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From poppy to skincare: Chloé Audiger (SKEMA 2021), the entrepreneur who jars the South
A SKEMA Business School graduate in 2021, Chloé Audiger left digital strategy consulting to create Poppy Skincare, a natural cosmetics brand inspired by Provence and the French Riviera. With a poppy-based cream, a pre-order launch and support from the SKEMA ecosystem, she turns a childhood memory into an entrepreneurial project.
The Impressionist painter Monet turned the poppy into art. Open fields on the horizon, waves of red across the land, paths crossed by clouds of petals. It is no accident that Chloé Audiger (SKEMA 2021) chose this rare and little-grown flower in France to launch the first moisturising cream by Poppy Skincare. By making this flower a raw material, the alumna turns a little-used cosmetic ingredient into a business project. She makes the South a brand signature.
Today, people speak only about Provence in cosmetics. I also wanted to highlight the Riviera
Natural skincare inspired by the South
A SKEMA Business School graduate in 2021, Chloé followed a dual track with the MSc International Marketing & Business Development and the MSc Luxury & Fashion Management on the Sophia Antipolis campus. Before creating her brand, she built strong experience. After a gap year and several internships in cosmetics at Coty and LVMH, she chose consulting. She started in Paris at Sopra Steria Next, then moved to Monaco to work in digital strategy for the Government.
The South as a banner
But the South called her back. So did cosmetics. She left her job to return to her roots. Faced with few local options, she created her own. The idea grew from a double bond: cosmetics and the lands where she grew up, between Provence and the French Riviera. “Today, people speak only about Provence in cosmetics. I also wanted to highlight the Riviera,” she says.
“A flower almost absent from cosmetic formulas”
“Poppy Skincare rests on a simple idea: one emblematic Southern ingredient at the heart of each product. Natural skincare inspired by the landscapes, colours and scents of the South,” the founder explains. Her first product is a poppy moisturising and glow cream, “a flower almost absent from cosmetic formulas,” she notes. Rare and fragile, the poppy fades as soon as it is picked. Few growers exist in France.
A natural formula with organic poppy
Chloé Audiger works with a lab focused on natural products, a small women-led structure, and with a French poppy grower from organic farming. The other ingredients come from responsible supply chains. “The formula was built by us, from scratch,” she says.
Colourful packaging shaped by ingredients
The visual world of Poppy Skincare breaks with current codes. Where many brands choose beige and clinical minimalism, Chloé claims colour. “Each range will have its own shade, linked to its core ingredient. Poppy for hydration, olive oil to nourish, rosemary to renew, mimosa to soothe.” She adds: “I want to bring colour and put the main ingredient back at the centre, even in pharmacies.”
A pre-order launch
To launch Poppy Skincare, the alumna chose pre-order through Ulule. The goal is clear: reach 100 orders to start production. The price is set at €28 in pre-order, with offers that include a tote bag and craft partnerships, such as a poppy candle made with natural wax. The public price will be €32. Delivery is planned for March.
Incubated at SKEMA Entrepreneurs
During this launch phase, SKEMA remains a key support. Chloé is incubated at SKEMA Entrepreneurs. She has secured several zero-interest loans through Le Village by Crédit Agricole in partnership with SKEMA, and Initiative Côte d’Azur with support from Bpifrance. She also works with students from the MSc Digital Marketing and Artificial Intelligence, who support her for months on website creation, digital launch and consumer analysis.
Working alone across formula design and marketing, she moves with care. What comes next will depend on first sales. If the launch works, she hopes to develop a second product within a year. She knows that each formula needs time, funds and clear choices.
