Here's the hard truth behind personal care products: People mainly buy water and plastic. Water is by far the main ingredient in shampoo and shower gel bottles. Contains plenty of active ingredients. And because it's a “premix” product, companies spend a lot of money on plastic bottles to get those products down the toilet.
French startup 900.care wants to try something new. Rather than buying a new bottle of shower gel every time you need it, this startup focuses on active ingredients.
When you place your first order, you will receive an empty reusable plastic bottle with a pump. Place a small stick of compressed powder in a bottle, add water and wait a few hours. It is now ready for use. The next time you need more shower gel or shampoo, just grab a new stick (and tap water).
“For example, all the benefits of using shower gel remain. Our shower gel foams, has the same texture, smells nice, etc. But we didn't buy plastic and we didn't carry water with us,” says Col. founder and CEO Aymeric Grange told me.
And 900.care raised a €21 million ($23 million at today's exchange rate) funding round a few months ago because its product is performing so well in its home country. Lombard Odier Investment Managers led the funding round, with participation from existing investors White Star Capital, Swen Blue Ocean, and Founders Future.
900.care followed a direct-to-consumer strategy as customers could only purchase products on the website. Due to the constant need for new personal care products, the company has also decided to sell its products exclusively as a subscription.
In 2023 alone, 900.care generated revenue of €10 million ($10.8 million). The startup has 90,000 clients with 235,000 active subscriptions, and each client can have multiple subscriptions.
In addition to shampoos and shower gels, 900.care also sells foaming hand soaps, dishwashing detergents, laundry tablets, dishwasher tablets, and several other products. The company estimates that this has prevented the equivalent of 3.5 million plastic bottles of waste.
small print
900.care's products are also a good business opportunity. Every few weeks, customers receive an envelope containing new sticks for hygiene and household items. Compressed powder sticks are so small that they fit in regular envelopes and can be sent as regular mail. 900.care saves on shipping charges.
Similarly, factories and production lines become much smaller, as there is no need for huge basins to mix water and active ingredients. Simply mix different powders and compress the mixture into small sticks.
“During the downsizing and industrialization stage, the big challenge was that no one knew how to do it. Initially, we started working with people in cosmetics,” Grange said. “But we quickly realized that this wasn’t going to work. They couldn’t keep up with the pace, and the factory wasn’t designed that way. So in the second quarter of 2023, we decided to build a dedicated compressed powder We have opened a factory in Saint-Etienne.
The new factory will operate exclusively for 900.care but will continue to be operated by its partners. But the fact that everything is designed specifically for his 900.care has significantly increased the company's profit margins.
The startup is looking to expand into European countries beyond France, Belgium and Switzerland, and believes it could reach 100 million euros in revenue within three years. However, the company expects to be profitable again this year.