That’s it, 2020 is (finally) coming to an end!
This year has not been easy for any of us. But between epidemics, lockdowns and impacts on the economy, we still manage to find some positive points. At Abyss, we’re more like a half full glass.
And fortunately! Because with Alexis, our C.E.O, we have big plans for the years to come. Of course, the idea is to make Abyss grow. And to do so, we are working on several fronts.
Our R&D team, the scientific expertise of Abyss
As you know, since 2019, we have been heavily investing in Research and Development: new ingredient, new health applications, clinical studies… R&D is not idle! And 2020 has been rich in good news:
✔️ We finalized our very first human clinical study of the effects of Cartidyss on skin beauty. It shows “wow” effects as Alexis would say. We told you all about it here.
Caught up in our momentum, we launched a second clinical study, currently underway, of the effects of Cartidyss on osteoarthritis this time. Because yes of course, it is a 2-in-1 ingredient!
✔️ Mathilde published her first scientific article related to BrainBooster project and our new ingredient to come. A second publication has been submitted and should be published very soon. We will keep you informed.
In the meantime, Mathilde continues to work on her thesis, for which she will have her viva voce in March 2021. We all hope to be able to travel to Bordeaux to support her!
✔️ Julie is progressing on VIPP research project. For the record, she is also behind the brandname of our new ingredient (which is to come!). We “thank” the 1st lockdown because, while teaching History to her eldest daughter as schools were closed, she had an illumination, a name that we all adopted. Of course we won’t tell you more, you’ll have to wait until next year! 😉
✔️ In September, Elodie made her first speech during the Nutriform Business Day in Saint-Raphaël to present the latest study results of Peptidyss. There is even a video if you want to watch her speech again, it will be available soon.
Things are moving in Finistère
After 3 years in Quimper Business Incubator and things going well for Abyss, we finally moved on for our own facility. Serge, Pierrick and Jérémy are now based in Concarneau where they carry out an essential part of our process: the preparation of locally collected raw materials before being sent to our industrial partner IDmer. Of course, all our process remains clean, without any solvent or preservative.
Boys left one postcard for another, still in Finistère, and get a little closer to Inessa and Claire both based in Lorient!
A satisfying business review for 2020
We are so lucky to operate in a buoyant sector despite the crisis! This enables us to achieve the goals we set up for 2020, which, in turn, will allow us to keep investing in R&D.
Certainly, it has been a strange year. So happy to physically meet clients and participate to trade shows at the beginning of the year, Alexis and Claire were quickly stopped in their tracks. Ouch! The question then was: how to adapt and keep the link with our clients? Actually, Alexis became addicted to Zoom and Claire to LinkedIn and both of them spend a lot of time on the phone. Link is maintained thanks to 2.0 solutions.
We were happy to be able to e-exhibit at Vitafoods, e-meet prospects and e-exchange about the market and trends of the moment. And we hired new talent: Estelle joined us and has the difficult mission to improve our online presence and finally even got caught up in the game of online fairs.
Of course Claire was very excited to meet some of you during the Nutriform in Saint-Raphaël where she was accompanying Elodie. And she can’t wait to get back on the road!
The team has grown!
Following the events of the beginning of the year, it seemed important, even essential, to improve our online presence, particularly improve our website and presence on social networks… We needed a real digital communication action plan to maintain the link with our clients.
This is why we welcomed in May and June, Estelle – presented to you a few lines above. She worked on the optimization of our website to make it more ergonomic. You can have a look around, we will be delighted to have your comments and suggestions to keep improving (because nobody is ever perfect and everything is perfectible).
But first of all, we had recruited Estelle under a work-study contract with the UCO-BS of Arradon which started in September. Estelle works with Claire on marketing, digital communication and commercial aspects. The idea: improve the customer experience!
In November, Sterenn joined us as part of the R&D team (39% of our staff!). She works on sourcing and on the collaborative research project e-Cabyss. You may have already seen her in your LinkedIn feed since she won the internal “likes race” against Jeremy (we like to friendly challenge each other!).
So, what do we prepare for you for 2021?
Well, always more science and innovation for a very busy agenda!
No less than one product launch, two clinical trial launches, one announcement of clinical results and at least three publications in specialized scientific journals are planned throughout the coming year! Of course, R&D team continues to work on ongoing collaborative projects: BrainBooster, VIPP and e-Cabyss in particular.
Abyss’s voices
“Despite a difficult situation due to Covid, we have maintained our focus in R&D, marketing, production… This allows us to have good results at the end of the year. We have a motivated and dynamic team with a very good team spirit… and we are growing: Welcome to Estelle and Sterenn! Very good clinical results and more to come, and icing on the cake, published scientific articles!” Alexis Méhaignerie, C.E.O
“A dynamic and motivated team to develop new products and improve existing ones. We manage to serve and satisfy our customers despite some obstacles that come up from time to time. The main thing is that our sales have increased in spite of the general crisis, what more could you ask for!” Inessa Lespargot, Customer Service Manager
“Positive results from effective studies, scientific articles published, 2020 has not been wasted on R&D, to say the least! We’re keeping the potato and the smile at Abyss to keep up the good work!” Elodie Bouvret, R&D Manager
“I was very quickly integrated at Abyss and I was able to launch a few production-related projects very quickly. I learned a lot this year and I know that the next few years will also be very enriching for me. Collectively, we have been able to put in place new production equipment and new processes. With little experience in this area, we were able to make a move from our production site. This project was a real challenge and I think the entire production team is proud to have been able to contribute to the development of this workshop. A lot of projects were started in 2020 and I am happy to be able to continue them in 2021”. Jérémy Molinaro, Process Apprentice Engineer
“A fruitful partnership with the Nutribrain laboratory in Bordeaux which resulted in a publication in the “Journal of Functional Foods” demonstrating the anti-stress effect of Peptidyss. Always as motivating and enriching to work with our different partners in the framework of our R&D projects!” Julie Le Faouder, PhD, R&D Project Manager
“This year tought me I can rely on each one of my colleague. Despite our geographical distance, we are close-knit. Since last year we set up annual meetings. For me, this is the opportunity to meet all together, to have a full situation overview but also enjoy a good meal and spend some time together doing a nice activity (part of the winning team of the Escape Game this summer! 😜).” Claire Le Grand, Sales & Marketing Manager
“This year has allowed me to valorize the results obtained so far thanks to the publication of my first scientific article and the submission of the second one. It has also been enriching from a human point of view, we have a really great team and it is always a pleasure to be together! (And even more to be part of the team of the winners at the escape game!)” Mathilde Chataigner, R&D Project Manager
“Very happy to have joined the Abyss team at the end of this year, where innovation, dynamism and conviviality are the daily rhythm.” Sterenn Le Penven, R&D Project Manager
“A quick integration within a dynamic and reactive team, the redesign of the website, beautiful communication projects, this year has been POSITIVE at Abyss. And the year 2021 will be even more so!” Estelle Quinn, Marketing & Sales Assistant Apprentice
