A research journey

Virginie’s search for a thesis topic came to a natural conclusion: feminine well-being. In October 2019, following her intuition, she laid the building blocks of Telma on a blank sheet of paper. She did her research, browsing pharmacies and natural health product aisles and meeting with doctors and pharmacists. Virginie soon noticed that teenage girls were using products that had been developed for adults, and that there was nothing on the market designed specifically for their age group. "I realised, however, that teens have a very specific hormonal system, and that it's vulnerable due to temporary periods of excess oestrogen". Virginie also noted that "period pains are the number-one cause of school absenteeism, and a teenage girl is three times more likely to suffer from depression than a teenage boy". She experienced a profound sense of injustice that took her right back to her own teen years. However, she was convinced that a solution could be found. Not in the least intimidated by the scale of the challenge, she threw herself body and soul into her research. "Law taught me to analyse and to understand the importance of backing up every fact". Once the scientific facts were established, a solution could be developed. That solution was aromatherapy, strengthened by an unprecedented premise: the exclusion of plant hormones. "My hypothesis was that it was absolutely necessary to avoid adding hormonal factors to a hormonal problem. A disruptor is a disruptor, whether synthetic or plant-based. As aromatherapy is the strongest form of plant-based therapy, it was necessary to use in the rules of art…" And so, from hypothesis to testing, from testing to exploration, from exploration to creation, and five thousand pages of research later, Telma was created. "I didn’t set out to create a brand or start a company: I’ve never wanted to be an entrepreneur". Once again, life had caught Virginie up in its whirlwind.

A creative journey

After all the research, it was time to write a new score, another family legacy. The development of Telma 01, the brand's first product, adhered to precise specifications: "My training in design thinking allowed me to deepen and broaden the way I innovate. The aim was to calm anxiety and sooth period pain for teens, but the product had to be designed as a whole: I had to think like a teenage girl, consider her parents’ expectations, talk to prescribers and hear their demands. Accept going back to the drawing board, making mistakes, starting over". For Virginie, it was never a question of developing a white-label product with a formula purchased from a catalogue. The Telma 01 formula, a blend of seven high-quality active ingredients, was developed with a Doctor of Pharmacy who has expertise in both aromatherapy and aromachology. Virginie is passionate about the influence odours have on our emotions, and from the outset she attached great importance to Telma 01’s signature fragrance. And she was right to do so: its soothing perfume, in complete harmony with the product, works as a sort of olfactory Proustian madeleine. Owned by Telma the formula adheres to the strictest regulations so as to be adapted for use from the age of 10. Special attention has been paid to the composition of the container and packaging. Virginie imagined a roll-on with a rose-quartz ball, whose lacquered-glass container is manufactured by a company that works with champagne producers. The package is made of FSC cardboard printed with vegetable-based inks. Like a conductor, Virginie orchestrated a variety of audiances around Telma and some remarks challenged her: "I often hear that a product that is good for teenagers must also be good for adult women". She decided to reposition the product and, more broadly, the brand, "to respond to the desire of every woman to find relief, whatever her age". Telma revisited its identity and brand image with the goal of "creating a strong, coherent brand, and a completely independent sphere that breaks away from the traditional hallmarks of feminine well-being". The product is designed to be an essential to carry around with you; a precious object that can be handed down from mother to daughter or offered as a gift from one woman to another.