Treat plants with plants? Utopia or reality? In current times, it is in any case a melody that seduces the ears of all those who have taken a passion for gardening. And there are many of them since there are regarding 35% of French people who engage in this real physical exercise, anti-stress, and which reduces cardiovascular risks by 30 to 50%. Only here, as soon as one looks for perfectly natural products, we quickly realize that they are rare on the market. In any dedicated brand, the products can be insecticides, fertilizers, weed killers, pest control, but rarely natural.
Caroline Baly, founder of the Aïako brand (formerly Maïa-Ko) prided itself on filling this void by offering perfectly natural and, above all, ready-to-use plant care products. She has a background. A biology engineer, she works in an organic organic fertilizer box for agriculture as a product manager and is passionate regarding phytotherapy. The small seeds were sown and, following a decade, she launched herself, developing products that were obviously effective enough to bring together a large community of consumers delighted with the results.
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Eco-responsible and transparent
Exit synthetic fertilizers and petrochemical pesticides. Local and organic plants, short circuit, hexagonal manufacturing, shortest and transparent composition possible (water, plants, organic grain alcohol to extract the active ingredients and preserve them, and that’s it) , the young brand wants to be eco-responsible right down to the bottles which, in 500 ml, are made of glass, and recyclable PET for the 1 liter format. Note that the site advises to keep the bottles and to buy only the refills. All this seems simple and obvious on paper, but behind the scenes, according to Caroline Baly, it was a different story: ” It was necessary to transpose the knowledge on phytotherapy and the properties of medicinal plants in order to treat not the human being but the plant. For this, I relied heavily on the existing bibliography and on experimentation. The difficulties were more of a regulatory nature: even if the latest legal texts go in the right direction, it remains complicated in France to work with medicinal plants, whatever the target market! “
Far from easy
Regulatory hassles also plagued the creation of his company: ” For example, it is forbidden to make claims regarding certain properties of plants, in particular biocidal properties ( once morest viruses and fungi, for example), which makes marketing complex. You should know that, until June 2021, we did not have the legal right to spread on our garden tomatoes plants otherwise authorized in food or cosmetics. “And finally, the company name had to be changed, Maïa-Ko being considered too close to another brand. But it obviously took more to dissuade Caroline Baly from completing her adventure which is taking shape with a range of products dedicated to both indoor plants and the vegetable garden.
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A fairly wide range
For indoor plants, let’s mention the synergy of the spray Marigold, nettle & elderberry. Houseplants don’t experience winter by definition, and worse, they suffer from air-drying heating. In addition to misting, providing nutrients through the leaves ensures their bioavailability for the plant. To support the growth and defenses of indoor plants, the spray Nettle, burdock & dandelion relies on its richness in nitrogen. For outdoor plants, it will be the spray Horsetail, garlic & thyme which, rich in silica, will ensure their reinforcement. It is this product which will be used first in the event of pathologies and attacks by insects such as aphids or scale insects. Sold on the company’s website at measured prices (€21.90 for 500 ml, €29.90 for 1,000 ml), Aïako sprays have just been referenced in the brand’s catalog Biocoop.
