Yves Rocher, the French botanical beauty specialist, has launched a new marketplace to broaden its digital reach. Since September 23, the brand’s e-commerce platform now features offerings from a dozen “committed” beauty brands. These partners focus on complementary segments such as children’s care, pregnancy products, men’s grooming, and dietary supplements. Among the first brands to join are Ouate, a hygiene brand for children and babies, Miyé, which specialises in hormonal balance and well-being, and Monsieur Barbier, a men’s grooming label.

“In 2023, I announced an ambitious transformation plan for Yves Rocher, with digital as one of its key pillars. The launch of the marketplace, which aligns perfectly with our sustainable brand commitments, is a crucial step in our acceleration in this segment. It provides like-minded brands the opportunity to join our movement and benefit from our commercial strength,” stated Guillaume Darrousez, CEO of Yves Rocher.

The marketplace is expected to host around 50 brands within the coming months and will also be available on Yves Rocher’s mobile app. The long-term goal is to expand this model to other European markets, further enhancing the brand’s digital footprint.

To attract partner brands, Yves Rocher is leveraging its extensive network, including 660 stores in France, 8 million customers, and a website that receives 50 million visits and processes 1.5 million orders annually.

“Joining the Yves Rocher marketplace is both a strategic and emotional decision for us,” said Charlotte Catton, founder of the personal and home care brand WhatMatters. “Strategic, because it will increase our visibility, and emotional, because it is a great honour to be associated with Yves Rocher, a pioneer in direct-to-consumer brands and customer relationships.”

Through this initiative, Yves Rocher aims to strengthen its online sales, which currently account for 10% of its total revenue. The company’s goal is to double its global online sales within the next three years. In addition, the brand, which has faced challenges in recent years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, declining consumer spending, and increasing competition, plans to replicate this model in its major export markets, particularly in Asia and the United States, where it recently launched a kiosk.

Yves Rocher, which reportedly generates an annual revenue of 1.2 billion euros, operates in over 90 markets, distributing more than 250 million products per year through a network of more than 2,200 physical retail locations worldwide.

The brand is also focused on enhancing profitability through cost-cutting measures. Recently, its parent company, Groupe Rocher, sold the perfume production site in Ploërmel (Morbihan) to the American group Arcade Beauty as part of its cost-optimisation strategy.