African beauty is not whitened.
It is illuminated.
THE STORY BEGINS AT THE MARKET
Before the laboratories, there were apples. In 2017, Emmanuel Choumeni graduated top of his class with a higher diploma in boilermaking. Months went by, CVs piled up, no door opened — not even for an internship. One evening, coming back from Ndokoti after yet another application left unanswered, he made the only decision still his to make: « If I paid for my studies by selling apples, then I can rebuild everything from there. »
The next morning, at Sanaga market, his former supplier trusted him and handed over three bags of apples on credit. That gesture changed a life — and, a few years later, the lives of tens of thousands of customers.
FROM THREE BAGS OF APPLES TO DERMOCOSMETICS
Top of his class with a higher diploma in boilermaking. Months of applications left unanswered — not even for an internship. One certainty took hold: no one was coming. He would have to build himself.
At Sanaga market, Mr Albert granted him three bags of apples on credit, delivery included. In a single weekend everything was sold: 126,000 FCFA in takings, 33,000 FCFA in net profit once the credit was repaid. The entrepreneurial adventure had begun.
Up at 4 a.m. to pick out the best red potatoes, listening to the women and restaurant owners of Bonamoussadi, he turned a market stall into a business school: customer knowledge, quality, service. The profits funded his twin sister's university studies — and his own training in entrepreneurship.
The business pivoted towards women's wellbeing. A first customer at Akwa Palace, first ranges distributed, first successes. But one thing became clear: imported products did not really meet the needs of African skin.
In the middle of the COVID crisis, with borders closed and raw materials priced out of reach, Emmanuel sold his own car to finance the first purchases and trained intensively in cosmetic formulation. Distributing was no longer enough: it was time to create.
A doctor in dermocosmetics, freshly returned from France, agreed to work alongside him. Two intensive weeks on formulas, starting from the real problems of African skin. From that collaboration the first ranges were born: actives from local plants, laboratory-grade standards, zero hydroquinone. CHEM moved from distributor to formulator and producer.
An integrated laboratory in Douala, a manufacturing process engineer, and management steered from end to end. The small studio of the early days has become five apartments; the man on his own, a team of 75 employees present in Douala, Yaoundé, Garoua and Kinshasa.
THE SCIENCE OF YOUR SKIN
Melanin-rich skin has its own biology: more reactive pigmentation, particular sensitivity to aggressors, a specific need for hydration. Our formulas are designed for it — not adapted, designed. Each product combines natural African actives with benchmark dermatological actives, is formulated in our Douala laboratory and tested before it carries our name.
And zero misused corticosteroids. Radiance without the burn.
Formulation, control and traceability in Douala.
A personalised diagnosis and follow-up, in store or on WhatsApp.
My path has been anything but ordinary. It was with three bags of apples obtained on credit that I restarted my life. Every challenge became a step towards the vision I carried: an African industrial group, at the service of the African woman.
SEVENTY-FIVE FACES, ONE PROMISE
Behind every product there are skincare advisors who listen, laboratory teams who formulate, and drivers who criss-cross four cities. Seventy-five employees united by the same ideal: to give every skin back its light, without ever compromising on its health.
THE TEAM AT HEAD OFFICE — DOUALA, 2026
OUR AMBITION
To become the benchmark in African dermocosmetics : a brand born on the continent, present tomorrow in every major African city, with natural actives grown in our own fields — and proud to prove it, skin after skin.