Béziers entrepreneur Kévin Macel concocts simple, high-quality products based on aloe vera

Kevin Macel tient des stands sur des marchés et des foires dans toute la France. D.R – Kevin Macel

At the head of the Marie & Aloe brand, Kévin Macel designs natural wellness cosmetics based on aloe vera. While the plant, more fashionable than ever, is not always used wisely, the Béziers native has made quality and simplicity his cardinal points, to extract the best that the plant has to offer.

It is a natural cosmetics company from Béziers which, for a few months, has flourished around a plant with well-known virtues: aloe vera.

Its founder, Kévin Macel, who has lived in Béziers since he was 6, combines the succulent plant with natural products. A connection with the customer, products developed conscientiously, Kévin Macel kindly exploits the many benefits of aloe gel.

It was on a boat that he discovered it. Before falling in love with it. “As a child, we lived on a sailboat with my parents. In the Canary Islands, I discovered aloe vera, which we started using. Then, when I was a skipper and sailing instructor, I used it for sunburn, insect bites and jellyfish stings."

Combinations with other natural products

Since then, he has sworn by this plant with its miraculous gel, known and used for hundreds of years. Christopher Columbus, when he discovered it in Central America, nicknamed it “doctor in a pot”. Kévin Macel says no less. "It’is a gel full of vitamins, which is good for the immune system. Aloe is so good, it can be abused, he believes.

In 2023, Kévin Macel created his company, Marie & Aloe. This name, initially, was that of a range of natural cosmetics sold by her mother. Today it is a wholesale brand that sells creams, gels, soaps and vegetable oils, all composed in part of aloe and associated with natural products.< /p>

He thus offers aloe gels, pure or mixed with argan for a particularly restorative and nourishing gel, or with Nigella oil, to calm inflammation. The combinations are made according to his discoveries, and are multiple. Argan for the oil, olive oil for the soaps, rice bran oil, hyaluronic acid and beeswax for the cream… he is currently thinking about a gel made from donkey milk.

"It is still modest, but it is developing well"

The only employee, Kévin Macel selects the ingredients (he works in organic and Ecocert), designs the products in collaboration with laboratories, ships packages, advises customers and sets up his stand at markets. This summer, he stopped off in the Pyrénées Orientales, Gironde, Provence and Brittany.

Every month, he sells a few dozen products. His business is starting to bear fruit. He works for his company full time. “It's still modest, but it's growing well. People really like the products,” assures Kévin Macel. For its second year of existence, the company saw its turnover increase by 25%.

“We always end up coming back under our tree”

For the moment, the Béziers native does not have a permanent shop. Anything but a problem for him who loves to travel. During his travels, he meets his customers and passes on Marie Aloès' philosophy: simple and high-quality products. He is currently looking for resellers who share his vision.

The interest in the short circuit is great for Kévin Macel, who needs contact with his customers. “Even if my business grows, I want to continue to call my customers to advise them. I want to be caring. Today I tell my clients, especially the elderly: “Don't hesitate” not to call me"".

He does not rule out, one day, founding a wellness institute with massages and sale of his cosmetics. "Maybe in Béziers", the former skipper says before concluding. "We always end up coming back under his tree."

The juicy market for aloe vera

Kévin Macelés vision, that of a simple and qualitative product, is far from that of many manufacturers, those who  " aloe vera" on their products to make people buy, while enhancing the gel, sometimes reduced to a small proportion of preservatives and other products which undermine the natural benefits of the plant.

Not to mention the pure marketing of certain brands. "Aloe is a victim of its success and brands that are not always honest. For example, there are some who make handkerchiefs or diapers à aloe, which makes no sense. And çdamaged the image of the plant", explains the entrepreneur.

Marie & Aloe. Website: mariealoes.fr. Sale of creams, gels, soaps and vegetable oils based on aloe vera.

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