Sodium laureth sulfate, artificial silicone, paraben, phthalate, phenoxyethanol: these opaque terms, which don’t inspire confidence, point to complex molecules that are in many brand-name shampoos. They may even be in the one you use daily.
Given this, Mélissa Desrosiers and Lisemarie Chevalier decided to act. Frustrated with endless lists of ingredients and empty marketing promises, they founded Lasève, a business that embodies their vision of beauty, pure and simple.
Who are they?
Fast friends for over 25 years, Lisemarie and Mélissa complement each other beautifully in terms of their skills. Lisemarie, a talented designer and photographer, is the creator of the brand’s gorgeous graphic signature. Mélissa has extensive experience in marketing luxury cosmetics, which is invaluable for the business’s commercial development.
The essence of Lasève
Lasève has made its mark for its exceptional quality hair products, made exclusively from natural ingredients.
The two women were exasperated by shampoo and conditioners with endless lists of ingredients with names you can’t pronounce. They were also convinced that caring for your hair shouldn’t be complicated. And they were united in their vision of beauty without compromise.
With her extensive knowledge of the cosmetics market, Mélissa also knew one thing: while there are powerhouse brands in cosmetics, the haircare market was relatively open. The two determined women charged in.
They believe protecting the environment is non-negotiable. Their bottles and packaging are made 100% from recycled materials and are 100% recyclable. All products are manufactured and packaged in Québec, and their products draw from Québec’s natural world. It’s no surprise to see linden, chamomile, oak, rosemary, beet and lavender in their products’ lists of ingredients.
But their favourite ingredient is organic maple water. It was at Lisemarie’s maple grove that they had the idea to switch out the honey often used in hair products with maple water, benefitting from the moisturizing and repairing properties of this Québec gold.
The product line is minimalist, and “that’s by design,” Lisemarie says. “Big companies have many different products: for oily hair, dry hair, grey hair, and so on. But that’s all just marketing. For us, it’s simple: high-quality shampoo, conditioner, and a moisturizing gel, which work for the whole family, under all circumstances. That’s sort of what being green is all about.”
A bumpy start
Shortly after quitting their jobs to start their own venture, Lisemarie and Mélissa hit a major hurdle: a global pandemic. This unforeseen event disrupted their promising start. They had to rethink their strategy and review their goals to adapt.
Another difficulty cropped up: finding a lab that operated according to their values of sustainable development, with healthy, natural products. After several attempts, they finally found the rare gem: a partner who had specialized in natural products for 40 years. This partnership gave the business momentum.
But still, Lasève was struggling to lift off.
“We were at a critical point,” Lisemarie says. “Despite our best efforts, the business wasn’t really taking off. After thinking it through, we decided to move on. Our customers were the ones who told us not to give up: they needed our products!”
“That got us back in gear,” Mélissa says, “and we decided to bet the house, to give it our all and to take our idea as far as we could. And it worked.”
Invigorated and energized, they did some careful thinking about Lasève’s DNA, products, market, and marketing.
That’s when they realized: they had always seen Lasève as a retail brand, but they were actually in e-commerce.
They decided to learn how it all worked. Mélissa and Lisemarie had a single goal: to become experts in e-commerce.
And that’s what they became. The proof: the first web ad campaign they managed themselves exceeded targets by 300% in just a few weeks. And sales exploded.
A promising future
The next year will see many advances for these two entrepreneurs. These include moving to new facilities in Lac-Beauport, optimizing operational processes and web marketing campaigns, and securing the brand.
The cherry on the sundae will be attending CosmoProf in Las Vegas in 2025, one of the world’s largest cosmetics industry trade shows.
Lasève will also enter new markets: tomorrow Canada, and soon the U.S.
When two talented, determined women give it their all, this is the result.
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Thanks to the engagement of invaluable partners: Économie Québec, through its agent Investissement Québec, the Government of Canada, National Bank, the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, and Fondaction, Evol has a large envelope to support, through conventional loans, businesses with inclusive, diversified ownership that generate positive social and environmental impacts in line with the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDG).
