Villa Blu Newsletter #9
Regular updates on a unique hub in the historical heart of Grasse dedicated to accelerating natural innovation 🌱
February may be the shortest month and sometimes quite dreary in the South of France, but it definitely wasn’t the quietest for us ❄️
Villa Blu News - February ‘25
💙 Last chance to apply for Batch 5
Applications for Batch 5, which will start in May 2025 with 5 new companies, are still open until Monday March 10th. With a record number of applications this time, we’re working hard to meet and exchange with every single entrepreneur. Time flies, keep in mind our Investment Committee will be held on April 23th at Villa Blu !
If you’re an entrepreneur, you can talk directly to Elliott, apply directly here or connect with anyone from the Villa Blu team 🌱
🎓 Back to school for our Villa Blu cohorts
Once a month, we organise a week full of events, workshops and training sessions for our entrepreneurs. Last week, it all came together with some and Villa Blu felt more like an academic program than a venture one. Some entrepreneurs spent the week training with our perfumers in Grasse while others attended workshops on No-Code & AI tools, hosted by Matthieu from Roki Team, and UGC & Influence hosted by Robin from Beyond Media and Focus.
A warm thank you to all those experienced ‘teachers’ who made it possible 🎓
🎥 Our very own content studio
Some of you may have seen us more active on social media recently and that’s all thanks to Pauline Grac and the creation of our new Video & Photo Studio at Villa Blu. We’ve been shooting content for our entrepreneurs and our own team over the past few weeks and are planning on becoming more and more present across all platforms.
You can follow us on Instagram & LinkedIn for more news about what goes on behind the scenes at Villa Blu !
Portfolio News
🇮🇹 Olium in Milano
After ScentXplore in NYC, Beau Burdette, the entrepreneur and perfumer behind US-based niche brand Olium is continuing his European roadshow at Exsense in Milan, with support from the Robertet teams. He recently spent a week training with our perfumers in Grasse and is now building his executive team with strategic new additions to be announced soon.
Next stop Notes Shanghai ! 🇨🇳
💧 Some great updates for Skuma Water
After amazing lab results last week — proving that the Skuma machine filters 99.9% of PFAS and 98% of microplastics — the Skuma Water team is sharing its innovation with the world and will be present at Aquatech Amsterdam, the Trophées de l’Hypercroissance in Marseille and the Hypersanté Summit in Lyon between March & April. Incredible to collaborate with them to build the future of hydration for individuals and athletes 💦
If you’re interested, you can use the VILLABLU code directly on their website !
🌱 Blackseed still going strong
Nigella sativa, or blackseed, is proving to be the rising star of the ingredients world. With dozens of health applications and a growing notoriety across the globe, consumers are rushing to find health products with high-quality thymoquinone, the secret active ingredient behind its success. Our Villa Blu startup, l’Officine du Monde, is blowing up on TikTok, with +12M views in the last few months providing insights to their loyal community.
Investment News
Some news about fundraising for our entrepreneurs 💸
After cracking the UK market and penetrating the EU market, Skuma Water have closed their £500K Bridge round with Angels from around the world, to help them scale, industrialise and develop new health & performance infusions for their products.
Another beverage, but a completely different vision for health, Symbiose Kefir, is working on delicious probiotic drinks with a focus on natural gut health. They’ve closed over €1.5M over the past two years and are now finishing a €500K bridge round with just a few spaces left. They’re looking for the last €150K from Business Angels.
Connect with Benjamin for more info : benjamin@symbiose-kefir.frFrozmetics, a biotech developing the Cryoserum™️, a new technology to preserve active ingredients in liquid form at freezing temperatures, is raising their Pre-Seed round at €400K with over 50% secured.
You can chat with Fred, their CEO : f.ghenassia@frozmetics.com
Final Notes
Batch 4 going strong, Batch 5 getting ready and lots of new projects at Villa Blu for this new year. Next month we’ll be talking about the Robertet Innovation Day and our new partnerships with an influencer in the Health & Wellness industry 💊
See you all next month 🫡