Rochalia Bio, our story
As far back as my childhood memories go, I see my mother trying to untangle my dense and long hair with products that I did not know, but whose texture I already appreciated and also the fact that they did not sting me. the eyes, like the other soaps or mushrooms that my big sister applied to me from time to time. I especially remember that my mother's solutions smelled like olive oil, lemon or sometimes rose…. No doubt she was doing it for the sake of economy, or the availability of these same products locally, or perhaps she was already aware of the benefits of natural products before the time, you could say.
It must also be said that in the region where I am from - Kabylia - and even the country from which I come - Algeria, the use of natural products is a tradition shared in the majority of families. My maternal aunts were particularly fond of medicinal plants, or other derivatives of plants of all kinds or of poultry products (honey and derivatives) and all their care, and that of their children, went through these "miracle" products.
Later, as a young college student and able to wash and shower myself, I kept this bathing ritual with natural products that my mother always loved.
A few years later, I specialized in chemistry, to become a basic teacher of this subject because I kept an insatiable curiosity for the subject in all states. I wanted to understand why this or that ingredient was better than another and especially why it was sometimes found to have therapeutic or aesthetic virtues. Grown up, I decided to "bathe" more in this world of products that fascinated me. So I decided to push my curiosity further by preparing a doctorate in organic chemistry at the University of Paris 5. During my years of faculty and when I found myself cleaning rooms in mountain chalets to cover my multiple rent expenses. Parisian and expensive university studies, I could not help thinking of the products that could have been used to make Sunday skiers and hikers more pleasant.
At the end of my studies, which allowed me to deepen my knowledge of chemistry, I relapsed into the passion for the recipes of my mother and my aunts. But this time by analyzing the ingredients and active ingredients myself and trying to compare them with those offered by the industry. I was then surprised to discover the richness of the ingredients of these ancient recipes and why they were so effective and provided so many feelings of well-being and freshness imprinted in my childhood memory. It was from this discovery that I decided to create my own line of body care products based on natural ingredients. The idea of starting my own business was starting to take hold ... During this time, I shared my idea with a friend who arranged a meeting for me with the CEO of Clarin’s. This
meeting gave me wings especially as this gentleman, at the head of a successful multinational, encouraged me to persevere and appreciated my enthusiasm for natural products and reinforced my idea that these products are the future ! I believed - and still believe - firmly in my approach and especially in the virtues of the products that I was about to offer to customers.
Back in Algeria, I got involved in the project of creating a natural cosmetics company with an enthusiasm that sometimes bordered on stubbornness. Despite long efforts and painstaking research for the best natural ingredients, the dream may not yet have been ripe enough to see the light of day. But was that enough to make me give up ... far from it!
Two years later, here we are, me and my husband, in Quebec-Montreal, on a migratory adventure that would perhaps change the course of my life. During my search for employment and internships, the Montreal Women's Center first put me in contact with a Quebec company that manufactures ecological detergents in the Laval region. I did an internship there for a few months after which I applied to another company - arbressence, located in Blainville - specializing in the distillation of essential oils. I worked for more than a year as a chemist and quality controller with this SME. This second experience allowed me to grasp the extent of the potential of natural products that abound in the beautiful province and at the same time to reactivate my idea of creating a business by comparing it with the existing offer in terms of natural care products. . I felt the time had come to (re) launch myself by being more confident in my products' chances of success. ROCHALIA.bio which was a business project, which I carried for years and which traveled on three continents, became a reality. I owe this newfound confidence in large part to the first customers who believed in my products and who were willing to test and adopt my "mosaic" natural scent diffuser - named in tribute to the human mosaic that makes up Quebec. I decide to invest myself more in research and development of new products. It is only natural that the memories of the local products used by my mother in my early youth come back in my memory and join the observation of a growing demand for body care products for babies and children. In fact, the moms I surveyed for the purposes of my market research were looking for healthy, natural, non-allergenic products with a simplified list of ingredients. The offer I was about to bring to the market precisely matched these real user expectations. This market segment - children and babies - seemed to me a significant niche which deserved to be devoted to a range of 100% natural products which would contribute to its well-being and which would respect the characteristics and the epidermal balance specific to this segment of the skin. 'age.
