Interview of Cyril Aroule, CEO of O2la group about his view on eCommerce

Export Portal: Could you introduce yourself and tell us some words about your company? 

Cyril Aroule: My name is Cyril Aroule. I’ve lived most of my life in Asia (Singapore and India) - despite being French (my father being an expat). O2LA was founded at the end of my Master Degree with two associates, Mateusz DUBIEL and Ksenia KOROBOVA. We’ve all lived abroad during the first half of our lives (Russia, Poland, India, and Singapore) enabling us to be very open-minded towards people but more important innovation. 

We met in France during our first year of Masters and we quickly bonded over many subjects and notably the will of one day becoming entrepreneurs. We came up with the name O2LA with inspiration to a French noun « au-delà » after realizing the potential our cocktails could have. 

Ksenia grew up surrounded by Oxygen Cocktails but was astonished to not be able to find them in France. We flew to Russia where we witnessed the product in Pharmacies. They could both be used as a detox drink and a fantastic new way of consuming an alcoholic cocktail. We knew there was something that could be done at this point. It was the beginning of our adventure. 

EP: So what is an O2LA cocktail? 

CA: The concept comes from Russia where Oxygen Cocktails is used as a medical detox drink. Studies show that Oxygen, when blended with a nutrient is the best way to provide one’s body with oxygen other than breathing. But if you have ever tried infusing beverages with oxygen, it doesn’t cope at all. That’s where the O2LA magic begins.

EP: Do you have an eCommerce site? 

CA: We do not have an eCommerce site for the moment but it is planned. The reason why we haven’t put it in motion is the fact that we wanted to start with a campaign of communication. The product being unknown to the public, it wouldn’t be wise nor would it be simple to sell anything online. We would also be taking a risk of selling a product that wouldn’t be used in a suitable way, resulting in a negative impact of the image of our company. 

EP: What would be the advantages of selling online?

CA: Once our products are recognized by the public, the advantages of selling online would be immense. Firstly, an eCommerce site is very convenient for a customer. They would be able to find all the information they require on the site and would easily be able to purchase without having a need to directly contact us. Secondly, we would have fewer management fees and we would also be able to target a larger audience giving us bigger visibility. Thirdly, we would be able to concentrate our efforts at first on communication and our image branding.

Takeaways

As ever, eCommerce is a promising venture for every SME owner to expand their business and generate real success. Oxygen Cocktails and O2LA sound like a very promising business venture, and we at Export Portal look forward to Cyril Aroule’s success and venture to eCommerce. 

Stay in the loop with Export Portal

Export Portal is the best place to get the latest updates in the import/export world. Sign up for our newsletter today and stay informed.