Considering their work experience in the perfume industry and educational backgrounds in sustainable development, the married couple that recently founded the luxury Essenci beauty brand are uniquely well qualified to introduce a new approach to sustainability. With the recognition that “it can be easier to build from the ground up than turn the ship around,” they decided to introduce their product line independently, rather than rely on their existing industry connections, to ensure they could embrace and reflect their sustainable goals.

In particular, the inspiration for Essenci products came from the notion that products that people put on their skin should be totally organic, without unnecessary additives, and that the process for producing them should be completely transparent. Thus the L’Immortela elixir contains flowers sourced from a specific farm in France, then sent to a single, eco-certified laboratory for processing. The raspberry seeds that go into its face cream are grown organically too, and both products promise only nontoxic, natural ingredients.

Beyond the production, the packaging is consciously sustainable. Each cream and exlixir is bottled in a reusable Limoges porcelain vessel, which is made without any adulteration by glues or solvents.

The company’s targeting efforts are socially conscious too, such that Essenci is determined that its products will meet the skincare needs of people of various ethnicities, as well as appeal to both women and men, who traditionally have been excluded from luxury skincare markets. Even as it includes men in its target market, the company prioritizes hiring women into positions of authority, such that other than one of the founders, the management team consists only of female executives.

Discussion Questions:

1. How does Essenci exhibit social consciousness throughout its new product development, packaging, staffing, and marketing efforts?
2. Can a larger company achieve these sustainability standards, or is the small size of Essenci pertinent to its efforts? Why?

Source: Thessaly La Force, “A Sustainable Beauty Brand Inspired by the French Countryside,” The New York Times, December 2, 2020