INTERVIEW – ALBAN MAYNE, COFOUNDER OF BEAUTY DISRUPTED : “FOR LUXURY AND ULTRA-LUXURY HOTELS WHO TRULY CARE ABOUT THEIR GUESTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT”
With its bars of soap, shampoo and conditioner, Beauty Disrupted aims to support hotels in their efforts to reduce their environmental footprint while delivering differentiated experiences to their guests.
INTERVIEW – ALBAN MAYNE, COFOUNDER OF BEAUTY DISRUPTED : “FOR LUXURY AND ULTRA-LUXURY HOTELS WHO TRULY CARE ABOUT THEIR GUESTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT”
With its bars of soap, shampoo and conditioner, Beauty Disrupted aims to support hotels in their efforts to reduce their environmental footprint while delivering differentiated experiences to their guests.
When two tech professionals discovered the ecological impact of plastic shampoo and conditioner bottles, it was all too much. They quit their careers to make a commitment to protecting the planet, and gave birth to Beauty Disrupted, a brand of zero plastic amenities, also EHL Alliance partner member. Alban Mayne and Svante Holm embarked on an adventure between Stockholm and Grasse, a journey between R&D and authenticity that took them to the bathrooms of the greatest luxury hotels.
For the Journal des Palaces, Alban Mayne, at the helm of Beauty Disrupted, presents his model, a virtuous one adopted by committed hotels and satisfied customers.
How did Beauty Disrupted come about?
To start with, Beauty Disrupted being an impact native company, the “why” we decided to create Beauty Disrupted is I think really important.
Svante Holm and I were in the midst of our tech careers when we read that 80 billion plastic shampoo and conditioner bottles get produced every year and that only a few are recycled (less than 10%)*. Many end up in the oceans, which for an ocean lover like me, is just unacceptable.
Determined to create better and cleaner alternatives that are more in tune with both people and planet, we decided to quit our career paths and embarked on a long and wild journey into everything beauty. After two years of research and development, and unforgettable encounters with artisans, botanists, perfumers, and beauty experts along the way, the result is Beauty Disrupted.
What are the special features of Beauty Disrupted products?
Beauty Disrupted’s products are designed in Stockholm and consciously crafted in the South of France. All products are 100% free of plastic and harsh ingredients. Instead, each bar contains a careful selection of gentle ingredients, including 100% organic fragrances and oils known for their moisturizing and nourishing properties. Beauty Disrupted donates 20% of profits to non-profit organizations that protect the planet and combat climate change like the Jane Goodall Institute France, Sea Shepherd or Protect our Winters.
Initially, we were not thinking about the hospitality segment, and actually, we started with launching our website and partnering with Luxury retailers in 2021 to now be available at Galeries Lafayette, Bon Genie Grieder, Printemps, NK, Skins Cosmetics, Nose Paris, Monocle… In the course of 2022, during one of my business trips, I was shocked by all the mini bottles (also surprised that these could still exist) and that led us to look into the amenity space.
We realized that beyond the environmentally insane mini bottles, refill solutions were not ideal: at least the pumps were made of plastics, the refill poaches were in very most cases in plastics and that many of the refillable bottles were in plastics too. Also, when discussing with luxury hotels, we found out that the operational complexity was high and increased the time spent in the rooms by the cleaning team, with a risk of error, and a question that was often embarrassing was: “how often do you clean the pumps?”
And to conclude, with refillable solutions, guests are taken away the ‘implied gift’ of mini bottles. Who has never proudly brought mini bottles home to share with the family? Hence, there was a case.
How did the first hotel guests react to your offer?
The couple of pilots we ran especially at Souki Lodges & Spas in the South of France to understand how demanding guests would react to Beauty Disrupted beauty bars had shown amazing results. Not only the guests were excited to discover something new and be part of the solution, but the hotels were also excited and praised for their commitment to be part of the solution! And the guests were taking the products with them, which means ‘zero waste’ for the hotel and no experience regression vs. the mini bottles for the guests.
This is why after the successful pilots, we developed dedicated amenities solutions, 100% plastic free with the exact same formula as you would find if you bought Beauty Disrupted retail products at Galeries Lafayette or Monocle.
Could you cite a few examples of your products ranges?
