Home / Case Studies / Gisou & ILG: A Natural Partnership

Webinar: Expand Your Canadian Business into the UK & EU with Confidence – Register now!

Case Study

Gisou & ILG: A Natural Partnership

Netherlands-based sustainable beauty brand Gisou brings traditional honey-infused hair and skincare formulations to thousands of customers in Europe and the US. But back in 2021 post-Brexit regulation made access to the lucrative UK market difficult at a time of record demand from online shoppers. In response, Gisou turned to ILG to set up a D2C fulfillment operation within the UK. Since then, ILG has partnered Gisou through its spectacular international sales growth and diversification into high street retail.

“When it comes to fulfillment, ILG are absolute superstars. If we need to move fast, they have agility like I’ve not seen before in other 3PLs. And they hit their KPIs every time!”

Sophia van der Schaaf, Head of Logistics & Warehousing, Gisou

The Story

“Gisou haircare and complexion harnesses the transformative benefits of Mirsalehi Honey and rich botanical sources, selected to enhance your natural beauty.”

Founded by fashion and beauty blogger Negin Mirsalehi, the Gisou brand was inspired by her Iranian family’s six-generation heritage of beekeeping and use of homemade honey in haircare treatments. In 2015, Gisou launched its signature Honey Infused Hair Oil, based on a secret honey haircare recipe created by Negin’s mother. Today, Gisou skin and haircare products are still made with the finest, sustainably sourced ingredients and enjoyed by a fast-growing following of loyal customers across Europe and the US.

Fulfillment Services

The Results

Brexit-Proof Access to UK Customers

With almost 15% of its European sales coming from UK customers, Gisou quickly felt the benefit of switching its UK e-comm fulfillment operation to ILG in 2021. Keeping distribution within UK borders (versus shipping orders from the Netherlands) removed Brexit red tape, cut shipping costs and gave their UK online customers a faster, smoother buying experience.

Perfect Recipe for Growth

Since 2021, Gisou has seen consistent double-digit growth and ILG has successfully flexed to stay ahead of the brand’s fast-changing needs. This included an upgrade to a newer and larger fulfillment center to manage higher volumes of inbound stock, rollout of Retain.me services to retarget customers more effectively and a rapid pivot to support Gisou’s evolving UK omnichannel strategy, first through Selfridges (in 2021) and Harrods & Cult Beauty (in 2022) and then Sephora (2024).

As Gisou continues to broaden its appeal, push into new markets and extend its retail reach, partnership with ILG enables the brand to scale with agility while minimizing environmental impact. Like Gisou, ILG is fully committed to sustainable practices and our Zero-By-Thirty promise to be carbon-neutral by 2030 is aligned with Gisou’s mission to shrink carbon-footprint across its supply chain.

For more information about Gisou, visit
gisou.com