producers who feed humanity often lack the most basic necessities. No reliable access to drinking water. No electricity. Children out of school for lack of means or distance. And at the end of their work, intermediaries who buy their harvests at unfair prices fully aware of the conditions they are buying from.
That is why Essential Care Plus exists.
Why we exist
I founded Essential Care Plus in 2021 with one objective: to improve the daily lives of the farming communities and women’s cooperatives that produce the African ingredients the world has come to want.
We source directly from these communities. No anonymous brokers. No layered intermediaries. We go to the producers themselves not just to buy from them, but to understand what they actually need.
Our mission is not a slogan it is in our books
A portion of every sale is set aside to fund concrete actions in the communities we work with:
- 💧 Construction of drinking water boreholes in villages without reliable access
- 🏫 Renovation of schools in partner communities
- ❤️ Medical care for community members identified by traditional chiefs as needing help with serious health conditions
- 📚 School enrollment awareness campaigns to reduce child labor and keep children in education
Buying from Essential Care Plus means standing alongside these communities wherever you are in the world. It means encouraging them. And, most importantly, it means contributing to real, measurable improvements in their daily lives. That is the whole point of this company.
Industry recognition
Trusted by Design Essentials since 2022
Since 2022, Essential Care Plus has been a direct chebe powder supplier to McBride Research Laboratories, Inc. the company behind Design Essentials, one of the most established African-American haircare brands in the United States, founded in 1990 and distributed at Walmart, Amazon, Sally Beauty, and salons across America.
Our partnership with Design Essentials has gone beyond commerce. Together, we have funded the construction of a drinking-water borehole in a partner cooperative, supported the reconstruction of agricultural granaries, and made several material and financial donations to the producing communities.
In March 2023, Design Essentials produced and released the short film “Journey to Chad: The Origin of Chebe Powder”, documenting this work directly:
A public endorsement from McBride Research Laboratories
In Darrielle’s own words
Darrielle Duplessis, Director of Marketing at McBride Research Laboratories (the company behind Design Essentials), publicly endorsed our work on LinkedIn:
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Zinsou on a key project to source Chebe powder as well as donate back to the community in Chad. He and his company are professional and have extended themselves above and beyond. Our company remains excited about doing business with Essential Care Plus. We are blessed to have met and partnered together.”
Darrielle Duplessis, Director of Marketing, McBride Research Laboratories/Design Essentials
Where our ingredients come from
Our sourcing network spans West and Central Africa. We do not source from anonymous middlemen. Each ingredient is connected to a specific country and producer relationship.
🇹🇩 Chad
Chebe powder, sourced directly from women’s cooperatives within the Bassara tradition. The same supply chain trusted by Design Essentials.
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
Raw, unrefined Shea butter from women’s cooperatives handcrafted using traditional methods.
🇨🇮 Ivory Coast
Cocoa powder and raw cocoa butter from one of the world’s leading cocoa-producing nations.
🌍 Pan-African network
Hibiscus, moringa, spirulina, nigella, fenugreek, ambunu sourced through our network of trusted partners across multiple African producing countries.
Our promise to you
- Direct sourcing. No anonymous brokers between you and the producer.
- Phytosanitary certificate issued for every export shipment, as required by international plant-product regulation.
- DHL Express shipping from Cotonou, Benin 1 to 3 business days to most destinations.
- A portion of every sale goes back into the producing communities water, schools, healthcare, education.
This is not marketing language. It is how we run the company. The proof is in our partnerships, our shipments, and the wells we have helped build.
Stand with the cooperatives.
Every order supports producers, schools, water access, and health in the communities we work with.