As part of this competition, students must take up the challenge of reinventing a routine to wash hands without water, while preserving the experience of pleasure and simplicity embodied by the brand. According to Louis Marty, the co-founder, it is an opportunity to take a step aside and provide an unfiltered, modernized vision of the product.
“We wanted the students to come ‘disrupt’ us in our core business, i.e. hand gel. It is always a good thing to be put under challenge, especially by a new generation. I love working with young people, because it is stimulating. There is a change of mindset and working methods, compared to my generation. For example, they work with AI. I also like the fact that they are not biased: their only limits here are the university framework, and the ideas that get the best results are usually the craziest. However, what will really matter is how they perform. I expect them to provide concrete ideas, like 3D solutions, factual things that they have tested and justified,” he explains.
After several weeks of hard work, driven by the brand’s advice, students at ESEPAC unveiled a portfolio of creative and innovative ideas, like a bottle with bubbles reminiscent of childhood to blow cleansing bubbles, a gel dispenser in the form of a bracelet, or a dispenser of cleansing bowls reminding of tapioca. Louis Marty will reveal the project selected on January 28th, at the Paris Packaging Week.
Listening to the Gen Z and Alpha target
When it was founded ten years ago, the brand offered a new waterless hand washing experience with convenient, coloured, perfumed cleansing gels based on clean ingredients. If this flagship product still represents a third of its sales results, Merci Handy is now one of young people’s favourite personal care brands, thanks to diversification in new face and body care categories specially designed for this target group.
“We co-developed an offering with our customers and we are the first brand to support young people with their skincare routines through a concept based on key concentrated ingredients for young, acne-prone skins. We help them find the right product, always through formulas with at least 95% of natural ingredients, at the right price,” adds Louis Marty.
The brand has one million followers on social media, mainly Instagram, and Tik Tok, on which communication is focused, and claims 50 million units sold since it was founded. Although it is present throughout Europe, a third of its turnover is achieved in France and in the hand gel category. Approximately 20% of sales are made online; the rest comes from partners in the selective network, like Sephora, Nocibé, and Monoprix.
ESEPAC students’ solutions for Merci Handy will be showcased at the Paris Packaging Week show, on January 28-29, at the exhibition centre located Porte de Versailles. Online registration is now open here.
