“I did not undertake to one day sell my company to a more powerful group. I hope that my success as an entrepreneur will make it possible to share the dividends in favor of civic and environmental causes,” says Charles Kloboukoff, President and Founder of Compagnie Léa Nature. He decided to gradually transfer control of the capital to an endowment fund: FICUS Fondaction for Support Fund for Utopian and Solidarity Citizen Initiatives.
“The objective is to protect the independence and values of the company, to guarantee its future autonomy, to show that another performance model is possible, serving people and the planet,” continues the manager. .
Unknown device in France
There are nearly 1,300 shareholder foundations in Denmark, 1,000 in Sweden, 1,000 in Germany and 120 in Switzerland, but in France, the model is unknown. Such a fund finances missions of general interest with its dividends, protects against hostile actions and preserves the raison d’être of the company. It is not intended to optimize the shareholder’s tax position.
Compagnie Léa Nature is managed by the family holding company CK Invest. Eventually, an economic supervisory board will be responsible for monitoring the charter of commitments and appointing the directors. FICUS Fondaction, which holds 10.62% of CK Invest (itself holds 63% of Léa Nature) will become the majority shareholder following the gradual donation of shares, at the latest on the death of the Chairman and Founder.
The culmination of a 15-year process
For Charles Kloboukoff, this is the culmination of an environmental philanthropy initiated 15 years ago, through the brands of Compagnie Léa Nature, the first European contributor to the 1% for the Planet collective. Thus 18 of its 40 brands donated 16.5 million euros to associations between 2007 and the end of 2021.
The creator of Léa Nature transfers his company to an endowment fund
Already in 2011, the manager created the Léa Nature/Jardin BiO Foundation hosted by the Fondation de France, and four years later, he became Chairman of the 1% for the Planet France fund, which includes more than a thousand companies and French brands. Finally in 2021, with the creation of the shareholder endowment fund, it is developing social and solidarity philanthropy. Fueled by its dividends, this fund received 500,000 euros in 2021 and 550,000 euros in June 2022.
Among the causes supported are the dissemination, through education, of these alternative business models (sponsorship of the University of Poitiers), as well as the defense of human rights (support for SOS Méditerranée and the Association Eaux vives member of ‘Emmaus), and healthcare for the poorest.
Fruit of a 20-year success
Created in 1993, Compagnie Léa Nature, an independent French manufacturer of organic and natural products, employs 2,000 people and generated 500 million euros in turnover in 2021 via its brands in food, health, beauty, home care. It has 25 production sites, including 21 in France, because it is committed to its territorial roots and the development of organic agricultural land, taking care to integrate local sectors in the development of its products, and to reduce its climate impact.
“After the success of the first 20 years of Compagnie Léa Nature, we initiated a family reflection around “the company of the common good”. With my wife, we didn’t want our children to be wealthy before having traced their own path” concludes Charles Kloboukoff, whose eldest daughter Emma is the general delegate of FICUS and his three other children on its board of directors.