The L’Occitane Group is opening its start-up studio in Marseille, France. Dubbed Obratori and located within the Cité de l’Innovation et des Savoirs Aix-Marseille (CISAM), the studio will host a dozen of selected start-ups operating in cosmetics and well-being, as well as in the digitalisation of retail solutions.

Obratori occupies the second floor of the famous Castel building and can accommodate up to 108 workstations that will be dedicated to entrepreneurs.

For Reinold Geiger, CEO of the L’Occitane Group, the opening of Obratori will enable new ideas to be explored and developed. "The L’Occitane Group has always been keen to initiate entrepreneurship and perpetual renewal, it’s in our DNA. The creation of start-ups around the world is an economic revolution whose consequences will be seen very quickly, they have become the most important actors in the entrepreneurial system."

Specifically, the selected start-ups will follow a support program lasting a maximum of 23 months. They will benefit from an adapted workspace, the support of the internal resources of Obratori, a network of experts and mentors, and the ecosystem of the L’Occitane Group.

In order to better meet the technological needs of its incubated start-ups, Obratori has equipped the 950m2 space with an L2 cellular research laboratory and a MIT compliant FabLab.

For Ingo Dauer, General Manager at Obratori: "These are tailor-made programs. A start-up may need research expertise, marketing expertise, international visibility..."

With five brands (L’Occitane en Provence, Melvita, Erborian, L’Occitane au Brésil and LimeLife by Alcone), the L’Occitane Group is a leading natural ingredient-based premium cosmetics and well-being producer and retailer with more than 3,000 retail outlets in 90 countries.