The opportunity
Founded by entrepreneur Claire Despagne, DAY+ represents a new generation of French beauty brands: innovative, contemporary, highly relevant to today's consumer and built around a fresh approach to beauty, wellness and everyday protection.
Valérie Kaminov first encountered DAY+ in her capacity as an international beauty industry judge. Recognising both the strength of the concept and its international potential, she voted for Claire Despagne and her team for the New Innovation Award in the Middle East, an early endorsement of a brand she believed could resonate well beyond its domestic French market.
That initial recognition grew into a strategic collaboration, with ILBC entrusted with supporting DAY+'s international expansion and business development.
The strategy
The objective was never simply to increase the number of markets in which DAY+ was available, but to establish the brand through carefully selected partners and channels capable of strengthening its positioning and creating sustainable international growth.
Working closely with Claire Despagne and the DAY+ team, Valérie developed a market-by-market approach combining her international retail and distribution network with a clear understanding of where DAY+'s innovative proposition would have the greatest relevance. The strategy deliberately embraced different channels, from prestigious independent retailers and premium department stores to specialist distribution and television shopping, letting the brand test and develop its international potential while adapting its commercial approach to each market.
Building the footprint
Iceland became one of the first strategic steps: DAY+ entered through one of the country's most prestigious independent perfumeries, a destination attracting a sophisticated local clientele and a significant international tourist audience. The Middle East followed with the appointment of Galeries Lafayette Qatar, premium visibility in one of the region's most dynamic beauty markets. In Italy the strategy took a different direction, introducing DAY+ through TV shopping and demonstrating the versatility of the proposition in a highly consumer-driven retail channel. Development continued across the UK, Finland, Switzerland, Austria and Germany, building a progressively broader European footprint while keeping distribution selective.
Finland brought a particularly important milestone: the introduction of DAY+ to Stockmann, one of the country's most established and respected premium department stores, and proof that a young, innovative French beauty brand could secure the confidence of a major international retailer.
A huge thank you to the Stockmann teams for their trust and warm welcome, and to Valérie Kaminov for her wonderful work.
The DAY+ team
The impact
The relationship came full circle when DAY+ UV Drops received award recognition at Beautyworld Middle East 2025, in the same region where Valérie had first identified and championed the brand's potential.
DAY+'s development illustrates an important principle of successful international expansion: there is no single route to market. From an independent perfumery in Iceland to Galeries Lafayette in Qatar, Stockmann in Finland and TV shopping in Italy, each opportunity was selected for the characteristics of the individual market and the potential it offered the brand, without losing the innovation, energy and contemporary identity that made it distinctive from the outset.