Melissa Obeid, Founder, La Fervance, presented her ideology and products to a select audience as she introduced her brand to India. Kanishka Ramchandani engages her in a conversation about her journey in the world of luxury beauty.
Against the backdrop of the Arabian Sea, luxury brand La Fervance was unveiled to members of the media and the influencer community by its enigmatic founder, Melissa Obeid. Her long-lasting love story with French culture, which emerged during her travels across Europe back in the ’90s, translated into a brand that combines Parisian aesthetics with science-based skincare. La Fervance works within the realm of spa and wellness as the products are designed to provide not just effective skincare but a holistic experience, too.
Excerpts from the interview…
What was the inspiration that led to the creation of La Fervance?
The idea was to achieve the impossible. No one could achieve it before – a highly active luxury skincare product from 100 per cent natural origins. So, we set out to do this. We relocated our family to France to work with French cosmetologists on the formulations, which are 100 per cent original. We complemented these with bespoke fragrances, wherein we designed each fragrance to evoke a different emotion. For instance, Eclat Extraordinaire, which is our gold-infused beauty balm, can be used in the morning or night as a mask, and it comes with a therapeutic scent. The other scents include sandalwood, honey and patchouli. The Gommage Extraordinaire helps prepare the skin. It’s a gentle exfoliant that works on both the enzymatic and mechanical levels. It has the uplifting scent of rosa centifolia.
The concept was to create something that had never been done before – highly active, 100 per cent natural composition, made in France with Australian and French ingredients and multi-functional. Each product could be used in three ways, streamlining the daily ritual whilst amplifying the physical results.
You relocated to France from Australia. You believed in your dream so much that you actually moved continents?
Yes, we packed up the house and we moved continents. I was 45 years old when we did that. It’s not an age where people make such radical changes and both I and my husband had a comfortable life, beautiful homes, nice cars, and children in good schools and we just packed it all up and went in search of the impossible.
But why France?
Well, I lived in France in my younger years, in my twenties I spent two years in France working in fashion and I would travel to and from often. France is my heart country, I love France! My husband noticed that I was missing France and obviously with this whole skincare thing, where else to research than France? I was very happy about that and we packed up the house and moved to France. We launched the brand after years of testing, finishing the whole thing and then the global pandemic hit immediately after our launch, which was a very interesting time. But we persevered. A very memorable time for all of us!
Do you manufacture everything in-house; you don’t outsource anything?
Everything’s done in France. Most brands use external labs and external manufacturing facilities because they’re set up to do that but we only use suppliers, and manufacturing partners that have been EcoCert COSMOS audited and approved. And that ensures ethical production, quality, and that everything that we do complies with the EcoCert COSMOS standards, which is the highest global standard for natural cosmetics.
How do you and your husband divide the responsibilities?
That’s an interesting question! We wear a lot of hats, Jamie and I. Sometimes there’s crossover in what we do, but essentially Jamie will look after the logistics, the website, and new business development, and I look after the client side, the new product development and the children. But he’s looking after the children now whilst I’m in India. So, we work exceptionally well together. I deal with all the French partners because I speak French and he doesn’t. I look after the production, the research and the new product development. Jamie looks after the business side of it. He’s the CEO and I’m the founder.
Why did you decide to come to India?
Because I had never been to India. I’ve lived in Rome, London, Paris, and Provence, I have travelled all around the world, seasoned traveller, seasoned liver in other cities and I had not been to India. I’m so excited to be here.
We have a lot of international brands here already as well as our own indigenous and ayurveda-inspired brands. Does coming to India with La Fervance at this point feel a little late to you?
I don’t think so, I think it’s the perfect time because we have these two products, which have become global, particularly in the US spa market (our fastest growing market) and given that we are launching new products next year, we felt it’s a good time to establish the brand in India. Whilst you have a plethora of brands, and some incredibly beautiful brands, there is nothing like La Fervance. And there’s always room for something new.
Are you planning to explore the salon market here as well?
That is up to Dr Varshini Reddy as she is an exclusive distributor for India, the strategy is up to her. But the product lends itself very much to the medispa niche in Australia. It’s very interesting because when we launched the brand, we never launched it with the spa market in mind, it was a predominantly consumer product. Organically, the brand has pivoted towards the spa segment, and they are obviously enjoying the sensorial nature of the brand, and the fact that they’re seeing these instant results at the clinic after the treatment.
When aestheticians do the express treatment with La Fervance, they put on the gommage, leave it on for 10 minutes, emulsify it, follow with a layer of the eclat, and then make the client sit up and notice that instant lifting and glow. The clients want to take the products home to continue the self-care ritual at home, of course. But then when they’re in the spa having the ritual done, it’s more intense because they get steam during the in-salon treatment, and a head massage, a body massage, a hand massage and more.
Also, I think people want to simplify their rituals, they don’t want too many products. Look at all the plastic in the ocean, look at the impact of sourcing and transportation. We have eliminated a lot of these issues by creating two products that are highly effective and such a pleasure to use their transformative textures.
Your collaboration with Dr Reddy is very unique. For a brand to come to India and tie up with a dermatologist as a distributor, is a very out of the box sort of strategy. How does it work for you?
Well, it’s very new, so far so good. I feel that it’s relevant because, as I said, it’s a very sensorial, experiential brand. And the only way to experience it properly is in a salon or a spa. And Dr Reddy has such an appreciation for the brand that I feel that in her hands, the Indian consumer will have an introduction to the brand which is engaging, passionate, expert driven rather than being in stores where it’s sitting on a shelf and the store staff who don’t really know a lot about the brand, so when the consumers come in, they don’t get that experience.
For me, while organically La Fervance has pivoted to the spa sector, it is actually a priority because we don’t have millions in marketing budget, we’re a self-funded, independent brand. The real way people are going to understand La Fervance is to use it. I think the partnership with Dr Reddy is going to be very successful and I’m looking forward to launching our new products in India, too. It will give me another excuse to come back to this beautiful country and see more of it.