This woman who wants to revolutionize the cosmetic industry

It is impossible to get rid of his smile. Manon Leroux is more than happy, she is euphoric. She has just won the first edition of the Bertha Benz Award for her project Save and Care, an app that allows you to buy beauty products at low prices, reclaimed from unsold stock in pharmacies, perfumeries or supermarkets. Named after the first German driver to drive 106 km in 1888, this award honors a woman with an ethical and innovative project.

It was created by the She’s Mercedes program, which brought together classes of six entrepreneurs for five years to mentor and help them pitch and advance their projects. Manon Leroux was selected from more than 300 candidates. Apart from his endearing personality, it was his idea that won the jury over.

A joint trip

But let’s start at the beginning. The young woman followed a traditional educational path that took her to Montpellier Business School. He then worked at Showroom Privé, a low-price big-brand resale site, and then at Selency, a used decorating and real estate marketplace, where he was a sales representative. “There were only 6 of us when I arrived and I have witnessed the growth of this very dedicated company. This is really where my desire to start entrepreneurship and invest myself in a project that has as much meaning as this one came from.”

I finished my suspension and came up with the Save&Care idea the next day, looking at my Caudalie shower gel for €9 in my shower.

Manon Leroux, founder of Save&Care

He was 29 when he left the company and decided to resume his studies, obtaining a master’s degree in fashion and luxury management at the Institut Français de la Mode. He then flew to New York to work for the label with a grounded approach to Mansoor Gavriel. Covid is ending its American adventure. Back in France, she joined BIS Boutique Solidaire, a chain of thrift stores, where she spent a year.

Leading thinking

“I finished my usual separation and came up with the Save&Care idea the next day, in my shower, looking at my €9 Caudalie shower gel.” She then told herself that being unemployed and having to cut back on her expenses, she would no longer have access to these types of beauty products. “I wasn’t worried about the food because there is Too Good to Go, which puts individuals in touch with merchants selling baskets of unsold goods. I told myself that this was exactly what I had to do for beauty.”

He rushes to his local pharmacy to ask how they manage unsold items. He was told that less and less processing was being done in the labs and that losses were high. Every year in France, 128 million euros of products are destroyed, according to the Federation of Beauty Companies. An indicator that, of course, has been divided by five in five years, but which remains significant.

Beauty products, luxury that comes at a price

The young woman points out that at the same time, a third of French people refuse care due to lack of funds, according to a 2023 survey by the Dons Solidaires association. Let me give a concrete example: 4 million people remain without shampoo. For example: “It’s hard to find products at affordable prices, especially quality products that are manufactured using reasonable processes. However, beauty affects self-confidence. Paying attention to your skin and hair is an important ritual that feels good,” adds Manon Leroux.

What I want to propose is a 100% responsible approach that limits the shipment of cosmetic products in particular to 40 million shipments per year.

Manon Leroux, founder of Save&Care

So the young woman decides to act quickly. “I didn’t ask myself any questions, I went straight to work, I went to other pharmacies that confirmed these flow problems at the end of the chain,” he says today. Of course, there are solutions to find cheaper products, such as the Blissim or Beauté Privée sites, but not a solution that allows distributors to sell their products that are already in the sales circle, on the shelves. What I offer is a 100% responsible approach. I want to limit shipments of cosmetic products, which are 40 million shipments a year, through a click-and-collect system.”

After testing a prototype app in pharmacies and opening several pop-up stores last year, it is preparing to launch an official version of its Save&Care app. At the same time, it has expanded the circle of its partners. “There are 21,000 pharmacies in France, but also many perfumes and large and medium-sized supermarket brands, representing a potential of 80,000 brands in France, all with damaged products, short shelf life, products with changing packaging. I decided to take this course.”

If she’s part of F Station’s young talent incubator, winning the first edition of the Berta Benz Award and being selected for season 4 of She’s Mercedes was a springboard. “As a solo founder, I need help in areas that are not in my core area of ​​expertise. Through the program, I worked with a great mentor, Marion Schuttetten, founder of the clothing brand Orta. It was very motivating and it saved me a lot of time because the other participants have businesses that have already raised funds.”

She appreciates the idea of ​​supporting women in a business world that is still very much dominated by men. “It’s hard to be a female entrepreneur when you want to break the rules. Having big ambitions is more difficult. It is not easy to say that you want to revolutionize the cosmetics industry, having understood since childhood that you should be modest. And then it’s actually harder, too, because you’re more easily judged, not necessarily taken seriously. But I don’t want it to get in the way. Support like that from Mercedes allows you to go beyond that.”