I discovered this innovative Portuguese cosmetics range while researching the December edition’s Buy Local feature and contacted the founder, Luís Pereira, for an interview to find out more about what it takes to create a unique Portuguese brand.
Having originally worked for leading international brands like Cartier and Jean Paul Gautier, Luís Pereira founded 100ml in 2008, making him part of a growing trend in Portugal to create brands with a national identity.
Luís gained his experience in this sector, being responsible for the elite French brands in Portugal. He noticed that, while Portugal had some leading soap and scent brands in the 1980s, with the emergence of the mass market, it had become difficult for them to compete on the world stage. What changed in the last 10 to 15 years is the emergence of specialist stores stocking only national products in Portugal.
He cites the “longing for Portuguese products and forgotten traditions as the starting point of this adventure”, which led to him launching his first men’s brand, Antiga Barbearia de Bairro, in 2010. The brand’s products are named after Lisbon’s neighbourhoods. Its scents and packaging reflect this beautiful city’s sounds, colours, gardens, routines, smells and architecture.
Rui Melo is Antiga Barbearia de Bairro’s brand designer who was inspired by the tradition of the Portuguese barbershops, a testimony and a meeting point of its streets and neighbourhood. Today this spirit has been reinvented and rediscovered, and the barbershops are the new meeting points in the city, celebrating the man, new habits and the cult of the beard with a new perspective.
When I question Luís on how he has marketed the range, his simple focus is on getting into the best stores, and he cites Mar D’Éstorias in Lagos as being a good example of a retail outlet stocking only Portuguese products. The company does not sell directly to consumers.
According to data from the National Statistics Institute of Portugal, the country’s tourism industry has experienced continuous growth in visitor numbers since 2009. In 2020, there was a slight decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on global travel, which was a tough time for 100ml, as it was for many small businesses. Despite this blip, Portugal has experienced consistent year-on-year increases in tourism arrivals, reflecting its growing popularity as a tourist destination. There is also no doubt that this has increased the demand for products which reflect the country’s identity, but Luís also believes that many Portuguese themselves like to buy a national product which reflects pride in their cultural heritage.
Having started his original company 15 years ago, Luís launched Leme in 2023, which takes national identity to the next level with each product celebrating the age of discoveries. The scents are developed by a Portuguese perfume company from the North called I-senses.
In July, Leme launched a new Algarve range, which was a huge success. The scent is evocative of the orange, which is abundant across the Algarve, with a hint of fresh cucumber to give it the feeling of the warmth experienced in the region. The marketing campaign focused on a couple hitchhiking to evoke a sense of freedom and adventure. The soaps are wrapped in beautifully vibrant paper featuring oranges and hand-designed by illustrator, Rita Pereira.
The Algarve range commemorates 1434 when Gil Eanes discovered Cape Bojador, a headland on the west coast of Western Sahara. Previously it was feared what lay beyond this point and whether sailors would ever return once it was navigated. Passing this barrier led the Portuguese to move further around the North African coast and the discovery of the Azores and the establishment of its colonial empire.
Now, 100ml is trying to expand its empire with Abriga Barberieira de Bairro, currently stocked in over 20 stores in Europe and the UK. Luís tells me that the government offers support to attend international trade fairs to launch Portuguese products abroad. “To start a company is easier than it used to be,” he says. “The bureaucracy is better than it was 20 years ago and the EU is a great trading platform, so it is easy to sell abroad.”
The 100ml website invites us to discover a new journey across ‘seas never sailed before’ – this company’s voyage of discovery is not only a testament to Portugal’s past but also to its future. From what I have seen, there is a new energy in Portugal with business start-ups facilitated by the world rediscovering Portugal’s beauty, culture and history.
The perfumes are available on the AndaVer Portugal website and at selected stores.
