Wholesale program
Wholesale African ingredients for brands and formulators.
Direct sourcing from West and Central Africa. Phytosanitary certificates. DHL Express from Cotonou. Trusted by Design Essentials since 2022.
Wholesale catalog
Wholesale by ingredient
Each ingredient page documents the cooperative we buy from, the tier pricing (5/10/20/50/100 kg), the spec sheet, the lead time, and the typical applications. Click through to the ingredient you are evaluating, or browse the full shop catalog.
Haircare + cosmetic
- Chebe powder wholesale, Guéra, Chad
- Ambunu leaves wholesale, Guéra, Chad
- Raw shea butter wholesale, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso
- Raw cocoa butter wholesale, Côte d’Ivoire
- Hibiscus calyx wholesale, Sahel region
Wellness + functional
- Moringa powder wholesale, Tamale, Ghana
- Lake Chad spirulina wholesale, Kanem, Chad
- Cocoa powder wholesale, Bondoukou, Côte d’Ivoire
Regional specialty
- Habba sawda, UAE wholesale (nigella seeds / black seed)
Decision guides & application notes
- Ingredient comparisons, chebe vs ambunu, raw shea vs cocoa butter, moringa vs spirulina
- Application guides, 15 ingredient-by-use-case pages for cosmetic, haircare, wellness, supplement formulators
- Sourcing, named regions, named cooperatives, Chad, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Sahel, Ghana
- What is chebe powder?, the definitive page on origin, ingredients, and how it works
For brands, formulators, and resellers
Wholesale pricing is already visible on each product page in our shop catalog, click through and you will see prices for the 5 kg, 10 kg, 20 kg, 50 kg, and 100 kg tiers. For volumes above 100 kg, or for recurring purchase arrangements, we work with you directly.
Tell us what you need below. We will respond within two business days with availability, freight options, and a quote.
What makes our wholesale program different
If you are sourcing African ingredients for a haircare brand, a wellness product line, a private-label venture, or a salon chain, you have probably noticed the same thing we did: most “wholesale African ingredient” suppliers are middlemen who buy from middlemen. By the time chebe powder, shea butter, or moringa reaches your warehouse, three to five intermediaries have taken a margin and nobody can tell you the village it actually came from.
Essential Care Plus is structured differently. Our chebe comes directly from women’s cooperatives in the Guéra region of Chad, the same supply chain trusted by McBride Research Laboratories for the Design Essentials African Chebe Growth Collection since 2022. Our raw shea butter comes from women’s cooperatives in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, hand-pressed without hexane. Our raw cocoa butter comes from Côte d’Ivoire. Our hibiscus, moringa, spirulina and ambunu are sourced through direct producer relationships across our pan-African network. Every shipment leaves Cotonou, Benin, with a phytosanitary certificate.
What you get with every wholesale order
- Per-batch Certificate of Analysis (CoA), microbiology and heavy metals as standard, with pesticide residue panels available on request. The laboratory name and its accreditation scope are disclosed in your quote so your QA team can verify them before you commit. Available before shipment for buyers who require pre-clearance. Full CoA process.
- Phytosanitary certificate on every export, no exceptions. Issued by the DPV (Direction de la Protection des Végétaux) of the Benin Ministry of Agriculture, the National Plant Protection Organization registered with the IPPC. How the certificate works.
- DHL Express shipping from Cotonou, Benin. Most destinations in 5 to 9 business days from dispatch. We can also arrange sea freight for orders above 500 kg.
- Country-of-origin documentation for every ingredient. We can name the country, the region, and in most cases the cooperative or producer relationship.
- Honest certification status. We hold no organic certification and will not claim one. What we document instead is origin, cooperative, harvest window and processing method, per lot.
- Custom packaging and private-label options for repeat orders above 200 kg per ingredient.
Who we serve
Our wholesale customers fall into four broad groups. If you recognize yourself in one of them, the program is built for you.
Independent natural haircare brands
You are building a textured-hair line, a relaxer-free system, or a heritage haircare brand. Your customers want to know which country, which region, which producer relationship. We give you that traceability and the documentation to prove it. Most independent brands start with our chebe powder, ambunu leaves, and raw shea butter as their core ingredient stack.
Cosmetic formulators and white-label producers
You formulate for multiple brands and need consistent batch quality, valid CoAs for your QA process, and reliable lead times for production planning. We supply chebe, ambunu, raw shea, raw cocoa butter, hibiscus and moringa with a full audit trail. Repeat orders above 200 kg unlock custom particle size grinding (for chebe powder) and private-label packaging.
