À Croix, the first range of cosmetics manufactured by people with disabilities

Packaging, quality control, catering…: the skills of the 140 workers at the ESAT (Work Support Establishment and Service) of Rocheville, located in Croix and managed by the Papillons Blancs of Tourcoing-Roubaix, are numerous. Among all these missions carried out by these Northerners with disabilities, there is also the making of soaps for a laboratory.

In June 2022, we learned that the laboratory intended to relocate its production. That’s when we had the idea of ​​launching our own range of solid cosmetics. We started from nothing, everything had to be built!

The idea immediately appealed to the management of the Papillons Blancs of Roubaix-Tourcoing and the project took shape thanks to Aurélien Bayard and Justine Detourne, two chemists specializing in cosmetics. They joined the adventure at the beginning of 2023. With them by our side, we knew we could take on anythingsmiles Laurent Deligny.

Soap, an ancient product in line with today’s concerns

Fragrances, design, colors, distribution channel, name: everything has been carefully considered and designed with care.

The “Roche” in the name Rochemara is an allusion to Rocheville, the name of ESAT. As for “Mara”, we chose it to evoke the sea, nature and well-being. The logo contains a bubble, a nod to our first products, soaps.

On November 13, 2023, despite the fire that ravaged the premises a few months earlier, the first range of organic, solid and solidarity soaps was launched under the Rochemara brand, just in time for the end-of-year holidays. We started with 4 soaps, and the ambition to quickly expand the range with body balms, deodorants and, eventually, shampooexplains Justine Detourne.

Barely a year after its launch, the Rochemara range has found its audience. It is now distributed in around a hundred points of sale (organic stores, concept stores, pharmacies) and can also be purchased in an ultra-short circuit, directly from the ESAT.

A unifying project

If Laurent, Aurélien and Justine are proud of the progress made, it is also and above all thanks to the support of the workers, visibly delighted to be the linchpins of this great project: Without them, nothing would be possible !

In the workshop, everyone is at their position but the roles change regularly. 10 workers follow one another in manufacturing, 12 are assigned to packaging and around twenty are trained for sales. Everyone is driven by the project: from Justin who planes the soap by hand to Carole who carefully assembles the cardboard boxes. Everyone here is a fan of soaps and uses them every day. They leave the skin soft!confirms Romuald, whose mission for the day is to stamp the brand on each of the items.

At the end of the chain, Amaury is responsible for storing the soaps in boxes, in batches of 6. Workers produce up to 400 soaps per day, but this figure can be doubled depending on orders.explains Justine.

In addition to its commercial success, the project is also emulated internally. Many ESAT workers want to join the adventure: With a little dexterity and desire, anything is possible!