Nilotica Shea Butter · South Sudan
A naturally rich East African shea butter, sourced through women-led collection networks in South Sudan and produced by Ubuntu Company Limited.
Available as Unrefined Grade A and Refined N-RBD for cosmetic, personal-care, manufacturing, food, pharmaceutical, wholesale and private-label applications.
The ingredient
A natural butter with a soft, creamy character and rapid melt.
Shea butter is the fat extracted from the kernel of the Vitellaria paradoxa tree. Ubuntu's Nilotica Shea Butter comes from Vitellaria paradoxa subsp. nilotica — the East African type of shea with a naturally soft, creamy character.
At room temperature it sits soft in the hand and melts readily at body temperature. Its character is defined by a naturally high unsaponifiable fraction — including triterpene alcohols, tocopherols and phytosterols — valued for their emollient and skin-conditioning contribution in formulation.
Cosmetic formulators reach for shea because it spreads cleanly, contributes structure and cushion, and works across a wide range of personal-care applications.
Food-grade variants are available where a shelf-stable plant fat is required.
Product options
Unrefined Grade A
Pale yellow to ivory. Soft natural nuttiness.
Used where formulators want the natural character of the Nilotica kernel retained and where an origin-led ingredient story is part of finished-product positioning.
Ubuntu's process uses mechanical expeller pressing without solvents and without heat added at the press. The butter is then double-filtered to produce export-clean material without bleaching or deodorising.
Refined N-RBD
Light cream. Neutral odour.
Used where the formulation requires a clean canvas — colour cosmetics, transparent lotions, fragrance-led products and applications where a controlled scent profile is part of the brief.
Refined material can be standardised to the agreed colour, odour and free-fatty-acid specification across batches.
“A tree that takes fifteen years to bear, and another ten to give.”
South Sudan
Nilotica shea grows wild across the East African shea belt, spanning South Sudan, Uganda, Sudan, Kenya, parts of Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The trees are not cultivated in the conventional plantation sense. Vitellaria paradoxa is slow-growing, and a shea tree in production is a tree that can stand through several generations of producers.
Ubuntu Company Limited sources from named gathering communities in South Sudan, working through women-led collection networks and aggregation systems.
Where supplementary supply is required, the wider Nilotica belt provides a regional sourcing base where the botanical identity and agreed quality profile are consistent.
The species' wild status — and the women's economy built around its harvest across South Sudan — is what gives the supply chain its long character.
Our aim is to move more value from the landscape into local collection, processing and market access.
The harvest is wild. The value chain is built.
From tree to container
Ubuntu Company Limited manufactures shea butter in South Sudan — from wild-collected shea nuts bought through women-led networks to packed drums for commercial markets.
Wild-collected shea nuts come from South Sudan's Nilotica shea belt. Farm-gate purchasing gives greater visibility over dryness, handling, quality and price before kernels reach production.
Rejected nuts do not enter production. Accepted lots receive a batch code that follows the material through processing, filtration, laboratory release and shipment documentation.
Stones, husks, debris and dust are removed before conditioning. Only clean kernels proceed to production.
The kernels are conditioned so they press cleanly. The purpose is to release the fat rather than refine the material.
Expeller pressing extracts the fat mechanically. The solid residue is shea press cake, which can be supplied separately for soap, feed and fertiliser applications.
Crude butter is filtered twice to remove fines before laboratory release and produce export-clean Unrefined Grade A without bleaching or deodorising.
Finished butter is tested for free fatty acid, moisture, melting point and colour. Additional parameters can be reported as specified on the order.
Released butter can be packed in commercial formats and labelled with batch codes and production dates.
Finished shea butter is stored in cool, dark conditions until container loading.
Shipments are accompanied by the relevant Certificate of Analysis, packing list and commercial documentation.
Quotes may be prepared on EXW, FOB or CIF terms. Lead time depends on production, order quantity and onward transport requirements.
In formulation
The unsaponifiable fraction is part of what makes shea useful. It contributes to the butter's emollient and skin-conditioning character, while the fat phase provides structure, slip and a rich sensory profile.
In practice, formulators use Nilotica Shea Butter anywhere a natural fat is required to deliver structure, cushion or skin-feel.
Whipped, anhydrous or emulsified — shea anchors the lipid phase.
Suitable for low-to-moderate inclusion levels, subject to formulation testing.
Cold-process and melt-pour. Adds creaminess and a conditioning feel.
Useful in treatments, masks, conditioners and protective styling.
Solid-state delivery for lips, body, cuticle and targeted skin products.
Helps hold structure while providing slip and a rich sensory finish.
Long workability and even glide for body and massage formulations.
Can form part of the lipid base in mineral-filter systems, subject to final compatibility testing.
Useful in cleansing balms, syndet systems and oil-rich cleansing formats.
A plant-fat option for gentle formulations. Final purity, regulatory and allergen requirements depend on the supplied grade.
“From the shea tree in South Sudan to the formulation bench — the ingredient keeps its origin.”
Who we supply
Seven kinds of business buy shea butter from Ubuntu Company Limited. The right grade depends on the application, specification and commercial requirement.
Small first orders of Unrefined Grade A, supporting documentation and a traceability story suitable for origin-led brands.
Refined N-RBD and Unrefined Grade A supplied against an agreed specification with batch documentation.
Larger-volume supply of both grades and press cake, quoted according to volume and agreed Incoterm.
Unrefined Grade A supplied with relevant information for soap and formulation requirements.
Refined N-RBD with attention to specification parameters, batch documentation and application requirements.
Refined N-RBD with batch identity, purity information and supporting documentation.
Bulk and semi-finished shea butter supplied according to grade, format, minimum quantity and commercial requirements.
Ubuntu · the supply chain
Ubuntu works with women collectors and farmers to connect the shea harvest to aggregation, processing and structured markets.
The product is premium because the chain behind it is being built to last.
Technical & Commercial Enquiries
For samples, bulk enquiries, Certificates of Analysis, technical specifications, private-label opportunities or export discussions, speak with Ubuntu Company Limited.