Raw materials, domestic and international markets… How Aroma Zone, one of the pioneers of French aromatherapy, builds its growth

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Aromatherapy – the use of aromatic compounds in plants – is a global market worth $3.5 billion in 2021, according to research published by PPAM France, the national association of perfumery, aromatic and medicinal plants. A study found that 50% of French people already use aromatherapy when 99% of consumers are satisfied and recommend it to others.

Aromatherapy is the heart of Aroma-Zona, born in the late 90s, with the idea of ​​accurate documentation and information on the subject. Twenty years later, the SME from Vaucluse has moved from a pure player to a model based on a physical presence through a network of twelve stores, with the opening of a location in Nice in early 2023.

A bottom-up approach

” Of course we sell products, but mostly we sell advice Sabrina asks Herlori. This former L’Oréal and Mac, who came to the management of a long-time family SME in the fall of 2021, is now CEO, a change that follows another major change in the Arome-Zone organization, the capitalist, 410 million by Eurazeo in June 2021 purchase accompanied by a euro investment. It is enough to give means to the passions.

Consulting is then the backbone of the company, explains the manager, who welcomed the return ” Healthy mind It seems to be a sign of a new era that goes well with Aroma-Zone’s market approach. “The traditional world is built around the market, the Aroma-Zona is managed by historic communities that have developed organically. Our communities express themselves, and we are confident in providing solutions to their needs “.

So listening rather than creating a need, for example, is what drives a company to develop animal nutritional supplements or a CBD-based product. ” We have a bottom-up approach “Sabrina sums up Helory.

The creation process at Aroma-Zone is always the same: the identified need prompts the in-house laboratory to be interested in and familiar with all the international literature on the relevant plant. ” Then we look at the terroirs, which country is the richest in plant active ingredients. Then we look for producers, see how we can cooperate with them “, Sabrina Helory details. One who chooses quality over quantity of production, preferring to cooperate with a production that will be used quickly and out of stock, rather than favoring production that is more voluminous but of lower quality. ” The day we water down formulas, we lose ourselves when we lie to the consumer “.

Transfer knowledge

Who wants Aroma-Zone” keep (his) compass and claims to be the leading online skin care retailer. Arome-Zone, which wants to protect its fundamentals and continues to be a strategic player exceptional ” e-commerce, a kind of beauty, health and natural well-being Wikipedia’s recurring dream “ transfer of knowledge over digital “.

Highly structured and focused on developing in the domestic market, the SME is looking at the international market – which already accounts for 15% of its turnover – with increasing interest, because ” our communities ask us “. We are not changing the winning formula. Aroma-Zone already sells in China, Singapore, Taiwan, North America and Sabrina Helory, Saudi Arabia is the 6th country to buy the product. Belgium will be approached shortly, website translation – not yet – It will allow the French company to become even stronger in the export segment, continental Europe, especially Italy, Spain, Switzerland or even Great Britain, which represents the 7th buyer country.

Accompany the transitions

Inevitably – and the opening of the store in Nice confirms this – the physical network in France will be strengthened because, according to its CEO, ” it is small in size “and” reinvesting in urban centers is a way of participating in their redensification “.

2023 will also be a year of reflection on new verticals proposed by communities. Aroma-Zone also wants to work harder on zero waste. ” We haven’t finished this topic yet “But to note that the DIY pioneer (Do It Yourself or Fais le toi-even NDLR) also teaches its customers ” finish by using started products so as not to waste “. Sabrina Helory is convinced that ” not being guilty, accompanying everything with joy, this is what makes transitions easier “. Aroma-Zone has achieved a turnover of 100 million euros in 2022 and employs 300 people. With 1,700 product references, the company also claims 6,000 orders per day.