Les Echos talks about DIJO!

Health: how Dijo broke into the thriving probiotic market

Three years ago, Anouk Le Terrier and Lisa Souloy started Dijo with 1,000 euros in their pocket. The brand now exceeds one million euros in turnover. Skyrocketing development without investors.

Anouk Le Terrier and Lisa Souloy created Dijo in 2019. “We were two young girls with a big dream and few means,” they admit. In 2021, they already have a turnover of one million euros. An amount which should double in 2022. Their brand of food supplements for the stomach , available on their online site, is now distributed at Samaritaine, Galeries Lafayette, Printemps or at Monoprix.

And, in 2023, the two entrepreneurs are setting off to attack pharmacies to complete their omnichannel distribution . A narrative that has all the trappings of a success story. But nothing magical in this story, more work to develop a winning strategy and give ourselves the means to implement it.

A common vision

At the heart of the project, two childhood friends, from school commerce , ESCP for Anouk and Skema Business School for Lisa. When she learns that she has an autoimmune thyroid disease, Anouk, who has just graduated, suggests that Lisa create Dijo. “Because the probiotics that I found in France were not of good quality whereas these live micro-organisms, by balancing the intestinal microbiota, allowed me to fight against the side effects of my hormonal treatments, weight loss or gain”, she explains.

The two leaders are complementary in their way of working. Lisa is more operational, square, when Anouk bursts out with a idea per minute. And if one is president and the other general director on paper, they are 50/50 shareholders. They develop their vision of Dijo together. The well-being of the stomach, exclusively, will be the identity of the brand. “Being two people at the head of the project is our strength. We rely on each other. I see too many isolated entrepreneurs,” describes Lisa.

Viral marketing

They start with 1,000 euros of personal contribution. To finance the manufacture of their first batch of 1,000 products in a laboratory in Angers, with which they created their formula, they embarked on a campaign of crowdfunding on Ulule. The creators create content, tell the behind-the-scenes story of the adventure on social networks, Instagram or Facebook, and contact small influencers. Lisa, who worked in a sports marketing agency, approaches the gyms sport to raise awareness among practitioners.

They also evangelize in restaurants or coffee shops. It's the craze. They managed to raise 15,000 euros, exceeding their goal of 10,000 euros. In July 2019, the statuses of Probiopharma , which markets Dijo, are filed. During this first year, they do not pay each other a salary, each squats with their parents and accepts small freelance missions. They create their own website using a tutorial.

Non-dilutive financing

In September 2020, the entrepreneurs took out a traditional bank loan of 100,000 euros. The bank places its trust in them thanks to the first 300,000 euros in turnover achieved in 2019. Luckily, the health crisis in March 2020 does not affect them, the manufacturing laboratory and the logistician having continued their activity. “We have also been profitable from the start.

We therefore reinvested the profits in the development of the start-up,” adds Anouk Le Terrier. Originally from Caen, Lisa Souloy contacts Fast Forward Normandy , the region's accelerator. Dijo transfers its head office from Paris to Fleury-sur-Orne and joins the incubator in 2020. “We have been there accompanied by an accountant. We also met players in logistics, which allowed us to find a logistician in the Paris region. In short, our project was structured,” says Lisa Souloy.

The creators then benefit from a honorary loan of 50,000 euros from Initiative Calvados . “It was important for us because we needed to strengthen our equity to approach Bpifrance . In fact, the Honorary loans , unlike bank debts, are considered a equity contribution », underlines Anouk Le Terrier. In 2022, Dijo obtains two loans “ innovation » from Bpifrance, one for 100,000 euros and the other for 150,000 euros.

Today, the Dijo team has been strengthened with three collaborators, in administration, animation of social networks and dietetics for online consultations. The two young entrepreneurs, now employees of their company, are finding a form of normality in their personal lives. But already, they are thinking about to diversify offers them food products sourced in Normandy.

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