Introduction: “Everything from our offer to our experiences and products must deliver meaningful performance”. So says L’OCCITANE Group General Manager for Research and Development Marie Videau as she describes the company’s holistic approach to delivering wellbeing for people and planet.
“Why meaningful? Because everything that we do must make sense and integrate all three dimensions of our holistic wellbeing approach,” she adds.
In this exclusive interview with The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Editor Hannah Tan, Videau discusses the company’s ‘science of holistic flourishing’ mantra and how it is delivering meaningful performance through a compelling combination of products, services and experiences.
She previews L’OCCITANE Group’s innovation pipeline and its ongoing sustainability initiatives, following its B Corp accreditation last year.
Videau also introduces L’OCCITANE en Provence’s latest hair and scalp care innovations, which, having suffered from hair loss issues herself, she describes as her biggest scientific achievements.
Science of holistic fluorishing
A distinctive and holistic approach to wellbeing is at the heart of L’OCCITANE Group’s business. Describing the three major elements of the group’s approach, L’OCCITANE Group General Manager for Research and Development Marie Videau says: “One thing that is very specific to L’OCCITANE is that we have a special point of view of what wellbeing is. Everybody talks about wellbeing, but the concept is different for everyone.
“For us wellbeing is not just about what makes the person look good, but also feel good. What we work on is not what people want but what people need. We are looking at physiological needs, but also the mind aspect which is the first pillar of our approach.
“Large population studies have shown that people have a better quality of life if they adopt a positive outlook, maintain good relationships and surround themselves with convivial communities. This conviviality is the second element of our approach, as it promotes wellbeing not just within yourself but with others.
A personal and scientific milestone Hair loss is a subject that is close to L’OCCITANE Group General Manager for Research and Development Marie Videau’s heart. To her, the Anti-Hair Loss Serum and Night Scalp Treatment represent the biggest scientific milestones since joining L’OCCITANE Group in 2022. She says: “The hair loss formula is the biggest milestone. Hair loss is an issue close to my heart and seeing the results was one of our proudest moments. One of the biggest issues that men and women face is hair loss and there are many reasons why someone could lose their hair. “These include pregnancy, stress, chemotherapy etc and what’s available in the market are medical products, which make you feel like there is something wrong with you. “I’ve personally suffered from Alopecia since I was 17 and have been a Minoxidil user since then, but with Minoxidil comes side effects and some can be very harsh. Our goal was to deliver the same efficacy as medical hair loss treatments, but with a beautiful product that offers a pleasant experience. “I call our Anti-Hair Loss Serum a ‘tiny jewel’. It’s a beautiful product with an oil and water phase. It smells good, it’s non-greasy and leaves a satin-fresh finish on your hair.” |
“The third element is nature, which have been at the root of this brand since 1976. This is the way we approach wellbeing which is why we call it holistic. We start with agroecology, cultivating our own plants to create our own raw materials. We elaborate the formulas and develop our packaging. We also design evaluation models to assess the life cycle of our products.”
So, how does this approach inform Videau’s own approach when L’OCCITANE Group’s research and development pipeline? She says: “Here at L’OCCITANE, we say we work in the science of holistic flourishing. Flourishing is a key word because it’s a little bit like flowers blooming. We help our customers find wellbeing so they can be whoever they want to be, become actors of positive change.
“Everything from our offer to our experiences and products must deliver meaningful performance” she adds. “Why meaningful? Because everything that we do must make sense and integrate all three dimensions of our holistic wellbeing approach. Meaningful performance means there is no compromise between efficacy, pleasure in that it brings joy to our customers and sustainability to both people and planet.”
A haircare breakthrough
The latest breakthrough in Videau’s quest for meaningful performance is the expansion of L’OCCITANE en Provence’s haircare line with the Anti-Hair Loss Serum and the Scalp Night Serum.
While the brand is well-known for its shampoos, conditioners and hair masks, its recent foray into the scalp serum category makes an important milestone for the brand as it leverages its scientific expertise to become a leader in the hair care category.
Videau says: “We have strong skin knowledge and know very well about skin needs. We know that to have beautiful hair, you need to have very healthy scalp. We wanted to start treating the scalp with our knowledge of the skin, and treating the hair, bulbs and follicles using our new knowledge of follicles.”
The Anti-Hair Loss Serum is a citrus-scented triple action anti-hair loss product that decreases hair loss, increased hair growth and enhances the thickness and strength of new hair stands. It is made with Watercress, Swertia and Liquorice extracts and has been infused with Vitamin E.
