The Carrefour group opened the first concept store dedicated to ‘clean beauty’ on 3rd October as part of an initiative designed to cater to the demand for transparency on the part of a growing number of consumers.
38 Rue Sainte-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie, Paris, is now home to the brand-new Sources store, which is unusual in that it sells only beauty products (toiletries, cosmetics, make-up and baby products) that have been selected based on a series of strict criteria. None of the 3,400 products that the store stocks contain any of a list of 75 controversial ingredients, not to mention the 1,400 that have been banned by the European regulation! “This is a fine example of a commitment to real transparency”, explains Jean-Marc Mégnin, Managing Director of Altavia Shoppermind, “and an approach that reflects the growing need on the part of consumers to know exactly what the products they are using contain and be able to make an informed choice. Many are particularly concerned with what they are applying to their skin and are aware that it can have a direct impact on their health”.
The challenge that Sources has now set itself is to reassure consumers and restore their faith. “What if you could have beauty and peace of mind?! A utopian dream, maybe? Not at Sources!”, claims the Parisian store’s Instagram account.
“This concept store, where you won’t find any sort of Carrefour logo displayed anywhere, is entirely credible”, Mr Mégnin continues, “and the results might not have been quite as positive if Carrefour had decided to exploit this niche under its own brand name”.
Les Yeux Fermés (‘Eyes Closed’)
Several hundreds of products lining the shelves bare the Les Yeux Fermés label – “a label designed to give consumers a 100% guarantee that the product in question contains no controversial ingredients or allergens, such as suspected endocrine disruptors, CMRs, nanoparticles, parabens, aluminium salts, etc.” and created in conjunction with the Clean Beauty app. Launched two and a half years ago by a group of scientists, the app reveals the exact composition of cosmetic products (rather like Yuka does in the food industry) and currently has over a million users in France. The Les Yeux Fermés label enables consumers, and pregnant women and patients undergoing treatment in particular, to purchase products that reflect their tastes and needs with complete peace of mind.
“The nature of the relationship a brand develops with its customers is changing”, Mr Mégnin explains. “What matters now is striving for complete transparency, even if that means creating a new brand specifically to meet this expectation, which is exactly what Carrefour is currently trialling with Sources”.
