Talents from Sarthe. Who are the four candidates in the Innovation category? [Vote]

Maine Libre and the Sarthe departmental council have been organizing the Sarthe Talents election since 2013 in order to highlight the successes of local people.

For the Talents of Sarthe 2024, ten categories are presented to you every Tuesday: Artisan , Innovation , Young talent , Sport , Business , Those who make Sarthe shine , Heritage actor , Association , Youth initiative et Let’s preserve the planet with, each time, four nominees. The awards evening for this 12th edition will take place on Tuesday January 28, 2025 at the CGR cinema in Saint-Saturnin, by invitation.

This Tuesday, November 19, we present to you the nominees for the category Innovation . Is your choice made? To vote, click here:

1. The Sealester company and its flexible packaging

Based in the Ajeux area, in La Ferté-Bernard, the Sealester start-up imagines and creates new types of packaging every day. Their objective: to design packaging that adapts to customer needs and pollutes as little as possible. After having developed a welding technology which makes it possible to create flexible packaging with original designs, the company, this year, began developing paper-based containers capable of containing a liter of liquid. A winning bet: the packaging has just been marketed.

By the end of the year, Sealester hopes to succeed in developing the same type of packaging, this time able to contain two liters of product. We want to offer larger containers to meet demand and adhere to the European framework which specifies that refills must be multi-dose. indicates Clément Fourmaux, founder of the start-up.

2. TAIHD Design Studio and their original designs

They have worked together since 2008, the year they met. For eleven years at Venum, a brand specializing in combat sports outfits, then, now on their own. A year and a half ago, Charli and Pauline Guilloteau, husband and wife, based in Le Mans, created their company: TAIHD Design Studio. Coming from street art, they have expanded their know-how in this area, and in others, to become true Géotrouvetou.

From graphics to the manufacture of prototypes, including photo shooting, Charli and Pauline Guilloteau, very complementary, put their know-how at the service of brands. Starting with Venum, with which the links have remained very strong: the Manceaux created MMA outfits for the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), the largest global organization in the discipline. This year, they also worked for influencer Dean Schneider: the latter called on TAIHD to launch his textile brand. Charli and Pauline Guilloteau also offer the design of motorcycle helmets in limited series, for the Arai brand. Among others.

3. Kévin, Stan and their energy drink

With already more than 800 points of sale in France, Ragnarök is on the rise and is starting to tickle the major players in the industry. This energy drink – officially marketed since August 2022 – was imagined by the two Manceaux Kévin Ledon and Stan Laurent. An innovation that carries them high: after the opening of their very first store in Le Mans (rue Gougeard), the entrepreneurs set off to attack the south of France with a second store in Montpellier in the summer of 2024. In 2023 , the brand had raised €100,000 in funds from 103 investors.

The jovial character and the flow of ideas of the two friends are not the only reasons for this success: the product speaks for itself. Classic version, blueberries-blackcurrant and yuzu-dragon fruit, strawberry-kiwi flavor… The drinks are intended to be original, and are also less sweet than their cousins ​​already on the market. It’s a drink that you can drink alone, with flavors that we particularly liked and that speak to everyone confided Kévin Ledon to Maine Libre. And a new one should appear soon…

4. Mathieu Mathis and his electric guitar pedals

Mathieu Mathis says it himself. He was overwhelmed when he achieved his goal: to make these guitar pedals to the sounds of the greatest blues musicians. It’s a sort of achievement. I was looking for something I had never found remembers this science and Music enthusiast, who made the decision to leave his position at Music’France in 2019 to found his own company, Mathis Audio tech in La Bazoge.

I gradually began to develop this pedal until I reproduced the sound of a very rare amp continues the nominee, who for four years has been running his boat alone: ​​from development to manufacturing and repair. Today, the Sarthois, originally from the Jura, works in collaboration with musicians from 32 countries. A third of my sales are made in France, another in the United States and the other with the rest of the world explains Mathieu, who has difficulty realizing that today, he sells his pedals to his youth idols.