It all starts in 1999, during a family meal in the Luberon. Pierre Vausselin, the father, Anne, the eldest, and Valérie la cadette have the idea to combine their passion for nature - the two sisters spent their childhood in Lozère, in the heart of a wild nature - and infinite possibilities of the Internet, which is then in its infancy.
They launched Aroma-Zone , a free information site on essential oils, created in six hands, in a traditional way: "In the 2000s, essential oils were reserved for an elite, on the one hand, information available about them was very complex - and often in English, on the other hand because their price made them inaccessible, "says Anne Vausselin, general manager of the brand.
Aroma-Zone: Originally, essential oils at an affordable price
Very quickly, producers from all over the world contacted the Vausselin family to sell their essential oils. Astonished, they bring the first samples from Madagascar, Mexico or India, analyze them and finally decide to offer them to Internet users interested in aromatherapy.
This is the beginning of the e-shop. We are in 2005 and if the objective remains to communicate on the properties of essential oils with information provided and documented - "we bought a lot of books on essential oils, which have been translated and popularized," says Anne Vausselin - the challenge is quickly to market these products at a fair price, in a fair trade approach.
When home-made cosmetics is essential
"Gradually, we expanded the range, at the request of customers, who started to want vegetable oils to dilute their essential oils," Anne Vausselin recalls.
Aroma-Zone then provides its customers with floral waters called hydrolates, vegetable oils and beeswax. With these ingredients, we can concoct the Galen cérat, an ancestral beauty cream with waxy and oily texture, the first DIY recipe made possible by the company. "I came from the cosmetics industry - editor's note: she worked in the L'Oréal group - and I knew the formulations of beauty products," says the company manager.
Faced with the enthusiasm met by this test, the brand then proposes to offer other products: neutral bases, gels, creams, emulsifiers and complete its range with specific assets like natural hyaluronic acid or co- enzyme Q10. Not to mention the appearance of containers; pots, tubes and other pumps. In short, everything to make yourself cosmetics 100% natural adapted to its needs.
Listening, customer proximity and fair trade
"Our DNA is oriented towards respect for man and nature, we propose the most ecological products and processes possible, in packaging, sales, packaging ...", explains Anne Vausselin, he is asked what his company's values are. And while natural etiquette is indeed the cornerstone of this family business, ethics is nonetheless a fundamental pillar.
Thus, besides buying raw materials at a fair price "in order to allow the local communities to live well and develop", Aroma-Zone finances equipment for the producers with which the company works. All this without obviously forgetting the customer, at the other end of the chain: "Fair trade is also for us to democratize the essential oils. This means reducing our margins to the maximum to offer customers to buy quality without breaking the bank. "
Listening to the desires and needs of the latter since its inception, the brand makes it a point of honor to limit the intermediaries, even if it means to do without a service nevertheless imagined as crucial in such a case: the pole marketing, non-existent at Aroma-Zone!
From factory sales to Parisian cosmetic workshops
It is in this approach of listening and proximity with the customer that the brand decides to open a small shop in Paris in 2009. Before that, it is in a tiny premises stuck to the factory of Coustellet, in the Lubéron, that Aroma-Zone takes the pulse of its followers: "We opened on Sundays at the same time as the market and in the evening, we offered a few workshops. "
In the capital, it will be first 20 square meters located at the bottom of Rue Mouffetard, before the boulevard Saint-Germain and its 60 square meters which, faced with success, will not hold long. "We worked like this, as best we could, until 2014, where we had the chance to find the premises in Odéon, 500 square meters," says Anne Vausselin.
Cosmetic workshops-home, shop and even spa find - finally - a suitable place. It is also the opportunity to put essential oils at the heart of the company with aromatherapy workshops.
September 2017, a second boutique Aroma-Zone in Paris
The following ? Aroma-Zone sees it in the image of its success: grandiose. In September, the brand will settle on the prestigious Boulevard Haussmann in a place that will again mix shop, workshop and probably other services that remain to be invented, always with the aim of facilitating understanding and composition of produced by customers.
Similarly, openings in the provinces and in the major cities of France are envisaged. Evidence, if need be, that essential oils can do wonders.
The three essential oils essential to everyday life, according to Anne Vausselin
- The essential oil of lavender : "One chooses according to its olfactory tastes either fine lavender or aspic. It is useful for the slightest blistering, burning, headaches by applying it to the temples, it disinfects, heals and relaxes if it breathes. It helps to fall asleep more easily. Its more? It is very soft and can be used pure for all, including children. "
- The tea tree essential oil : "It is a powerful antibacterial, perfect for disinfecting, to get rid of its acne pimples. At the beginning of infection - sore throats, ears ... if used in massage, the tea tree essential oil immediately stops the pain. It also helps in cleaning, as it disinfects and smells good. It can also be used pure as it is soft. "
- The Italian helichryse (or flower of immortal) : "Its name does not indicate it, but it is native of Corsica. It is a spectacular essential oil for bruises, blows, bruises: a drop is deposited, often in synergy with lavender, on blue; it is very restorative. The best is to dilute it in a vegetable oil. Finally, she also heals the blues of the soul, simply by olfaction or by placing a drop in the hollow of the wrist. "
