Beautiful ROOTS
Bris Ro ocher believes in the power p of plants
Turning 40 this yea r, Bris Rocher is outgrown by a tree th hat he planted in La Gacilly, a charmin ng village in Brittany, France. Every me ember of the family, including his child dren, also have their own tree, to express a love and d respect for nature.
This is line with Yves Roche er Foundation’s mission, which involves commun ities and NGOs in 27 countries, in having planted more m than 70 million trees, with the goal set as 100 millionm by 2020.
“We have an impact on natuure and the environ
ment, and it’s our duty to resp ect and preserve our planet. When we hit that goall we will set a higher target in the number of trees, to continue our mission
in giving back to nature,” said thhe chairman and CEO of Groupe Rocher, who recenttly presided over the launch of Hydra Vegetal at the YvesY Rocher flagship store in CentralWorld.
His grandfather founded thee namesake company in 1959, turning the attic in his house into a cosmeti ics laboratory,lb afterf iinitialiil experiments in the kitchen destroyed the sink.
Nature however is the biggest open- air laboratory, deemed the founder, who passed away in December 2009. Since then the third-generation Rocher took the helm of the family’s cosmetics empire. “There’s no laboratory in the world that can com
pete with nature that for 4 billion years have evolved and adapted to changing circumstances. While plants and trees don’t talk and walk, the botanical world is alive, and we believe in the power of plants,” said the Gallic CEO. At the Yves Rocher research centre in La Gacilly,
a multidisciplinary team of 150 scientific experts works on finding and isolating plant- based active ingredients assimilable by the skin.
Resilient ice plant native to the South African desert and wild aphloia from Madagascar provide anti-ageing ingredients respectively for Serum Vegetal and Elixir Jeunesse collections.
Edulis is known for its ability to capture water and store in its leaves. Extracted from organically-grown plant in La Gacilly, Edulis Cellular Water is the hydrating activator in the Hydra Vegetal line.
Other plants grown on Yves Rocher organic farm include arnica, calendula, nasturtium and cornflower commonly used for making the botanical beauty products.
The French company integrates all operations, from plant cultivation, R&D, production and distribution, in implementing the founder’s economic model, which brought prosperity to the Morbihan village.
“Before my grandfather started up the company in La Gacilly, locals were leaving the village for greener pastures in Paris. He pulled them back by offering jobs,” said the CEO. “As harvester, manufacturer and distributor, we can control the entire process as well as the environmental impact. We are the only cosmetics company that functions in such a way, which also allows for affordable botanical beauty products.”
Yves Rocher is committed to offering cosmetics containing more than 92% ingredients from natural origin while being free from silicone, colourant free, mineral oil and parabens.
Along with the biodegradable formulas, eco-refills or cardboard cases from sustainably managed forests demonstrate the brand’s green practices, not to mention reusable eco-bags when shopping at its flagship store.
The retail space at CentralWorld comes under the “Botanical Beauty Atelier Lab” concept that recalls its beginnings in a small lab in Yves Rocher’s house. The concept encourages testing the full range of cosmetics including make-up and fragrances.
Relaxing facial and body treatments are delivered at the Institute located at the back of the store. To the right of its entrance, a panel depicts the brand story with a picture of the founder referred to as the Creator of Botanical Beauty.
A striking element of the store’s interior design, a white chandelier is structured like twigs.
“It can be interpreted as tree branches, plant molecules, or simply Y — the initial of my grandfather Yves. It illustrates how we combine nature with scientific research in developing cosmetics,” he said. “Moreover, being a family company makes us unique as we are totally committed to protecting nature. In return, we can offer, from plant to your skin, botanical beauty products that are better for skin and hair as well as our planet.”