The global leader of luxury bottling just announced one of its furnaces at the historic site in northern France will be modernised and replaced with a new oxy-gas hybrid technology. The project is part of a broad, global decarbonisation and innovation plan. We met Thomas Riou, CEO of Verescence.
Premium Beauty News- Can you tell us more about the hybrid furnace project at the flagship site of Mers-les-Bains, by the English Channel?
Thomas Riou – Transforming furnace 6 in mid-2026 is a key project of our global decarbonisation strategy. It is part of a structured, ambitious plan aimed at reducing our emissions across scopes 1, 2 and 3. These targets were validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The new furnace will use a combination of oxygen-gas and electricity supply to replace up to 80% of fossil energies with electric power. This system will help considerably reduce our carbon emissions, while preserving the high quality of our glass production. Between 2019 and 2029, we will reduce our emissions in France by 70% across scopes 1 and 2.
Premium Beauty News – What are the key points in your decarbonisation roadmap?
Thomas Riou – The global decarbonisation plan covers all our businesses, all around the world, as well as our whole ecosystem. It involves constantly reducing our energy consumption and emissions with efficient measuring systems, but also through deep changes in our industrial practices.
A major part of this plan is based on a massive investment program to electrify all of our processes: furnaces, feeders, annealing lehrs, and decoration lines. It represents an additional investment of more than 100 million euros over the next ten years.
Reducing our scope 3 was an essential part of our strategy: we also work in close collaboration with our suppliers, most of whom are SMEs and microbusinesses. They are committed to working with us on this transformation process. Also, to go even further, we organise annual meetings to share our initiatives, provide them with tools, and help them make progress.
And of course, we work with our customers by co-building new tools and solutions designed to reduce the environmental impact of our packaging.
Premium Beauty News – What is the impact of rising energy costs on your industrial activities?
Thomas Riou – The energy cost represents almost 10% of the total cost of a bottle, which makes it a key lever and a regular area of concern. Over the past few years, we have been highly exposed to the volatility of energy prices, which had a significant impact. So, thanks to hedging systems we implemented upstream and by reducing our consumption, we have been able to mitigate part of this increase. But we could not avoid passing on some of it in our sales prices.
Although energy markets have stabilised, prices remain well above historical averages, so we must keep improving our industrial performance to remain competitive.
Europe and Asia are particularly affected due to high energy dependence. In addition, in France, the government put an end to the ARENH system which offered preferential electricity prices. It will take effect on January 1st, 2026. Only the US enjoys highly competitive energy costs.
Premium Beauty News – You have seven production sites in Europe, Asia, and the US. Does Verescence’s global presence help deal with rising global tensions differently?
Thomas Riou – More than 30 years ago, we opted for short supply chains and ecosystems built around our industrial sites. Our plants are located as close as possible to our customers, and we create a network of high-performing suppliers around them.
More than 97% of our purchases are made locally, which provides resilience, agility and competitiveness, while reducing our environmental footprint.
Then, there are economic and financial benefits for both Verescence and our customers: no currency risk, no impact from transport prices, which have been highly volatile in recent years, simplified traceability, and no impact from tariffs.
The pandemic highlighted the limits of long supply chains, and the recent geopolitical tensions only confirm how relevant our regionalisation strategy is.
Premium Beauty News – What are the main priorities of your innovation strategy?
Thomas Riou – Our innovation strategy is based on five main pillars: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Replace, and Disrupt. We mean to thoroughly rethink our approaches, while maintaining the high standards specific to the luxury world.
By the end of 2025, 100% of our glass creations all around the world will feature external cullet derived from recycled household glass (PCR). As a consequence, we will reduce our raw material and energy consumption as well as our CO2 emissions.
I am also a strong believer in the potential of monomaterial packaging, because it makes it possible to remove accessories, including plates and labels. Thanks to innovative glass decoration techniques, we can now create high-end aesthetic effects. They offer enhanced industrial agility, increased competitiveness, as well as reduced carbon footprint.
Refills are another key area we have been actively developing in the perfume and skincare segments, and more recently, makeup. Today, more than 70% of our launches incorporate screw necks. And yet, refills are unlikely to ever cover 100% of the perfume market, because consumers still buy fragrances as gifts or to pamper themselves, and loyalty is lower. Only combinations of solutions will provide smart answers in the future: PCR, controlled packaging reduction, and monomaterial packaging. ‘Glassification’, i.e. substituting plastic with glass, is also a key ecodesign area that is gaining importance in segments like perfumes (caps), skincare, and now also makeup, with innovations for mascaras and gloss.
Premium Beauty News – Verescence recently announced a consortium including Movendo Capital and Draycott as a new shareholder of the group. How will that impact the company’s strategy?
Thomas Riou – We are very pleased to have new shareholders committed to the long term. They fully support our strategy, investment plans, and sustainability programs, including our decarbonisation roadmap. This is excellent news for all our employees, customers and partners. Their commitment will enhance our ability to successfully manage our projects. Verescence has very high expectations for the years to come.
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