The name La Rosée evokes freshness, nature, hydration and transparency to convey the values of this young French brand which has been growing at an extremely fast pace. Ten years ago, two friends with crossed journeys as pharmacists and entrepreneurs decided to revolutionize the natural cosmetics offering in French pharmacies.
One pharmacy out of three in France
“As pharmacists, we thought the offering lacked an affordable brand positioned between dermatology, with the safety and tolerance it requires, and cosmetics as pleasurable products. It also lacked a brand with formulas containing not 85%, but 100% of ingredients of natural origin, which would tell the truth about these compositions, and also use ecodesigned packaging. This concept was new at the time”, says Mahault de Guilbert, co-founder of the brand with Coline Bertrand.
The duo first launched five products in 2015 and travelled the French territory in search of interested points of sale. “The first year, we signed with 250 pharmacies, and now we sell our products in 8,000, all in all, which accounts for one out of three in France. We are the first brand to contribute to pharmacies’ growth this year”, adds the co-founder.
Right now, the company counts about 100 employees for a turnover of 35 million euros in 2022 – and it is meant to double this year.
Accessibility and ecodesign
On average, the 36 references in the current line, which includes skin, face, body, baby, and sun care products, are based on 98% of ingredients of natural origin. A third of them contain 100% and another third contain 99%.
“We have not overlooked beautiful textures and nice smells, which make up the sensorial part of cosmetics. We make consumers enter a more virtuous circle without them even realizing it”, adds Mahault de Guilbert.
The products are designed and made in France in collaboration with third-party manufacturers. “Free from anything superfluous, our brand focuses on skincare essentials. And the range was tailor made for pharmacies. Almost all our suppliers are in France, and a few are in Europe”, she explains.
With an average price of 15 euros, the brand targets a large public and includes the whole family. “We aim to provide a large access to natural, efficient products that offer pleasure. For this price, it is not that easy to make products with such good quality and innovative packaging”, she adds.
The baby range launched in 2019 has just been completed with some of the brand’s new launches: toothpaste and cleansing water. The sun range, launched in 2022 with four products, boasts a new reference this year: an oil with an SPF50. “Our sun product sales boomed last year, and yet it was our first year in this category. We were the third or fourth brand on the market. This year, we have been the first brand to contribute to pharmacies’ growth, partly thanks to this range”, says Mahault de Guilbert.
A pioneer in packaging ecodesign, La Rosée immediately chose not to use overpackaging. “This choice helped us save 260 tonnes of packaging.” The brand also banks on recycled or plant-based plastic and aims to develop its refillable offering. The refillable lip sticks were launched in September 2022 and new reusable references are scheduled for the post-summer season, in refillable and bulk versions.
The global challenge
After a successful launch on the French market, La Rosée aims to gradually export itself over the next few years. The brand already has two subsidiaries in Belgium and Spain, where it is available in 300 pharmacies, in each country.
“We also have distributors in Switzerland, Chile, South Korea, China, and we will soon be in Morocco as well. The idea is not to spread ourselves in too many markets, but to gradually build a long-lasting brand with the best distributor in every country”, concludes Mahault de Builbert.
