Their paths crossed in a DUT (technical diploma) in Marketing Techniques, in Bayonne, on the UPPA site. In 2020, on completion of this first degree, Cyrielle Mothes joined the Montpellier Business School, and Enola Fillaudeau, the UPPA's professional degree in Event Management. Four years later, they launch Woemen, a brand of men's underwear for the community.
What prompted you to join UPPA's Marketing Techniques BUT?
Enola Fillaudeau: Personally, after an STMG baccalaureate, I had no particular career in mind. I chose this course because it covered all the major business functions, not just sales, but also accounting, logistics, communication... Coming from the Médoc, I wanted to get away from my roots, but not too far away. Bayonne was a good compromise. I'm delighted with my choice, which enabled me to fine-tune my career direction. I went on to study LP Management Professionnel, again at UPPA in Bayonne, with the idea of becoming a wedding planner. As I couldn't find a work-study program in this field, I did it in a very young company in Anglet, selling gifts for all kinds of events. It was a very versatile experience - customer relations, preparing orders, running the website, finding suppliers, etc. - which came in very handy when Cyrielle and I decided to create Woemen.
Cyrielles Mothes: For my part, after completing my A-levels, I did this DUT with an entrepreneurial mindset. I didn't know anything about the business world, and I wanted to acquire a practical grounding so that one day - maybe - I could realize my dream of setting up my own business! At the end of the DUT, I was supposed to go abroad, but Covid put the brakes on my project. So I did a Master's degree in Digital Marketing on a sandwich course. M1 at a communications agency in Bassussarry, where I was the link between clients and the graphics studio, and M2 at BNP Paribas in Paris as a tennis sponsorship manager.
What memories do you have of your training at UPPA?
E.F: I have excellent memories. I didn't have the shock of the big university and the anonymity. In the DUT, the classes resembled a high school class and the teachers knew us well. Over and above the program, this training enabled me to get to know myself better, particularly through business games. I got on really well with Cyrielle in the group work, and we immediately saw that we complemented each other.
C.M: The DUT is a bit like “studying with your family”. You're not a number... Any fears I might have had about leaving Bordeaux were quickly dispelled. UPPA made me grow up. I really recommend this course.
Two or three words that you spontaneously associate with UPPA?
Solidarity - Conviviality - Friendship - Intellectual and personal development
In January 2024, you launched Woemen, a brand of men's solidarity underwear. What makes your concept so original?
E.F: I'd like to go back over the gestation of Woemen. It took two years from idea to launch. Two years during which we fine-tuned the project, launched questionnaires, met partners... In 2022, we got together one evening over a pizza. Cyrielle was still in her Master's program, and I was working in events management. A number of things brought us together: a good friendship, joint projects that had always gone well, a desire for a little more adrenalin in our respective jobs, and a desire to create something that made sense. Not just to sell a product!
The inspiration came from a context marked by the MeToo movement, by the many scandals linked to male-female relations, by extreme feminism and a generation a little lost. Our product had to unite the genders and be part of a positive approach.
C.M: The challenge was to find a product that not only connects men and women, but also allows men to associate themselves with a feminine cause. Like many young women of our generation, we were sensitive to menstrual precariousness. The cause had been found. All that remained was the product. In the end, underwear won out because it's an intimate product. The link between the two is the payment of 1 euro per boxer sold to the Nantes-based company Jho, which produces organic cotton sanitary protection that respects women's health. For the first year, our aim is to distribute 10,000 Jho sanitary pads in shopping centers. All women are concerned. The sale of one boxer generates the redistribution of 4 protections. Our business plan convinced a bank to grant us a loan, and the company was born in January 2024. For the moment, we're marketing the range - made from organic cotton in Portugal - in BtoC via our website and in BtoB via sports clubs. The message is getting through, and both men and women can relate to it!
Want to know more?
Site internet Woemen BUT Techniques de Commercialisation
Propos recueillis par Florence Elman.
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