Fifteen years after it was launched in France as JolieBox, the company specialising in cosmetics discovery sets, still headed and co-owned by its majority founders, Quentin Reygrobellet and Martin Labas, alongside the Raise Invest private equity company, has taken over its historic rival Glossybox’s business in Europe.
“We signed a strategic agreement under which we seize their assets wherever they were present in Europe, except in England, i.e., in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and France. We will communicate with Glossybox’s customer base in these countries, so that customers can convert their subscription to Blissim’s,” explains Reygrobellet.
Strengthening the discovery model
When it was founded, Blissim’s business model consisted in shipping sets of products from beauty brand partners aiming to recruit new customers by making them discover their products. Then, in the aftermath of the pandemic, the company initiated a strategic turnaround combining discovery, with the box, and online selling.
“In 2022, we mainly aimed to use the box to sell products via testing. Now, we still want to make customers discover products through our tools, but we do not necessarily sell products on our own website. The main goal is to help brands reach new audiences. Retailers are partners to which we direct traffic according to demand for brands. This model will be duplicated in Germany, with major distributors like Douglas,” says Reygrosbellet.
Although some of the items are still available for sale on its website, Blissim now invites subscribers to turn to the distributor(s) provided by the brand, or simply to visit their local points of sale, as is the case for Aroma Zone.
“This can be done through a link which directs them to the website provided by the brand, or directly by scanning a QR Code on a flyer provided in the boxes. It is up to the brand. We are no longer an e-shop: we have turned into a marketing agency. We stand out in that we focus on beauty discovery, so we aim to strengthen our expertise and offer ever-more appealing, ever-more customised boxes with more and more benefits in time,” adds Reygrobellet.
One target: Europe
Although it is a leader in France, where the company achieves 80% of its turnover – 50 million euros in 2024 – it is already present beyond French borders, in Spain, Germany, and French-speaking Belgium. By purchasing Glossybox’s assets, Blissim reached a peak of 240,000 subscribers and is now ranked first in Europe.
“We actually aim to develop everywhere in Europe (Italy, Poland, Nordic countries, etc.). We aim to make Blissim a long-term company,” claims Reygrobellet.