My range of products for babies and children seems to win the support of customers, I nevertheless continue to believe that my project is not the end, but the beginning ... the beginning of a long journey of exploring the possibilities offered in the world. world of body care products with the constant motto of providing customers with the best experience of the natural resources and essences of products from here and elsewhere ... naturally!
It must also be said that in the region where I am from - Kabylia - and even the country from which I come - Algeria, the use of natural products is a tradition shared in the majority of families. My maternal aunts were particularly fond of medicinal plants, or other derivatives of plants of all kinds or of poultry products (honey and derivatives) and all their care, and that of their children, went through these "miracle" products.
Later, as a young college student and able to wash and shower myself, I kept this bathing ritual with natural products that my mother always loved.
A few years later, I specialized in chemistry, to become a basic teacher of this subject because I kept an insatiable curiosity for the subject in all states. I wanted to understand why this or that ingredient was better than another and especially why it was sometimes found to have therapeutic or aesthetic virtues. Grown up, I decided to "bathe" more in this world of products that fascinated me. So I decided to push my curiosity further by preparing a doctorate in organic chemistry at the University of Paris 5. During my years of faculty and when I found myself cleaning rooms in mountain chalets to cover my multiple rent expenses. Parisian and expensive university studies, I could not help thinking of the products that could have been used to make Sunday skiers and hikers more pleasant.
At the end of my studies, which allowed me to deepen my knowledge of chemistry, I relapsed into the passion for the recipes of my mother and my aunts. But this time by analyzing the ingredients and active ingredients myself and trying to compare them with those offered by the industry. I was then surprised to discover the richness of the ingredients of these ancient recipes and why they were so effective and provided so many feelings of well-being and freshness imprinted in my childhood memory. It was from this discovery that I decided to create my own line of body care products based on natural ingredients. The idea of starting my own business was starting to take hold ... During this time, I shared my idea with a friend who arranged a meeting for me with the CEO of Clarin’s. This
meeting gave me wings especially as this gentleman, at the head of a successful multinational, encouraged me to persevere and appreciated my enthusiasm for natural products and reinforced my idea that these products are the future ! I believed - and still believe - firmly in my approach and especially in the virtues of the products that I was about to offer to customers.
Back in Algeria, I got involved in the project of creating a natural cosmetics company with an enthusiasm that sometimes bordered on stubbornness. Despite long efforts and painstaking research for the best natural ingredients, the dream may not yet have been ripe enough to see the light of day. But was that enough to make me give up ... far from it!
Two years later, here we are, me and my husband, in Quebec-Montreal, on a migratory adventure that would perhaps change the course of my life. During my search for employment and internships, the Montreal Women's Center first put me in contact with a Quebec company that manufactures ecological detergents in the Laval region. I did an internship there for a few months after which I applied to another company - arbressence, located in Blainville - specializing in the distillation of essential oils. I worked for more than a year as a chemist and quality controller with this SME. This second experience allowed me to grasp the extent of the potential of natural products that abound in the beautiful province and at the same time to reactivate my idea of creating a business by comparing it with the existing offer in terms of natural care products. . I felt the time had come to (re) launch myself by being more confident in my products' chances of success. ROCHALIA.bio which was a business project, which I carried for years and which traveled on three continents, became a reality. I owe this newfound confidence in large part to the first customers who believed in my products and who were willing to test and adopt my "mosaic" natural scent diffuser - named in tribute to the human mosaic that makes up Quebec. I decide to invest myself more in research and development of new products. It is only natural that the memories of the local products used by my mother in my early youth come back in my memory and join the observation of a growing demand for body care products for babies and children. In fact, the moms I surveyed for the purposes of my market research were looking for healthy, natural, non-allergenic products with a simplified list of ingredients. The offer I was about to bring to the market precisely matched these real user expectations. This market segment - children and babies - seemed to me a significant niche which deserved to be devoted to a range of 100% natural products which would contribute to its well-being and which would respect the characteristics and the epidermal balance specific to this segment of the skin. 'age.
My range of products for babies and children seems to win the support of customers, I nevertheless continue to believe that my project is not the end, but the beginning ... the beginning of a long journey of exploring the possibilities offered in the world. world of body care products with the constant motto of providing customers with the best experience of the natural resources and essences of products from here and elsewhere ... naturally!