A major player of the Brazilian beauty marketplace, France’s L’Occitane Group reaches local consumers through two complementary brands L’Occitane en Provence and L’Occitane au Brazil. A winning combo according to André Abramo, Head of Brand Strategy & Marketing Communications at L’Occitane Group in Brazil.
Premium Beauty News – Which brands of the group are present in Brazil?
André Abramo – The group currently invests in two brands for the national territory strategy, L’Occitane en Provence and L’Occitane au Brésil, but Sol de Janeiro, which is also part of the group, is now one of the Sephora brands that is in all stores around the world, including our country.
Premium Beauty News – You opened a factory in Brazil, do you produce for other brands than L’Occitane au Brésil ?
André Abramo – Our factory, located in the city of Louveira, São Paulo, was opened especially to help us with the expansion and development of the L’Occitane au Brésil brand. It will help us expand L’Occitane au Brésil, which is the brand that will grow significantly over the next three years. The L’Occitane en Provence products are produced in our factory in Manosque, in the heart of Provence, in France.
Premium Beauty News – How is the co-existence of the two L’Occitane brands going on the Brazilian market?
André Abramo – Although the average consumer sees L’Occitane as a big brand, where we have an imported product proposal and a national product proposal, brands are increasingly in their specific territories.
L’Occitane en Provence grows in Brazil within the premium market share, guaranteeing its brand positioning and the correct consumer profile for our base, which is the class A consumer [the most affluent category, according to the ranking in force in Brazil – Editor’s note]. L’Occitane au Brésil, we are increasingly relevant to the class B, aspirational C consumer, with the recruitment of new consumers practically doubling in size every year, in addition to seeing a large arrival of young consumers who are more interested in getting to know the brand for their beauty care.
Premium Beauty News – And in terms of sales?
André Abramo – In volume, L’Occitane en Provence grows by 5 to 6% in product volume and L’Occitane au Brésil grows by 35 to 40% in volume, almost doubling both the consumer base and production. Having our own factory, enabled us to address the demand in record time.
In value, L’Occitane en Provence is growing above 7% in the country while L’Occitane Brésil is growing above 35% for the third consecutive year. The two brands do not cannibalize each other, on the contrary, they are growing together, strengthening themselves for different tribes in the Brazilian market.
L’Occitane en Provence has 100 stores and L’Occitane au Brésil 200 stores and kiosks. We have aggressive expansion plans for L’Occitane au Brésil, with the aim to reach new territories and meet the demand of new consumers.
As the market in Brazil for premium cosmetics is 5%, logically the opportunity for the mass market appears bigger. L’Occitane au Brésil will be by far our biggest brand in Brazil.
Premium Beauty News – Do you plan to develop L’Occitane au Brésil on other markets in Latin America and elsewhere?
André Abramo – It is a brand that will see its greatest growth in the Brazilian market, certainly being the most relevant market in the next three years. The Brazilian market is huge, and still dominated by a few brands that have been on the market for more than 40 years. It is a huge but invigorating challenge as it is a market that has great opportunity.
Thinking about the internationalization of the brand, we are having interesting conversations for the Latin American, European and Oceanic market, but it is not yet a plan that we can share at the moment, as we are in the strategic definition of the movement. What I can say is that L’Occitane au Brésil will be a brand that will arrive in other markets, outside of Brazil, soon and in a relevant way as we have data and research that show us the opportunity that the brand has for international expansion.
Premium Beauty News – What about the other brands of the group, such as Sol de Janeiro in Brazil and Elemis?
André Abramo – We will only focus on the two L’Occitane brands in Brazil. Sol de Janeiro will continue to be developed by the New York team, mainly for the North American market. For the next three years, as we expect our sales in Brazil to grow exponentially, there are no plans to bring another brand from the group.
Premium Beauty News – What are the cosmetic expectations of the Brazilian consumer?
André Abramo – The Brazilian market is very strong in fragrances and hair care. We are developing innovations and major movements for the future in these two categories. We will focus our efforts on our best-selling lines. We want to remain at the forefront of the quality in the body care category by developing breakthrough innovations for L’Occitane au Brésil.
Premium Beauty News – Is the presence of Brazilian ingredients important for Brazilians consumers?
André Abramo – Ingredients are very important for our brand building, but the most important thing is to focus on ingredients that have a direct relationship with the brand’s mission, which is to celebrate Brazilian nature. Brazilian ingredients will always be protagonists, but with each new story we always want to bring a Brazil that is still little known, both among Brazilians and the world, with the clear objective of surprising the consumer and not showing a caricatured or very obvious Brazil. Our French touch, in love with Brazil, will bring a sensorial surprise in each ingredient of this country of effervescent nature.
Premium Beauty News – What are the fragrances sought after by Brazilians today?
André Abramo – The Brazilian market is still looking for fresh fragrances with light touches, since our climate is mostly hot. It is no surprise that our best seller is Capim Limão, a fragrance that is typical of Brazil and has a very sophisticated and citrus olfactory signature in just the right amount. Florals are also very successful, but our florals always have unexpected flowers, such as Flor de Carambola, which is another success of the brand.
Premium Beauty News – What is your vision of the Brazilian market?
André Abramo – The Brazilian beauty market is a hotbed to be explored, still dominated by big brands. However new brands are innovating and positioning themselves with relevant and different proposals. The Generation Z audience is increasingly setting trends, and is certainly a hot audience for our national brand. Social networks have proven to be relevant for building a brand and audience, which will help us grow significantly in the country, through our own stores, franchises and direct sales, which is a very strong channel in Brazil.
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