Coslys – natural cosmetics products: a success story

The French company Comptoir des Lys has its headquarters in the west of France. After establishing its position in the market for ecological cleaning materials with its own brand EDL (Etamine du Lys), the company is now trying to gain a foothold in the international market with its natural cosmetics products. The medium size company (90 employees) markets 40 bodycare products under its own brand Coslys at home and abroad. All articles in the Coslys range are certified by Ecocert in compliance with the Cosmébio standard. For 2011, the company has two export markets in its sights – Europe and Asia. (Picture: Marina You, Samuel Gabory)
Comptoir des Lys is currently marketing four ecological product groups: household cleaners under the brand EDL (Etamine du Lys or Ecological Detergent Line), pet care articles (brand Anibiolys), cleaning cloths and micro-fibre products (brand Capt’hygiène) and natural cosmetics that are sold under various brand names and certified in compliance with the overarching guidelines of  Cosmébio  that apply across France. And theirs is a success story: whereas the sales of natural cosmetics in the different sales channels in France are stagnating, in 2010 the Coslys brand registered an increase in turnover in wholefood shops at home and abroad. “With the brands EDL and Coslys, we’re now the most important supplier for Biocoop, the biggest network of wholefood shops and organic supermarkets in the non-food sector in France,” says Samuel Gabory, the managing director, with pride. Practically all the important wholefood chains in France are currently selling the Coslys brand – not only Biocoop but also Naturalia and Naturéo, and in Belgium Bio-Planet and Origino.

“We’ve managed to position our Coslys natural cosmetics brand among the top 5 in France. That’s why we’re looking forward to 2011 with great anticipation, because we’re sure about one thing - in the next few years, as far as French cosmetics are concerned, we’ll see the wheat separated from the chaff with the result that some brands will most probably simply disappear from the market.” You can buy Coslys not just in wholefood stores but also in chemist shops and drugstores (called parapharmacies in France), cosmetics studios and perfumeries. Abroad you find Coslys in drugstores, specialist baby and toddler stores (for example in Hong Kong) and in concept stores, as in Taiwan. With aim of broadening its product range and specializing in the anti-ageing segment, Comptoir bought, at the end of 2010, the brand Lilas Blanc Paris, which is also sold principally in beauty centres and wholefood shops. (Picture: The production facilities were built in compliance with ecological guidelines (HQE – Haute Qualité Environnementale)

What is the recipe for the success of Comptoir des Lys? The company’s success is based on their efficient production methods and formulae, an effective sales system and taking advantage of a variety of sales channels. Although the Coslys brand remains its major focus, today Comptoir achieves 20 % of its turnover by production for external brands on a subcontract basis. “The work for other brands guarantees that our production facilities are operating to capacity, and we can turn our know-how to our financial advantage,” the managing director explains. These clients are not trademarks but cosmetics manufacturers in France and abroad, particularly in England and Asia. “Our clients appreciate our know-how and the reliability of our certification organization Ecocert,” says Gabory, who has been the chair of the French association Cosmébio since June 2010. But, in his view, entering the German market – “certainly one of the most complicated markets worldwide” - is much more difficult. The reason is principally competition from the existing brands but also the fact that the preferences of consumers are different: “Consumers in France, as in Asia, are more likely to pay attention to the sensitivity of natural cosmetics articles. They are also prepared to pay more. German consumers, on the other hand, seem to be more price-sensitive and stay loyal to their favourite brands.” (Picture: Samuel Gabory, the managing director of the firm Comptoir des Lys and chairman of Cosmébio)

Long-term customer relations and proximity to the customer are more special features of this firm. “We want to ensure that we, as the manufacturer, are close to our customers. This is the reason why we select shops strictly according to their expertise, their knowledge of the ecological connections and their customer retention. This means we can communicate with our customers and find out what they think of our products. By choosing short distribution channels, we automatically exclude certain sales channels – for example the conventional retail food trade (supermarket chains – “grande surface” in France) and those where several wholesalers are involved.” For Samuel Gabory, short marketing channels can be easily combined with worldwide sales networks as long as there is a guarantee that few wholesalers are involved in the chain.

Since 1995, Comptoir des Lys has been committed to sustainable development. In Gabory’s opinion: “Nowadays everybody’s talking about sustainability, and that’s a good thing. But most firms are only interested in it from the ecological angle, and they forget the social and human aspects of sustainability.” After implementing many measures in the field of energy efficiency, the use of renewable energy and reduction of waste, Comptoir is now focusing more on the ethical and social approach adopted by the firm. (Picture: Christelle Aimé who is responsible for sustainable company management)

All the employees at Comptoir took part in a workshop and drew up a definition of sustainable corporate aims. “This exercise was very fruitful for all of us. But what I found most satisfying is the fact that every single employee signed a document acknowledging Comptoir’s corporate values and aims. This is a very deep and personal commitment,” Gabory explains. This commitment is seen in, for example, purchasing policy. “Our buyers require our suppliers to observe certain standards that are in keeping with our values,” he says and adds: “But you see it as well in the setting up of car sharing among the employees or the use of as little paper as possible. For example, by re-using grey water, we have been able to reduce our water consumption by 30 %.”

The managing director emphasizes the point that the measures currently available under, for example, ISO14000, life cycle analyses or establishing a company’s carbon footprint are in the main not targeted at the needs of small firms. “This whole area lacks transparency and organization. A life cycle analysis costs a great deal of money, and there’s no guarantee that the end consumer will benefit in any way, because what it has to say is mostly very complicated.” This is the reason why Samuel Gabory prefers to focus on “healthy pragmatism and organizing the day-to-day work efficiently”.

To secure the benefits of this day-to-day efficiency, Comptoir has registered a patent on a new plant extraction process. “Previously, we were able to extract only one active ingredient from a plant but, with the new process, we can extract all the vitamins from a plant and, moreover, it’s done without using chemical or oil-based solvents. So the product becomes more effective. It’s just like eating the whole apple – it yields up all its active ingredients, which is healthier than the body taking in plant extracts in isolation.” (Picture: Manufacturing)

Another future project: extending the European guidelines for natural cosmetics. In the middle of 2010, the joint natural cosmetics guidelines of the European association COSMOS AISBL were published. “In the field of natural cosmetics, we’re at about the same stage as we were in organic agriculture a number of years ago – a real logo war is raging. Cosmos products have a high recognition value among consumers and make it possible at the same time to retain private own brands.” The first Cosmos products could be on the market in Europe during the spring of 2011.

A further important project for Comptoir des Lys over the next few years is adapting the manufacturing and quality management systems to the new EU cosmetics criteria that come into force in July 2013. “The new standards require us to adapt our manufacturing processes and our quality control. And we’ve got to put in a lot of work to prepare for that…”

Trade fairs where Comptoir des Lys will be taking part in 2011:

Vivaness / BioFach, Nuremberg, Hall 7A – Stand 225 G
Natexpo, Paris, France
Natural Product, Anaheim, USA
Cosmoprof, Hong Kong

Contact: Marina You, export manager
Mobile: +33 (0)6 74 83 47 29
Email
www.comptoirdeslys.fr