Beau Nuage or ‘beautiful cloud’ as the translation goes is a very simple yet effective startup; focusing on revolutionising umbrellas. The U.K. is known for its wet weather and one of the most annoying things for an individual is carrying a wet umbrella, not wanting to put it in your bag, or leaving it behind in a restaurant or pub.
So when two french gentlemen (Aurelien and Antoine) were studying in London, having left the sunny south of France, they decided to solve this problem by creating a patent for an umbrella sleeve that dries and absorbs the water from the used umbrella and stops your bag getting wet.
Did we mention their company has a big focus on sustainability, provides water to places globally that need it and employs staff with disabilities in its French base? Who thought Umbrella’s could make such an impact! Maddyness spoke to co-founder Aurelien to find out about his journey so far.
[Maddyness] Tell us a little bit about how and why you started Beau Nuage?
[Aurelien] Our cloudy adventure begins in the pouring rain of London. For two young people like us who were more accustomed to the sun in the South of France, rain quickly became a fundamental problem of everyday life. The idea of reinventing the concept of the umbrella then flooded our minds!
Our innovation was simple but revolutionary: an umbrella of optimal quality accompanied by an absorbent cover to keep it always dry, thanks to an absorption technology for which we have obtained a patent. The Beau Nuage concept was born! Very quickly, tens of thousands of Beau Nuage were sold and distributed in more than a hundred stores in France and Europe! Our Beau Nuage have continued to make more and more people love the rain and they are receiving showers of compliments since the launch!
You and Antoine sound like you are great friends, what makes you great business partners?
First of all we trust each other, which is very important when setting and running a company with a business partner. We are also complementary, in the sense that Antoine has a good artistic touch and therefore he is in charge of our marketing on a daily basis, whereas I am more sales oriented and therefore I take care of the distribution.