Wild culture: the goodness of natural products

Are you wary of the multiple chemicals, preservatives and more found in everyday products? Have you ever wanted to start making your own products but didn't know where to start? Worse still, have you ever tried to create your own mixtures, but gave up halfway through, discouraged by a long list of ingredients to obtain and complicated processes to set up?

If so, Wild Culture is for you.

Harmful products as inspiration for change

Sandrine Chabert has always had a passion for creating handmade products, but when she began to read the labels of products found in supermarkets, she found the motivation to make a life change that she considered necessary. “I lost my faith in the industry so much that I decided I was going to do it on my own. She first got into making household products by doing several trials and experimenting in her own home to find the formula that suited her best.

Then, around 2006-2007, something really clicked for Sandrine. She suffered an allergic reaction to a hair dye. This reaction resulted in an attack of urticaria which lasted six months and was accompanied by a healing period of one year. That's when she realized there was a problem and she made it her mission to find a healthier alternative for the human scalp.

This is how the idea of ​​Wild Culture began to germinate in Sandrine's mind. Ironically, the first product she sold was hair dye! It is a vegetable dye that is not very laborious to prepare, but which has the advantage of not containing any chemical product. To this day, tinctures remain one of Wild Cultivation's most popular products. “Since the time, I think I have succeeded in convincing a lot of people. »

Daily use on the menu at Culture sauvage

Wild Culture's catalog has more than 80 products available on its site , ranging from skin care products to zero-waste reusable products and cosmetics. It manufactures some of it and imports the rest from all over the world. She spends at least two hours a day researching online to make sure what she does is still relevant or to find new products to add to her catalog. Sometimes she also finds new suppliers to do business with to obtain a specific product. The important thing for Sandrine is to offer unique products like Monoi de Tahiti oil . “My idea is to offer products that you can't find in Quebec. The company now has more than 90 points of sale in Quebec, including the Signé Local boutique.

The products offered by Culture sauvage are also products that Sandrine uses herself on a daily basis. Ease of use is therefore one of the aspects taken into account in the selection of the products offered. “These are things that I love on a daily basis and I wanted to make them available to everyone. To this end, Sandrine maintains a blog specializing in the manufacture of handmade products where she frequently shares recipes and tips for making her own products at home. The power to contribute to the well-being of others while nourishing her passion for writing motivates her. “I like to give. I couldn't live from sales alone, so the blog allows me to give. Sandrine therefore has the opportunity to demonstrate how to use the products she sells in practice, while educating her readers on the use of natural products.

A production that is going well

With so many products available, outlets as well as the full-time job she has in addition to her duties at Culture Sauvage, one would expect that the production of the company would eventually suffer. However, this is not the case at all. Sandrine sleeps with her eyes closed for a good eight hours every night. How does she do it? "I'm a machine," she says confidently. She gets up very early every day and devotes several hours to Culture sauvage, whether it is to do research, manufacture or order products, package, correspond with partners or respond to customer requests. Sandrine strives to respond as quickly as possible to the communications she receives and to give the necessary time to her clients in need of advice. She likes to be able to demonstrate to her customers that making her own products is something simple. “There's nothing worse for someone who wants to shampoo than being given a list of ingredients that are impossible to find. »

That said, Sandrine does not take on all the tasks alone; his son and right-hand man, Antoine, supports him in his business. “Without Antoine, it would be impossible to get there. It's real teamwork. After all, the quantity of products to be delivered to individuals or business partners is significant. Last year alone, it sold 15,000 Oriculi reusable ear cleaners.

The joy of living as an essential value

The work that Sandrine does for Culture Sauvage does not seem like a burden to her, far from it. Despite the long hours spent tending to the business, she continues to enjoy the task. "Wild culture, it's still a game." It must be said that Sandrine, always having an external job, does not feel the pressure to make an income with her business, which allows her to indulge in it with joy. She also largely attributes her success to the feeling that she is working for fun, to the point where she doesn't really feel that she is working. “To succeed, you really have to have fun, have fun with what you do. »

Natural products for everyone

Attempting to move away from products that are harmful to the human body and to simplify the use of her products, Sandrine provides her customers with products without additives. The idea is not to add something unnecessary to the products if there is no reason to do so. The product groups are freshly made and used immediately, unlike products sold in big box stores, which can remain on the shelves for several years. There is therefore no need to add preservatives to Wild Grown products.

Sandrine tests the products herself before selling them and takes the time to familiarize herself with the properties of each product in order to properly advise her clients. This is how she discovered that tiger nut oil , usually used to stretch the period between waxing, has incredible moisturizing properties.

The sequel to Wild Culture

Sandrine's next project will be to create a new import and export division. She wants to be able to import larger quantities of products and have an even richer catalog to meet the needs of the shops with which she partners. His dream is that one day Culture Sauvage will have an international connotation. She hopes to be able to devote more time to Cultivation Sauvage, in order to grow the business.

In the meantime, she continues to take pleasure in unearthing and introducing unique natural products to her clientele. “It's a great adventure. »

Find Wild Culture on its website, or in one of its partner shops, the list of which can be found on its website .

Reviewed by Sandrine