A bit of history on Merci Handy
Today we wanted to talk to you about something important to us.
A little flashback… ◀️ ( sound of a VCR rewinding NDLR )
I don't know if you knew but Merci Handy was founded by two friends, Louis and Roland, in 2014. They met on the benches of business school (specialization in Unicorn Management and intergalactic travel). At the time, their girlfriends had cleansing hand gels, but they all looked alike: they didn't smell very good, they dried out their hands, they weren't really very pretty and their big bottles weren't very practical... That's how it was what was born Merci Handy: a bottle that would fit in a pocket, with a natural formula, enriched with aloe vera, which makes the hands very soft, and fragrances extracted from the purest rainbows. We quickly grew, adding new products like hand creams, face mists and others (we even made lip balms at one point that never saw the light of day 💔).
Since the beginning of our adventures, we have really been keen to create the most incredible products possible, with ever more extraordinary textures. And then, we evolved, and we wanted to go further.
A new adventure, Louis becomes Vegan
What you might not know is that for several years our co-founder Louis (aka DJ Vacca) became a vegetarian 🥦. ( Except a few times a year after his famous Canal St Martin Swedish Gym class where he has a nice little burger, but we don't blame him...) .
Besides, he always sulks a little when Thomas goes to get his lunch from the butcher, and he argues with his aunt Marielle who always brings her “homemade” foie gras for each Christmas meal.
It may be a detail for you, but in fact it really started a new era for Merci Handy. Indeed, for more than 3 years now, we have decided to switch our Vegan and Cruelty free formulas.
Our Vegan & Cruelty free approach
It was a big job for the product development teams because we had to change ALL our formulas (54 products in total in 2017), remove all the ingredients of animal origin (for example in our old hand cleansing gels or our creams hands we had lactose, from the cow 🐄) and therefore redo the stabilities and compatibilities of these new formulas. We also took the opportunity to, little by little, increase the % of naturalness, and have recyclable packaging as much as possible.
As for Cruelty free, it was easier for us because animal testing has been prohibited by cosmetic regulations since 2013 in Europe. On the other hand, the decision to be a Cruelty free brand was very important for us because it means that we refuse to sell our products in certain countries such as China for example, which to date still tests cosmetic products on animals before be able to be sold on their territory.
Thank you Handy x PETA
For the sake of transparency, we also wanted an independent body outside of Merci Handy to certify us, and so we decided to have our formulas audited by our friends from PETA (you know, the little rabbit company 🐰).
After long discussions, we are officially accredited VEGAN and CRUELTY FREE on our cosmetic products. And yes, we do not use any kittens, alpacas, flying squirrels, otters, lemurs, naked mole rats, or any substance directly or indirectly derived from these cutenesses to manufacture our products. Unicorn tears (of laughter) are the only ingredient from a furry creature that we use in our formulas 🦄. It is also validated by the HAIPACC (the High Intergalactic Authority for the Protection of Animals and Celestial Creatures).
I hope you enjoy it as much as it does us.
We love you.
The Thank you Handy team