Wellness and food supplement brands
Moringa, spirulina, hibiscus. Food-grade by spec. Sourced through direct producer relationships across the Sahel and West Africa. Heavy metal panels included as standard, pesticide residue on request. We can ship to your contract manufacturer or directly to your warehouse.
Salons, distributors, and resellers
You buy 5 to 100 kg per ingredient, retail to clients or other businesses, and need a supplier you can trust to ship reliably and respond fast. Tier pricing is shown on the product page, no negotiation needed for orders below 100 kg. Above that, we quote per volume and destination.
How the wholesale process works
Most wholesale relationships go from first contact to first shipment in under three weeks. Here is exactly how it unfolds:
- You submit the form below with your ingredient list, target volumes, and delivery destination. We respond within two business days.
- We confirm availability and quote. Pricing is per kilogram for the volume you requested. Freight is quoted separately so you can compare against your existing logistics.
- You request samples if needed (small representative samples available on request before bulk order confirmation). Samples ship via DHL Express within 24 to 48 hours of confirmation.
- You approve the sample, we issue the proforma invoice. First orders are payable in full before dispatch, typically 50% to confirm production and 50% before the shipment leaves Cotonou.
- We pull from cooperative stock, run lab tests, and prepare the order. Lead time is typically 5 to 10 business days for orders under 100 kg, 14 to 21 days for larger orders.
- Phytosanitary certificate is issued, the order ships from Cotonou, you receive tracking immediately.
- Deferred payment terms may be agreed case by case, in writing, once you have a documented order history with us. We do not offer standing credit terms as an entitlement.
Request a wholesale quote
Two business day response. Quote includes pricing, lead time, freight options, and CoA samples on request.
Documentation & compliance
The paperwork behind every shipment
The same QA questions come up on every wholesale onboarding. We have written up the answers so your formulator and your customs broker can pre-read before the call.
- Certificate of Analysis (CoA) process, what we test, which labs, when you receive it, how to pre-clear before shipment.
- Phytosanitary certificate from Cotonou, what it certifies, who issues it (DPV Bénin / IPPC NPPO), why it matters for your customs clearance.
- Import documentation by market, US (FDA Prior Notice, USDA APHIS), UK (GB IMP), EU (TRACES-NT CHED-PP), Canada (CFIA AIRS, SFCR), UAE (MOCCAE / ESMA).
- Food grade vs cosmetic grade, the spec difference, which of our ingredients qualify for which grade.
- Organic certification status, honest mapping: none of our ingredients are certified organic. Wild-harvested and cooperative-grown status documented per ingredient, with no vague ‘natural’ claims.
- Sea freight vs DHL Express, decision matrix by weight tier, lead time, unit cost.
Request a sample CoA from a recent batch of the ingredient you are evaluating by submitting the form below or emailing contact@essentialcareplus.com with your ingredient list.
Frequently asked wholesale questions
What is the minimum order?
5 kg per ingredient. There is no upper limit. We have shipped from 5 kg pilot batches to multi-ton production runs. Tier pricing applies at 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 kg. Below 5 kg is sample-only and quoted directly on request.
Do you ship internationally?
Yes, worldwide. DHL Express from Cotonou for most orders, with sea freight available for orders above 500 kg or buyers who prefer slower lead times for cost reasons. Standard destinations include the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates. Note that the US de minimis exemption ended on 29 August 2025, so every US shipment now requires a customs entry and is assessed duties; see our shipping policy.
Can you provide CoA before shipment?
Yes. Per-batch CoA is included on every order at no extra charge. For first-time orders or buyers with strict QA requirements, we can issue the CoA before shipment so your team can pre-clear the batch.
Are your ingredients certified organic?
No. We hold no organic certification, and neither do our partner cooperatives. We will not describe any ingredient as certified organic, and our wholesale terms prohibit buyers from doing so on finished products made with our inputs. What we document instead is the origin, the cooperative, the harvest window and the processing method of your specific lot. Full status per ingredient.
Do you offer private-label packaging?
For repeat orders above 200 kg per ingredient, yes. We can supply unbranded bulk packaging or apply your label artwork. Custom packaging adds 7 to 14 days to lead time on first runs.
How is your sourcing different from “ethically sourced” claims?
“Ethically sourced” is a marketing claim with no standard definition. We name the country, the region, and where possible the producer relationship for every ingredient. Read our story and the public testimonial from McBride Research Laboratories. We also reinvest a portion of every sale into community infrastructure, drinking-water boreholes, school renovations, and healthcare, in the cooperatives we work with.
Prefer email or phone?
Reach us directly at contact@essentialcareplus.com or call +1 (505) 509-0235, Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm US Eastern Time. We answer in English and French, and respond within two business days.