Bringing the French Pharmacy to American Retail

French fashion brands like Sézane and Pòlene have made waves stateside — now, French beauty labels are hoping to do the same.

To beauty tourists, there are few more mythical destinations than the French pharmacy, with their green neon logos promising the discovery of effective skincare at bargain prices. Historically, these products’ availability was restricted to their home continent, forcing eager shoppers to stock up on vacation. But that’s changing: incumbent brands like L’Oréal’s La Roche-Posay and Pierre Fabre’s Avène have expanded their reach in the US, the world’s largest consumer of French beauty, according to France’s Federation Union of the Beauty Industry.

Avène recently added Target to its list of retailers, which includes CVS, Walgreens and Ulta Beauty. It’s recently become the world’s number two French dermo-skincare brand, with 2024 sales of over €1 billion ($1.1 billion); its home country France represents just a third of sales. La Roche-Posay did $7.6 billion in sales in 2024, overtaking Cerave as the number one dermo-skincare brand globally.

They’ve also inspired a host of American brands, from labels like Glossier to upstarts like Doré, to copy pages from the French pharma playbook. Many have designed formulas that mimic cult French products like Embryolisse’s Lait-crème Concentré, a cream moisturiser that can prime and cleanse skin; Homeoplasmine, a Neosporin-esque salve that could be used anywhere; or Bioderma Crealine, a gentle water-weight makeup remover. They’re also intended for multi-generational users, and owing to their benefits, come with premium prices, usually between $25 and $60.

But there is no retailer designed after the French pharmacy experience, where pharmacists often guide shoppers to specific products based on their needs, forcing brands to cast a wide net. Doré launched in Ulta Beauty last year, as did the Los Angeles-based Provence, the mass French pharmacy-inspired label that recently entered Target stores and expects to do $10 million in sales this year. These brands are relying on wide distribution in the US, but have to do so without the hands-on salesmanship that occurs in European pharmacies. They also have to appeal to US consumers who are more interested in newness and efficacy than French heritage or ingredients.

“The US is not one of the biggest countries yet,” said Lisa Morris, president and CEO of Pierre Fabre USA, who described Avène’s Target launch as the “pinnacle” of their US distribution plan. (She also noted strong momentum in Puerto Rico and Miami, citing the brand’s inroads with Latin American consumers.) “We definitely attract the Francophiles … but it’s beyond that. Why wouldn’t we want to get this brand to each and every American?”

Frankly Formulated

Beauty runs on Francophilia. It is standard industry practice to use French in order to upscale cosmetic offerings: Think of Clé de Peau, a luxury makeup line which was established by Japanese beauty giant Shiseido in 1982, or American-owned labels like Glossier and Dieux, which suggest French ancestry that may or may not be authentic. There’s also Laneige, from South Korean conglomerate Amorepacific, which has inspired innumerable tweens to slather their mouths with its cult lip sleeping mask.

Many of their formulas, however, have clear analogues in the French pharmacy, and those who dwelled on beauty blogs in the 2010s will see the resemblances instantly. In the early days of the beauty blog Into the Gloss, faces like Karlie Kloss and Julia Restoin-Roitfeld gushed to Emily Weiss about their love for Embryolisse’s concentrate, converting her into a fan.

“My favorite store in Paris is not Céline, Isabel Marant, or Chanel, but Citypharma on Rue du Four,” Weiss wrote in 2014. A few years later, Weiss launched Glossier with a skincare set containing a “Priming Moisturiser” based on the French cream, as well as the multi-use “Balm Dotcom,” which calls Homeoplasmine to mind.

While many skincare brands orient themselves toward specific age groups, with colourful branding or anti-aging promises, the French pharmacy, by necessity, casts a wider net, attracting customers of all ages. “My love of the pharmacy comes from my mother,” said Garance Doré, the illustrator and fashion blogger who was inspired to launch her skincare line in 2022. “She’s very reasonable, and always wanted the… how do you say, bang for your buck?”

In France, “there is this sense of tradition, of loyalty, to brands and practices,” Doré added. She has approached her formulations with high standards, spending a grueling four years developing their latest launch, Le Serum. The Vitamin C-infused concentrate suggests a more maximalist routine than one that merely contains moisturiser and lip balm, which makes Le Serum a marriage of American and French beauty values.

“There was a lot of inspiration with trying what’s new, showing that you’re curious and not hesitating to change the way you do things. To me, that’s a feature of the American public, which I adore,” Doré said, noting that the typical Frenchwoman may be more adverse to trying new things. “She says, ‘No, I know what I’m doing.’”

International Waters

Until CityPharma expands to the US, French beauty brands looking to expand stateside are forced to sell in different sorts of retailers, which can make for an uneven shopping experience.

Target has become a destination for many of them, including Avène, which added the retailer to its distribution this year. In lieu of typical support staff, like the pharmacists themselves, the brand has started working with a panel of derminfluencers, each assigned to a different retailer; Dr. Neera Nathan, a dermatologist and surgeon with an Instagram following of over 1 million, recommends the brand’s products and links to its Target assortment.

To that point, many French pharmacy products are sold at a higher price point than their US competitors. When La Roche-Posay and Avène entered the US market, both brands did so through dermatologist’s offices, where one is more likely to purchase a $34 gel cleanser. That kind of price disconnect can be difficult for shoppers to grasp, though, at retailers like Target or drugstores such as CVS.

Jeremy Abesara, the founder of Provence Beauty, saw an opportunity to price his products more effectively. Provence’s Bare Lumière, its version of an Embryolisse concentrate, costs around $20, making it cheaper than the original cream and about the same price as a jar of Cerave. His hope is to appeal to younger customers, the way Glossier did a decade ago.

As more and more brands crowd the shelves at retailers like Ulta Beauty, Target or Walgreens, none of these stores can match the intimacy of the French pharmacy shopping experience. “Obviously, in the US, retailers are pushing products, and there’s a different level of selling,” said Sonia Gaillis-Delepine, a former social media marketer at French fragrance house dsm-Firmenich.

Gaillis-Delepine launched a new line, Verdoie, inspired by the pharmacy, selling a combination supplement-and-moisturiser set for $176 (inspired by the French concept of “la cure,” or preventative wellness). She still adores the French pharmacy classics, and has yet to find a suitable dupe for Homeoplasmine.

“It’s the only thing that helps my chapped lips, and its for all different types of irritations,” Gaillis-Delephine said. “There are others, but this is the OG.”

But Abesara believes there is still room for disruption. “Traditional French pharmacy brands, they’re trusted, everybody knows them,” he said. “But they haven’t evolved for today’s younger, ingredient-conscious, digital-first audience.”

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Disclosure: Brennan Kilbane worked at Glossier from 2015 to 2017.