Meet Alexis Robillard, the Jungle King behind ALL TIGERS, the new ferociously French (and vegan!) brand that has taken Instagram by storm and federated a women-powered community. A beautiful match between transparency, ethics and sensoriality, as Clean Beauty is on the rise…
What’s not to love about ALL TIGERS? It’s vegan, it’s natural, it’s glamorous…and it’s French. A Paris-powered indie brand, that says a lot on how French creativity is doing these days in the Beauty world. Moreover, it’s ALL TIGERS’ digital strategic model that caught the attention. The Insta-brand has mainly focused on its community, making women part of the brand-making process. « It’s what we call a DNVB Brand », explains Leïla Rochet, founder of the Cosmetics Inspiration & Creation agency, “or digitally native vertical brand. A new business model suppressing traditional intermediaries at the begining and end of the value chain. How it works: the brand includes clients right at the beginning of product development, immediately listens to their insights as they go, federates them through social media, and controls its own distribution. As a result, success came fast, and growth was exponential. Let’s here about Alexis’s insights.
S : What’s the idea behind All Tigers ?
A : While searching for a lipstick for my teenage girl, I was chocked to see how limited the choices were. A woman wanting to concile a clean and ethic formulation with a beautiful yet effective product, the options were quite small. I realized that makeup had been completly forgotten by green cosmetic. The idea became an obsession, and I started it.
Shortly after, I called out women on Instagram to ask them to co-create the perfect lipstick with me. 300 women subscribed from the first day, and, as the community became much more larger, we started to talk everyday about each step of the creation of All Tigers’ lipsticks.
« The All Tigers woman is a queen of the modern jungle :a value-driven woman, strong, determinated, engaged, in a complex word, sometimes hostile. She’s like a tiger ; powerful but threatened »
S: From vegan to organic initiatives, the Beauty Industry is repositioning itself, especially the Clean Beauty segment. How is ALL TIGERS following that trend?
A : It’s all about the formula. We switch every ingredient with one that is aligned with our convictions. For instance, I refuse to use carmine pigments from cochineal, so we can’t technically make a lipstick that would be both organic and vegan-friendly. It is the reason why we do not have those labels. But the organic norms and standards inspire us for the formulations, the packaging, and we strive to deliver the best product possible. Efficiency is also a key: our lipsticks are meant to be very long-wearing, which means they do not dry out lips. We obtained that thanks to a precise dosage of plant oils in the formula, which was a very technical yet fascinating process to invent.
S : Where do you think your love for Clean Beauty comes from?
A : I am very sensitive to everything that is consumers’ care, natural products, ethics etc. I was often frustrated to not be able to do anything about this during my past professional life. I remember being a young product manager, asking questions about parabens as the controversy was just starting, at a meeting in front of senior managers, and being laughed at: it was not a good moment for me! (laughs)
10 years ago, I remember succeeded in launching an organic range in a brand that was not. A huge amount of work where I really got to understand how challenging working with clean ingredients was. We did not succeed, but I learned a lot from this : the clean argument was not enough. Consumers expected more in terms of efficiency and dream-selling ideas. I tried to drive these convictions to several projects, but it often ended in global strategies and did not take. It’s really only by starting from scratch that you can fully take into account environmental and social factors. For example, ALL TIGERS is a proud member of 1% FOR THE PLANET by giving 1% of its sales to the association fighting for the protection of tigers in Asia. This is a very large project, englobing large ecosystems, which is why it would have been hard to implement it in a big group.
S : Indeed, new generations are now fully aware of how « greenwashing » is affecting marketing. They can just scan a product on their smartphones to check the composition. Would you dare say Clean Beauty is the future of the Beauty sector ?
A : A growing number of educated consumers are rejecting specific ingredients and striving for more transparency : formulations are of course going to have to evolve. Even if Beauty players are harder to convince because this forces them to question their whole system of production and rethink their brands, they will eventually become actors of this change too. I’m convinced this a new norm that we are facing.
S : Women’s representation is key for brands in 2019. Who is the Tiger woman according to you ?
A : She is a queen of the modern jungle : a value-driven woman, strong, determinated, in a complex world that can sometimes be hostile. Just like a tiger: powerful but threatened. The Tiger woman is couscious about what’s imposed to her, she wants the best for herself, for her beauty and her health. She wants to feel and be in charge, speak her mind about products, take part of a community where she will be listened to. I’ve noticed that she has no specific age or social class, she’s really all about the confidence and attitude.
S : Indeed, beyond ethical makeup, women thrive to be empowered by their products. What would you like to bring them through All Tigers ?
A : Makeup is often wrongly assimilated as something superficial. I like to say that ads let us believe for a long time that lipstick was only for smiling or seducing. With All Tigers, I would like to raise women’s voices to give them to space to be heard. For example, on our blog all-tigers.com we interview inspiring women, which is not that common in makeup.
“Makeup is often wrongly assimilated as something superficial. I like to say that ads let us believe for a long time that lipstick was only for smiling or seducing. With All Tigers, I would like to raise women’s voices to give them to space to be heard.”
S : A man creating lipsticks for women…A little unusual, don’t you think?
A : I’ve asked myself that very question since the beginning: this lipstick of a new generation, more respectful for women, needs to exist, but is it really my fight? But if we stop at this, nobody is going to do it! Now we’re two years after, and I noticed nobody else is carrying a project as like that. However, I am not a product user, which makes my point of view completely neutral! Well, I do still have my believes of course. But every client is better educated than myself in wearing lipsticks, which always puts me in a position where I need to listen.
S : Would you say ALL TIGERS has a French Touch?
This brand is a melting pot : an English name, an Asian totem animal, an Italian expert laboratory…But the creative touch and the quest for excellence, which guided every step of the making process, are definitely french. It’s a radical brand, without compromises, and that is very Frenchie indeed!
A : Do you have a favourite product or shade ?
I love working with colors. Selecting our 12 first shades came from a long talk with our Instagram community to fit every style and skin tone. I personally love the metallic turquoise, the turquoise métal 989. It’s so radical, it’s a 2 in 1, it can be worn on its own or as a top coat. Even if it is not a best-seller, it’s the shade that best suits our message : even green cosmetics can create unexpected effects, fashion statement, bold styles.
The shade 989
S: What’s next for All Tigers ?
A : ALL TIGERS has still a lot to say! We’re not done roarrring. We are developping a range of nailpolish that fits our values, with a French partner : Tigers will now be able to take their claws out with style !
Want to know more about ALL TIGERS ? Become a part of the jungle queen tribe.
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