Laboratoires de Biarritz

Laboratoires de Biarritz is a French maker of certified-organic dermo-cosmetics based in Biarritz, on the Basque coast. Founded by surfers Jean-Marc and Muriel Dubois [9], it builds its skincare and sun-care formulas around extracts of red algae harvested from the surrounding Atlantic, sold mainly through pharmacies and organic stores. Sources disagree on the founding date: editorial references and the company's LinkedIn page place it around 2010–2011, while the brand's own history page gives 2012 [2][8].

In 2025 the company was acquired by La Phocéenne de Cosmétique, an independent French group based in Salon-de-Provence, joining a portfolio that includes Le Petit Olivier, Lovea and Laboratoires Vendôme [11]. It continues to operate under its own name.

The founders were keen surfers who, according to third-party accounts, set out to find sun protection that was effective on sensitive skin yet harmless to the sea and the life in it [9]. That search led them to start their own organic cosmetics company on the South-West coast of France. The brand describes Biarritz as a deliberate choice — a place where, in its words, "scientific innovation and respect for ecosystems converge."

The founding year is recorded inconsistently across sources. Wikipedia-derived editorial summaries and retailer pages give 2011, with the first product reaching the market in 2012; the company's own mission-and-history page states 2012; its LinkedIn profile lists 2010. The most frequently cited and cross-checked figure is 2011, with 2012 likely marking the first product release rather than the company's creation.

The brand's first sun-care product under the Alga Maris name launched in 2012, built around a patented red-algae extract. A certified-organic skincare line, Meteologic, followed in 2013, and a range of organic monoï products in 2015 [8]. In 2014 the French Ministry of Research awarded the company the "Jeune Entreprise Innovante" (Young Innovative Company) label, a status granted to research-active small firms.

In 2025 Laboratoires de Biarritz was acquired by La Phocéenne de Cosmétique, a family-owned cosmetics group from Salon-de-Provence, in a deal announced around the buyer's 30th anniversary [11]. The acquisition placed it alongside the group's other brands — Le Petit Olivier, Lovea and Laboratoires Vendôme — and, according to trade coverage, opened the wider group to a network of around 2,000 pharmacy and organic-store sales points. Press reports put the combined group's stated revenue target at €100 million by 2030 [12]. The brand has continued to trade under its own name since the acquisition.

The company positions itself as ocean-inspired, certified-natural beauty, organised around what it calls three pillars: ocean-inspired innovation, certified natural beauty, and sustainability. Its stated belief is that "truly responsible beauty must be built on profound respect for the planet." In practice this means formulating with marine algae developed in-house and excluding parabens, endocrine disruptors and silicones, while pursuing organic certification across the range. The products are sold as dermo-cosmetics — skincare distributed largely through pharmacies and organic retailers rather than mass-market channels.

The brand's work centres on marine algae from the Basque coast, which its R&D team turns into proprietary active ingredients. The best known is Alga-Gorria, a patented antioxidant extract of the red alga Gelidium sesquipedale, which the company says neutralises free radicals and guards against oxidative stress [8]. Two further branded extracts, Alga-Sendatu and Alga-Paisium, are described as supporting cellular repair and soothing the skin respectively.

The Alga Maris sun-care range is the brand's signature line; every protection in it uses the patented red-algae extract. The range relies on micronized mineral filters and is presented as reef-safe, with the company stating that its formulas are tested on coral and marine organisms and avoid the UV filters oxybenzone and octinoxate. Other named products include La Crème de Biarritz, a moisturiser, and an SPF50+ Invisible Sun Stick. The full range is certified organic by Ecocert and follows the Cosmébio charter, with Cosmos Organic certification renewed annually [2]. Manufacturing is described as entirely French, with most production in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques and seaweed harvested from the French coastline.

The company was awarded the "Jeune Entreprise Innovante" label by the French Ministry of Research in 2014 [8]. In 2024 its SPF50+ Invisible Sun Stick won a prize at the Victoires de la Beauté, an industry awards programme judged by consumer panels.

Laboratoires de Biarritz is active and, since 2025, owned by La Phocéenne de Cosmétique [11]. It continues to launch products and run its blog and social channels, and remains based in Biarritz. According to editorial sources, its products are sold in France and exported to roughly fifteen countries [9].