Mayoly

Rueil Malmaison // 4500m^²

sectorHealth

Mayoly, an iconic leader in the pharmaceutical sector.

As a historic player in the French Pharmaceutical sector since 1929, Mayoly Spindler is an independent family laboratory specializing in gastroenterology and dermo-cosmetics.

Mayoly's products, shaped by a deep understanding of user needs and a perpetual spirit of reinvention, now constitute the heritage of pharmacies and parapharmacies in France.

With a keen sense of innovation, Mayoly has laid the foundations for domestic pharmaceutical practices and has firmly established itself at the heart of French households' health.

"Because Mayoly has been able to understand usage patterns and reinvent itself continually, its products now form the heritage of public pharmacies and parapharmacies in France."

After conquering the French market with talent, Mayoly has expanded its expertise and vision abroad over the years, with a strong ambition to revolutionize the future of international health. In 2022, this ambition takes a new turn with the acquisition of the Consumer Healthcare branch of its counterpart Ipsen.

With 2,200 employees and numerous star products (Meteospasmyl®, Topicrem®, or Smecta®), Mayoly is now an essential part of family pharmacy.

Opening spaces to break down barriers and foster stronger relationships.

Following the acquisition of Ipsen's family health branch, a completely new company needed to be brought together under the auspices of a parent company.

The primary need for this merger was undoubtedly space and circulation, driven by the movement of staff from Ipsen's branch, originally located in Boulogne. This involved relocating 450 MAYOLY-IPSEN employees to a carefully chosen 4500m2 site. While the capacity and living volumes were crucial elements of the project, the ability to unite two teams around a common corporate culture was equally central.

The brand's cherished accessibility and proximity were to be felt between the management and the employees. There was a clear desire to revitalize the management floor and dissociate it from any ostentatious decorative markers usually associated with executive suites.

"Bringing to life the values and culture of 'care' dear to Mayoly, through a unique layout strategy and strong design choices."

The challenge for Factory was to imagine a true corporate experience that would onboard ex-IPSEN employees into Mayoly's history and create overall alignment with the brand's heritage and values. This new phase in the company's life also provided an opportunity to reinvent its identity to align with the new reality of the enterprise. The brand platform and graphic guidelines underwent a complete overhaul, requiring a high degree of agility in our creative choices.

Factory took a bold approach, working "intuitively" by simply relying on the attributes of the logo and the three core values of Mayoly: Pragmatism - Responsibility - Kindness. In just 6 months and across 3 floors, the challenge was significant: to embody the values and culture of "care" dear to Mayoly through a unique layout strategy and strong design choices; all while not overshadowing the parallel artistic direction being developed with their design agency.

Mayoly explores its history to better invest in its workspaces.

The identity paradoxes of Mayoly formed the narrative thread of the headquarters: between proximity and large spaces, intuition and reason, history and modernity.

Proximity, first and foremost, was the keystone of the project. Acquiring a company means bringing together two cultures, two histories, and two visions. Employees have to gradually learn to master new collaborative languages. To support employees' new ways of working towards greater cohesion and agility, we envisioned modular spaces. Sometimes open-plan, sometimes individual offices, but always conducive to co-construction. Emphasis was also placed on circulation from R+4 to R+6, avoiding the pitfall of silos.

Partitioning spaces and competencies means compartmentalizing minds and hindering the spread of ideas. Signage and the design of totemic elements allowed each space to have character and generate interest without creating "dead zones." At the crossroads of the 3 floors at R+5, a space reminiscent of herbal tea room was designed as a true meeting point, conducive to conversations and serendipity. A unique crossroads, favorable to creativity and innovation, a living connection between all the floors of the premises.

“Daily Care at Heart.' A purpose as strong as its impact on international pharmaceuticals for nearly a century."

The headquarters, as a collective binding force, primarily aimed to bring employees together around a common story. The chosen color palette helped bring the group's DNA to life. The green and blue tones, characteristic of the pharmaceutical sector, speak of innovation and health. When beige, yellow, and wood tones warm up the headquarters' environment to recall the company's humble and family-oriented nature. Working on the roundness of the logo through signage, furniture, and decorative elements created a true sense of well-being and softness in the premises. The goal was to architecturally translate the group's raison d'être, "Daily Care at Heart." A purpose as strong as its impact on international pharmaceuticals for nearly a century. At R+5, our teams conceived a unique scenography: a museum space highlights Mayoly's heritage, enriching the brand knowledge of both employees and visitors. A giant map locates the group's international presence, while a timeline highlights the group's key events and product launches, relying on old packaging and communication tools.

"The interactive digital table went beyond mere exhibition logic to create a more sensorial and stronger brand experience."

The duality of tradition and innovation was a starting point for directing the storytelling: a pioneering and heritage brand, no less turned towards the future. That's why we tried to translate this temporal connection into the spatial experience. Facing a small pharmacy that we reconstructed, the centerpiece of the Mayoly experience stands: a 110-inch digital table, tactile and interactive, equipped with an intelligent product recognition system. All the secrets of Mayoly's iconic products are revealed simply by placing them on the screen: production processes, composition, know-how, advertisements, history, and evolution.

Between ultra-responsive digital technology, fluidity, and simultaneous product experiences, it is a true technological gem that materializes the group's ability to evolve with the times. This achievement is both a technical feat due to the complexity of the experience and a masterpiece from our teams. From content to UX/UI, archives to reconstruction, and sourcing documents; many professions and hours of work contributed to making this immersive journey a success. For Factory, expressing Mayoly's innovative character also meant going beyond mere exhibition logic to delve deeper into sensory and brand experience.

Thanks to weekly reporting and a collaboration based on trust from the beginning of the project, the "blank canvas" that Mayoly had given us proved to be a resounding success.

A smooth project resulted in an outcome that met the expectations of the new entity born, marking a new turning point in the life of the iconic MAYOLY group.

Summary sheet

sectorHealth

area4500m^²

placeRueil Malmaison

delivery2023

Engaged Expertises

Concept & Storytelling.
Architectural Concept.
Experience Design.
Furniture and Decoration.
Workplace Strategy.

Employee well-being and health
Initiatives focused on the physical and mental well-being of employees, such as relaxation areas, fitness facilities, health and wellness programs, flexible work schedules, and leave policies.
Digitalization and digital transformation
The adoption of digital technologies to automate processes, enhance operational efficiency, facilitate remote collaboration, and foster innovation within the company.
Flexibility and mobility
Policies of flexible work, such as telecommuting, flexible hours, or coworking spaces, to enable employees to work independently and choose the location and hours that suit them.
Technology and innovation
The integration of advanced technologies into the work environment, such as online collaboration tools, smart home technology, virtual or augmented reality, to facilitate communication, productivity, and user experience.

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