La Beauté Française is the first BtoB (Business to Business) marketplace specifically dedicated to Made-in-France, responsible cosmetics and indie brands.
Aiming to better facilitate the relationship between independent cosmetic brands and retailers and distributors, this start-up uses a simple business model to provide a site that seamlessly caters to the needs of professionals.
The launch of this new marketplace is a breath of fresh air for smaller brands in the richly-saturated French cosmetics market. Offering an opportunity for independent brands to gain recognition and shining a light on the importance of greener beauty.
Does this mark the start of a shift in the beauty industry and does the future of beauty e-commerce lie in the hands of independent brands?
Launching La Beauté Française
La Beauté Française founder Marie-Laure Durier spent 25 years working in the luxury beauty sector with industry giants such as Clarins and Guerlain. During this time she noticed the lack of new and independent, French, ‘green beauty’ brands on the shelves of retailers. At a time when consumers are looking to shop smaller from homegrown brands and are making more conscious shopping choices, she decided there was an opening for a space that supported these brands. This sparked the idea of a platform that would facilitate and accelerate the relationships made between young brands and retailers.
“We exclusively chose French brands, with a clean formula and aiming for zero waste. We are looking for disruptive and committed products, such as chewable toothpaste, waterless formulas, bamboo fibre linen, natural perfumes,…” the entrepreneur says of the new marketplace.
The platform has been designed with simplicity in mind and its seamless, user-friendly approach makes it easy to manage the complexity of the sector whilst fulfilling the needs of professionals. Teaming up with Wizaplace, a Saas turnkey solution provider, they have created a sleek yet functional interface that allows easy navigation and a breakdown of the wide variety of product categories.
A platform for independent brands
Marie-Laure Durier understands the importance of independent brands. They play a significant role in shifting the narrative of the cosmetics industry, especially in regards to more sustainable and responsible products and processes. However, breaking into the industry and receiving exposure to retailers can be a challenge for new, under-the-radar brands.
“Young brands often find it difficult to find outlets or retailers because when they start up, they often only have about ten references whereas a large group will often offer more than 300; it’s not the same return on investment for a buyer.”
In order to effectively facilitate the interaction between these start-ups and the various distributors and retailers in the sector, La Beauté Française does not require any subscriptions, nor any fixed costs, and only pays itself via a commission on the sales made. This breaks new ground for smaller, independent brands working on a budget. Access to the platform does not involve any drain on the brands’ cash flow as long as no sales have been made, meaning they can focus on investing in the brand rather than spending large amounts just to get their products to distributors.
Independent French brands to watch
La Beauté Française offers a wide variety of brands and products from across the cosmetics market and are offering a vital platform for up and coming green beauty brands in France. Here is a look at just a few of the brands featured on the platform that you need to know about now.
With the mantra, simplicity, efficiency and lightness, this super fun and sustainable skincare brand is sure to shake-up your beauty routine. Offering everything you need for cleansing, makeup removal and exfoliation, their vegan and green formulas are from 95% natural origin and are kind to all skin types, housed in brightly coloured bottles these products will bring a touch of fun to your bathroom counter.
The cutely named, “Hey, Nice to Cleanse You !” Cleansing gel is as tough as it is natural. Formulated with antioxidant Prickly Pear and soothing Aloe Vera, its gel texture melts on to skin creating a luxurious foam to eliminate impurities and leave you feeling clean and fresh.
Launched in 2017, Irisé Paris offers a range of highly pigmented products that look vibrant on all skin tones and formulas that are skin friendly.
Offering the best of professional quality made in France whilst using the most natural formulas possible, preservative-free, fragrance-free, silicone-free, up to 95% natural ingredients. All at an affordable price. The formulas, saturated with pigments, are suitable for all skin tones. Their pigmentation and ease of application are remarkable and appeal to professional makeup artists.
Their MOOD BOX is the anti-waste makeup palette that you can design yourself. Choosing from a selection of blush, eyeshadow, foundation and lipstick you can create the perfect combination of on-the-go makeup to suit your mood.
Founded in 2017 in Nice by Adrien Gautier, grandson of Maître Parfumeur, Le Parfum Citoyen is the first ethical perfume house born from crowdfunding.
Le Parfum Citoyen is shaking up all the traditional methods of perfumery by creating luxury fragrances that are locally manufactured, eco-responsible, not tested on animals and at a fair price. Each perfume is designed in the form of a modern olfactory portrait, from the alluring French Fatale to the provocative Princesse Rebelle.
The French Fatale is just as you would expect, as intoxicating and magnetic as it is elegant and sophisticated. With notes of orange blossom, jasmine and amber, this fragrance will lure you in and instantly transport you to the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
Respire set out on a mission to allow everyone to explore the magic of their bodies by taking care of it every day. To do this, they decided to create hygiene products where transparency reigns. Natural, healthy for the body, vegan, recyclable products with all aspects of your beauty routine in mind. Made in France: from the formula to the distribution, including the bottling, Respire wants everyone to understand the products and to offer efficacy and fuss-free care.
Respire’s toothpaste is 99% natural, vegan and made in France. Its handpicked ingredients gently care for your teeth for a healthy smile. Containing birch leaf and hydroxyapatite extracts, enriched with minerals naturally found in tooth enamel plus baking soda and natural silicas. Finally, the mint and eucalyptus scent will leave you feeling fresh all day.