The Scalp Night Serum repairs, soothes and intensely hydrates the scalp. It is made with 97% natural-origin ingredients that include Niacinamide, Immortelle essential oils, Arginine, Vitamin E and Pro-Vitamin B5 which work together to boost scalp health.
As a scientist, balancing efficacy and sensoriality is key. Describing the efficacy of the range, Videau says: “Using the Anti-Hair loss serum for a three-month period result in the growth of 17,000 extra hairs. It creates +47% anchorage to root the hair in the bulb level. This is a jewel of a product and adopts a new approach to haircare and that is taking care of the scalp.
“Often, we have strong irritation in the scalp with plenty of people suffering from redness, flakiness and dryness. The Scalp Night Treatment offers instant relief and then hydrates and reconstructs the scalp barrier, making the stratum corneum stronger. It has +71% soothing effect, then boost scalp hydration. With the night serum, it also reduces the flakiness etc and it helps tremendously because it rebalances the scalp and hair. It has lavender essential oils and Niacinamide, which delivers real efficacy. We use face care, why don’t we use something the scalp?”
Videau adds: “This is why L’OCCITANE Group has adopted a holistic approach to wellbeing with products that care for the face, hair and body. All our work was to achieve this balance of performance and pleasure to make using this product a good and enjoyable moment for our customers. If we can get our customers to smile at themselves when they look in the mirror in the morning, then we have done half our job.”
While the clinical results of both products speak for themselves, the challenge, for most brands is communicating that efficacy on the shop floor. This is particularly tricky in the travel retail environment, where space is often limited.
The two expressions are launching in global travel retail in 2025. L’OCCITANE en Provence is also releasing two discovery kits which will feature both lines.
Positively impacting people and regenerating nature
Wellbeing and sustainability go hand-in-hand for L’OCCITANE Groupe whose mantra is ‘For People and Planet’. L’OCCITANE Group achieved B Corp certification in 2023, marking a milestone for the company’s sustainability journey. It builds on a commitment to create positive change by empowering communities, protecting biodiversity, reducing waste and mitigating climate change. Since then, the company has pledged to manufacture 100% of its plastic bottles with recycled materials by 2025.
As Group General Manager for Research and Development, it is Videau’s responsibility to drive the company’s wider ESG agenda through innovation.
“We have different elements in our sustainable approach,” she explains. “We start with the ingredients. We have very strong relationships with our farmer partners. In fact, we call them our research farmers because we work with them to create a new system of agriculture, called agroecology. Agroecology brings life back to the soil, is better for the planet and is better for them as farmers too and creates better quality ingredients. This is the starting point.
“We have our sustainable formulation charter and are improving it all the time. Packaging is very important because it’s part of delivering a pleasurable product experience. However, it should not impact the planet. This is why we are using plastic bottles that are 100% recycled plastics and are 100% recyclable, closing the loop.
“We’re pushing our refill formats too,” Videau adds. “We were the first in the industry to have eco-refills in bags and refill machines in stores, but the bags were not 100% recyclable. We needed to evolve and so we created new refill bottles which have the same weight in plastic made with 100% recycled plastic and completely recyclable.
“We also changed the packaging of our hand creams. We used to use 95% recycled aluminium, but the smaller 30ml formats, were made with an aluminium plastic mix. So, we changed the packaging to 100% recyclable plastic. Cherry on the cake? We also transformed the cap into a flip-cap.”
A key part of L’OCCITANE Group’s ESG programme is accurate and comprehensive life-cycle analysis across its supply chain. “Our life cycle analysis tool measures all elements and components,” Videau says. “When it comes to sustainability, there are very many bad good ideas. You may have a good idea, which at the end may have more of an impact on the planet.
“For example, bio-sourced plastics using sugarcane has an incredible carbon and land footprint,” she explains. “This life cycle analysis makes sure that no good idea has a bag impact somewhere else. Each time we improve one product, we measure to see that that improvement doesn’t have a negative impact somewhere along our supply chain.
Offering her insights on the biggest scientific priorities for the year ahead, Videau says: “We need to push more the skinification of haircare, with a focus on the scalp. We are delivering skincare efficacy to haircare because we address the problem differently. This is our speciality and our point of difference. Pleasure, efficacy and sustainability — today we are the only ones to offer that holistically. The skinification of haircare and skinification of body care. That’s the future.”✈