Voyager, is an elegant ‘coffret’ that contains mini versions of three of our most popular bars: a luxuriously lathering and deeply moisturizing shampoo bar (40g), a nourishing and restoring conditioner bar (30g), and a gently cleansing body bar (35g). As the perfect companion to our bars, we launched mini TRIO. Beautiful and functional, TRIO keeps our bars dry in the shower and helps you select the right bar at all times. We spent nearly two years developing, fine-tuning and perfecting TRIO before we released it. We handcraft TRIO using natural clay. We decided to register its design which makes it absolutely unique.
We also created a mini hand soap (35g) and a micro hand soap (20g). Following the request from SAVOY in London, we also created a unique micro shaving bar (20g) ideal for a truly differentiated experience for the most demanding guests. Lastly, we have developed a 100% natural, 91% upcycled body lotion!
Your products are designed in Stockholm and crafted in the South of France using ingredients and fragrances from Grasse. Why this choice?
My cofounder is Swedish and I am French. We thought it would be great to take the best of our countries of origin, the Swedish ‘clean’ design and the luxury beauty know-how from France, but apply new requirements specification on the experience side but also on the CSR level. All our products are tested and have to perform better or at least the same as the best liquid products.
How do your product ranges fit in with the hotels' CSR approach?
Our solutions are 100% plastic free and given how plastics impact biodiversity during their production (99% of plastics come from oil) and during their lifetime (only 9% of plastics have been recycled so far) and plastics can only be recycled twice and when/ if they are recycled (1) it is energy consuming (2) it generates up to 12% of microplastics (3) recycled or not it may end up in the ocean. It is a critical asset.
We produce in the South of France using 100% renewable energy for the products themselves, but also for the packaging. Our packaging is certified FSC recycled (70%). There is no waste as guests leave with the products in more than 90% of the cases. Should they not, we work with NGOs which will collect and recycle the remaining soaps and give them to people in needs. All our products are certified Vegan and Cruelty free by PETA.
Beauty Disrupted gives 20% of profits to NGOs who protect biodiversity and combat the climate crisis. By offering Beauty Disrupted, one contributes to support the Jane Goodall Institute, Sea Shepherd or Protect our Winters. Finally, Beauty Disrupted is certified B Corp, probably the most demanding label and community looking at how the company behaves from an environmental but also a social standpoint.
How do you stand out from your competitors? What are Beauty Disrupted's strengths in the highly competitive market for hospitality products?
We are not the cheapest, and we will never be. We are the right partner for luxury and ultra-luxury hotels who value amenities and truly care about their guests and the environment.
How do you appeal to luxury hotels, where guests are used to products presented in luxurious containers that they often like to take away as a souvenir of their experience? In particular, do you offer customized products?
Our Voyager coffret is presented in a luxurious box yet recycled & FSC certified that can be customized and, as mentioned earlier, is taken away by guests who are super happy to bring their experience home and proudly share their discovery with their friends and family. Great for the Hotel and for Beauty Disrupted.
Voyager can be customized by adding the luxury hotel logo in a premium way.
Which prestigious properties in France and abroad do you work with? What are their requirements?
We have launched our amenity range less than a year ago, and we are delighted to have Beauty Disrupted already present in 20 (ultra) luxury hotels or unique locations: from incredible hotels like The Savoy London, Sofitel London St James or Beaverbrook in the UK to the fantastic Chetzeron Hotel in Crans Montana, Hotel Cordée des Alpes in Verbier to unique and magical places like Souki Lodges and Spas in the South of France, Résidence Eisenhower or la Chapelle du Carmel in Champagne region… We also have our products at the boutiques of Six Senses Ibiza, Regina Experimental in Biarritz or Cowley Manor Experimental in the UK and much more to come!
What are your next development projects?
So far, we have launched our amenities in our Amazonian Amour collection. We plan to now launch our amenities in Alpine Glow and Ocean Magic Collections!
We also want to build strategic partnerships that go beyond just supplying amenities. We have to enrol our luxurious hospitality partners onto our mission and create synergies with our NGOs, celebrity connections and prove that together we can deliver unforgettable experiences that are luxurious, innovative, and sustainable!
* Only 9% of plastics ever produced have been recycled so far (Source: TIME). It is far from being a solved matter as the US only recycled 5% of their plastics in 2022 (Source: Greenpeace)
As a journalist and luxury hotel expert inspired by the men and women who embody it, Vanessa aspires to enhance and sublimate the beauty and elegance of palaces through her writing. "In a palace, simplicity serves the quest for excellence" she admires.
