Like the singer Jacques Dutronc, for Thierry Leray, the whole world is a cactus. Or, more precisely, a prickly pear cactus.
A former international marketing professional, this Breton native changed sectors and decided to create his own organic cosmetics company: Le Rayon Nature.
Specializing in anti-wrinkle products, he made the prickly pear tree his fountain of youth, before settling in Saint-Raphaël a little over a year ago. Without suspecting in the least that the city of Archangel is full of them.
It did not need more to develop a project that meets its ambitions but also several issues, whether economic, public health or the environment.
He says it loud and clear: “I want to transform this endemic plant(1) as an emblematic plant.”
Why cosmetics and why organic?
Organic came naturally because the mother of my children, and many women around me, were fans of it. And all of them complained, at the same time, regarding the ineffectiveness of cosmetic products. I studied the market, aiming to go once morest the grain. In particular the raw materials used most often. For example, I went to meet small producers who made their own cosmetic products. Everyone had their own miracle ingredient: goat’s milk, mare’s milk, shea butter, snail slime…
Snail slime, really?
Really… From there, I looked into which one was the most effective. I started to develop vegetable oils, because they are much more effective than creams in general, due to their composition. I have developed different oils such as Chilean rosehip for its anti-wrinkle properties or argan oil for its anti-aging properties.
Then prickly pear seed oil…
After four to six months of being on sale, I was barely selling anything more than that.
What properties make it more effective?
It is loaded with vitamin E, fourteen times higher than argan oil for example. It is also, in the same proportions, very rich in sterol and it contains 62% omega 6. These three ingredients give it exceptional healing and skin tightening properties. It is, in addition, the finest oil in the world, therefore with a very high penetration rate. A few drops are enough.
It must be very expensive to make…
It is the most expensive oil in the world. It takes 800kg of fruit for one liter of oil. It has, all taxes included, a value ranging from 800 to 1,000 euros per liter.
How do you source your supplies today?
My main concern is precisely to secure the supply. In the Mediterranean basin, the major producers are Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The problem is that they operate in cooperatives. This creates a risk that prices will skyrocket or that they will stop supplying you overnight.
So, how to do?
You have to produce and harvest the plant yourself.
Saint-Raphaël is full of them…
Here, it grows by itself! I studied the potentially producing regions, I did not find any outside the Maghreb. When I arrived in Saint-Raphaël a year ago, to be closer to my family, I discovered that there were everywhere. The dream!
Chance would have it…
I said to myself, this is the place to cultivate it! I presented a project to the town hall at the beginning of the year, which was immediately interested. Then I met people from the city and the Region, who were all excited.
What is your project, concretely?
Growing prickly pears in Saint-Raphaël and nearby. Estérel would be an ideal place. The climate and soil composition are perfect. It’s not for nothing that it grows everywhere.
You have another idea in mind regarding the Estérel…
The prickly pear cactus can also be very useful in firefighting because it is a natural barrier. One hectare of this cactus represents 180 tonnes of water! It’s colossal. In California, an American state plagued by huge forest fires every year, they are seriously studying the possibility of using it as a fire barrier.
Your project goes well beyond simple oil production…
I want to transform this endemic plant into an emblematic plant. This plant can be a tremendous economic lever for the basin and help fight once morest the scourge of fires in summer.
The prickly pear pear is however considered an intrusive species…
His image will, I hope, quickly change. It can be cultivated for its oil, of course. Which is already a great creation of wealth given its market value. It also has medicinal properties due to its vitamin C content, its antidiarrheal properties or the fact that consuming it reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases, for example.
But still?
As we have said, it can be used as a fire barrier. The pulp of what we call snowshoes can be transformed into juice, very resistant vegetable plastic, vegan leather or even into fodder for animals.
Wouldn’t its cultivation represent a problem in terms of water consumption?
We don’t water them! Just look at the side of the roads, they grow without any effort. In Algeria, snowshoes are also used for growing olive trees. They are buried half a meter in the ground, at the foot of the tree. Once buried, the racket generates moisture in the ground for 3 years.
Doesn’t its intrusive nature scare you?
Absolutely not. We want to control its culture. If communities decide to remove them from tourist sites, for example, they can give them to us. And then everyone is realizing its many virtues.
Ultimately: A star is born (A star is born, in French)…
Initially, I wondered how to transform this pest into a growth lever. I said to myself: if Menton has its lemon, Saint-Raphaël must have its prickly pear. There is real legitimacy to this. It can become the emblem of the municipality.
1. According to Larousse, endemic “refers to living species specific to a well-defined territory”, although the prickly pear is, originally, endemic to Mexico. The term is used here because this cactus, imported hundreds of years ago, now grows in Saint-Raphaël without any human intervention.
