Cossma1607-08_GB

photos: L’Occitane challenge when mixing natural ingredients is that the formula- tions need to be stable and at the same time must have a nice tex- ture. To achieve these properties, we often require a synthetic in- gredient as a stabiliser. Therefore some of our products are totally natural, while others are not. How did you yourself become involved in cosmetics? Before being involved with L’Occi- tane, I created a packaging compa- ny that specialized in cosmetics. Why did you decide to invest in- to a brand that was not doing too well at the time? I liked the brand, and even though 20 years ago nobody cared if products were natural or not, I was convinced that natu- ral-ingredient-based products would have a great future. We created a very competent team in all the areas, created many new products and worked hard to sell them. I think it has been quite an achievement to survive in this extremely competitive environ- ment and that we have managed to develop the company interna- tionally. □ Additional information can be found on the Internet – see download panel t of ago, and wers only high edi- tion have you ssed rom grat- toi- use. ion s? rod- adi- ago d to- ores con- y in specialty stores and the distribu- tion channel which has been growing most during the past few years is the Internet. What have been major mile- stones in the brand’s history? The major milestones were the development of the Shea Butter Range 22 years ago; the opening of a store network of originally about 20 stores in the big French cities 21 years ago; the opening of the first stores in New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo 20 years ago; the development of the Verbena Prod- ucts about 18 years ago, the Im- mortelle Anti-Ageing Range 12 years ago and the Almond Range 8 years ago. Why is the brand not an organic brand, even though it stresses natural ingredients? We want our products to be effi- cient and pleasant to use. The PERSONALITIES & PROFILES www.cossma.com  l  55 40 YEARS OF L’OCCITANE At the start of the story, Olivier Baussan was a 23-year-old literary major with an old steam distiller and a van. In his home in Haute-Provence, he made use of what he knew about plants to make shampoos with essential oils and he sold them at local markets. This activity led to the creation of the brand L’Occitane in 1976. A first laboratory, the first formulations and the first bottles of products led rather quickly to the establishment of the first shop in 1979. While having begun by selling products on the markets in Provence, Baussan quickly understood that this growing name would need a com- plete environment of its own, a space created for it, with sales people trained in authentic and natural beauty products. Ten years later, the company already had about a hundred employees. At every stage, a fortui- tous meeting led to the brand’s growth. In 1980, Baussan walked past an old Marseille soap factory and made friends with its retired owner. The old soap-maker gave him his equipment and passed on all his know-how. Baussan suddenly found himself with the responsibility of keeping up a disappearing tradition and heritage, in order to pass it on himself. Years later, Baussan crossed the Mediterranean to discover traditional shea nut cultivation in Burkina Faso. Since then, L’Occitane has organized annual shea butter collection from ­ Burkina women’s cooperatives there. Finally, in the early 1990s, L’Occitane needed a capital increase to continue growing, to establish itself in new lands, and midwife new creations. It needed someone who could develop it with the same values and desire for shared and passed-on tradition which had borne the brand forward since its start. It was then that Baussan met Reinold Geiger. N N “In 20 years, we have established close to 3,000 retail locations.” Reinold Geiger, CEO, L’Occitane DOWNLOADS Additional information at www.cossma.com/qr00125 Your access codes for July/August: User name: cossma8 Password: nature COS1607_54_INT_Loccitane.indd 55 25.07.16 15:51 COS1607_54_INT_Loccitane.indd 5525.07.1615:51

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