The history of L’Occitane dates back to 1976 in the vibrant city of Marseille, wherein the young Olivier Baussan began producing soaps that were inspired by folk medicine from the French Provence. Under Baussan’s vision, the company continued to flourish by offering high-quality beauty products concocted with essential oils extracted from the verdant fields of Provence. L’Occitane has always believed in speaking the language of the land, as well as that of the farmers, and is putting its beliefs into practice by releasing products in tandem with the harvesting season of each ingredient and defending the skills and well-being of its farmers.
Welcome to the 45th issue of B.
For this issue, B takes a close look at L’Occitane, a Provence-based cosmetics brand. Most people first encounter L'Occitane by receiving its best-selling hand cream as a gift. And many end up marveling at the high quality and effectiveness of the product. Founder Olivier Baussan started the brand a few years after the oil shock, at a time when people were becoming increasingly focused
on economic and environmental issues. He tried to produce natural soaps inspired by folk remedies that had been previously considered obsolete. In the four decades since, the brand has released a consistently strong selection of natural ingredient-based products, creating a solid position for itself in the highly competitive beauty industry.
Respect for nature is one of L’Occitane’s priorities, and the brand releases new products according to changes in nature, not global trends. The brand’s products are a celebration and thanksgiving of the harvest of the ingredients used, just like the way farmers celebrate their crops. Olivier once said, “We time the release of a new product for the harvest season of its natural ingredient. This is a completely new practice started by us.”
L’Occitane started as a local brand, but it evolved into a global cosmetics powerhouse in the 1990s thanks to new CEO Reinold Geiger. He was brought on to save the company in a time of deep financial trouble. Instead of changing the product ingredients or design, he maintained the brand’s identity and philosophy, and just added “en Provence” to the name as a way to tell the world that L’Occitane would stick to and reinforce its original values as a Provence brand by instilling its products with the local lifestyle. By doing so, Reinold, currently the largest shareholder of the L’Occitane Group, set a new long-term direction for the brand. Under his leadership, L’Occitane opened its first store in the U.S., a
replica of its shops in France, and became very popular in the American market. This success spurred the brand’s penetration into the Asian market and later other parts of the globe.
In L’Occitane’s lexicon, however, “respect” encompasses more than just consideration for nature. The company’s management respects the traditional wisdom found in folk medicine, the livelihoods of the indigenous farmers who grow the company’s natural ingredients, and the values the brand has believed in. Therefore, it is safe to say that L’Occitane is not just a natural beauty brand, but a brand that practices what they preach. This respect for others is the key ingredient of a good brand.
L’Occitane’s unique press events are well known among reporters. Generally, press events consist of a new product showcase and press interviews, and when there is time left, reporters and corporate people enjoy meals or relax. But L’Occitane does things differently; it provides reporters with the opportunity to experience Provence, where the brand was born, by sharing local foods and activities from the region. L’Occitane seems to believe that promoting Provence equals promoting the brand.
We believe that we have our own art of living, just like the people of Provence do. On sunny spring days like those we are currently
enjoying, on which forsythias and azaleas are in full bloom, how about taking a picnic to a nearby field and ruminating over the meaning of respect demonstrated by L’Occitane? After all, this is the lifestyle that we ourselves have lived for centuries.
Taehyuk Choi, Editor in Chief
Intro
Editor’s Letter
Comments
L’Occitane on Instagram
Opinion
Jeanne Dréan, Beauty Director of ELLE.fr
Market
Beauty brands focused on distinctive locales
Into the Store
L’Occitane at the Louvre
Inner Space
The brand vision found in L’Occitane’s signature products
User’s Choice
Some distinctive ways to see L’Occitane
En Provence
Provence and respect for nature
Opinion
Patricia Montesinos, Provence Experience Manager of L’Occitane
From Where I Stand
The L’Occitane family talks about the company’s spirit of respect and sharing
En Paris
Parisians talk about Provence
Opinion
Marine Parmentier, founder and CEO of Mirz Yoga
Wellness and the City
Wellness from the perspective of urbanites who understand Provence’s art of living
Brand Story
How L’Occitane created a solid position for itself in the beauty industry by respecting nature
From Land to L’Occitane
The stories behind L’Occitane’s products and ingredients
Founder
Olivier Baussan, the pillar of the L’Occitane spirit
Figures
L’Occitane by the numbers: brand power and social responsibility
Outro
PUBLICATION RIGHT
- Publisher
- Suyong Joh
- Editor In Chief
- Taehyuk Choi
- Senior Editor
- Eunsung Park
- Editors
- Jaewoo Seo, Yeongmin Kim
- Intern Editor
- Jisoo Kim
- Translation
- Hyunkyung Yoo, Narae Kim, Rancy Kim, Seongae Yang, Soonok Hwang
- Copy Editing
- Eugene Larsen-Hallock
- Proofreading
- Sarah Kessler Jang
- Designer
- Ayoon Jung
- Filmmaker
- Sukwang Baak
- Distribution
- Tony Song
- Correspondents
- Mihye Nam (Tokyo), Nari Park (London), Jungho Lee (New York), Jeewon Lim (Milan), Hyeseon Jeong (Paris)
- Publishing
- JOH & Company
- Printed in the Republic of Korea
- ISBN
- 978-89-98415-92-1 03050
REFERENCES
- A Year in Provence
- Provence, 1970: M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard, & the Reinvention of American Taste
- The Man Who Planted Trees
- A Perfect Rest in Provence
- The New Health Rules: Simple Changes to Achieve Whole-Body Wellness
- 2,100 Asanas: The Complete Yoga Poses
- The New Bohemians: Cool and Collected Homes
- The Essence of Provence: The Story of L’Occitane
- The Plant
- TIP L’Occitane en Provence Youtube Channel