Camille and Alexis, co-founders of the EMBRIN brand
Camille & Alexis introduce themselves!
Today, we are publishing an interview to help you get to know the couple behind the young Embrin brand a little better: Camille & Alexis Ménager. They share their story with you in a few words…
Hélène: Hello to you both. Could you each introduce yourselves?
A: I am an agricultural engineer. I graduated from ISAB (now Institut Polytechnique UniLassalle, editor’s note) in 2007. After eight years in the banking sector, I am now an entrepreneur, dividing my time between two activities: - Agricultural consultancy, - The other half is devoted to Embrin, which I am developing with Camille.
C: And I am Camille, Alexis’s wife. We met at our engineering school, ISAB, from which I graduated in 2006 with a master’s specialising in food and health. After my studies, I worked in this sector for a few years. When our daughter was born in 2015, I wanted to give my career a new direction, and the idea for Embrin began to take root. Quite literally!
Hélène: How did you found Embrin?
A&C: Embrin began with a true anecdote: while preparing for our wedding in the Bordeaux region in 2014, we stayed in a guesthouse with washed linen sheets. We found them so delightful that we decided to buy some for ourselves! Disappointed by the quality and traceability of the set we purchased, the idea to create our own brand came to us immediately, especially as we were at a turning point in our professional lives and had just arrived at the family farm. Alexis comes from a family of Norman farmers who have been growing flax for textiles for four generations. Passionate about this natural, local fibre, we wanted to showcase our Norman flax within a local supply chain.
Hélène: What happened next in Embrin’s story?
C: Embrin launched in August 2016 with a range of bed linen. We then expanded our collection in 2017 to include table linen: tablecloths, placemats, aprons, and so on, and later bathroom linen with bath sheets and towels. In 2018, we were fortunate to welcome the film crew from the programme "La Maison France 5", who made a feature about us. This also contributed to the rapid growth of our brand. 2018 and 2019 were dedicated to consolidating our making processes, monitoring our stocks, and developing sales through our network of partner guesthouses.
Hélène: When I discovered your company through your website, I was immediately struck by the coherence of your brand universe, with shades like water green, navy blue, ochre, and so on. How do you explain this?
A: It’s true that from the outset we wanted Embrin to embody strong values, such as local roots and naturalness. For example, the operation of extracting the flax fibre, known as scutching, is carried out exclusively in Normandy, with our partner Terre de Lin. Also, our products are Oeko-Tex certified, which means the linen we sell contains no toxic substances. All of this matters to us, and we wanted these values to be reflected in our products: a love of the land, the warmth of home, the gentleness of family life… That’s why a certain harmony emerges from our products, and it’s something that comes across on our website!
Hélène: Do you have a particular anecdote to share from the past three years?
A: The episode with Maison France 5 remains a real highlight for us!
C: We love welcoming visitors to the farm, to show them the collections but also the entire process of growing and transforming flax. It’s a real pleasure for us to engage with our customers!
Hélène: Any final words…?
A&C: We receive very positive feedback from our customers on Google and on the social networks where we’re present: Instagram and Facebook, which is, of course, tremendously motivating! We are proud of Embrin’s success, which encourages us to go even further. The story is only just beginning!
This article was written by Hélène Huet, as part of a skills exchange assignment organised by the CCI of Seine Maritime.