The origins of NatéoSanté lie in the story of one man. In 2007, Thierry Ricci was suffering from chronic allergies and had difficulty breathing. The medicinal solutions offered to sooth his symptoms did not agree with him. They were aggressive and had serious side effects. Dissatisfied, Ricci sought inspiration by visiting the United States and China. Upon discovering the existence of air purifiers, he understood that his health was a reflection of the quality of air that he was breathing. This invisible but essential element was at the source of his health problems. By treating the air pollution that surrounded him, he would not only cure his own respiratory ailments but perhaps those of other sensitive people as well.

In 2009, using his skills as an electronics engineer, Ricci designed his first air purifier. “There were already machines advertised as air purifiers but they used chemicals to clean the air. It was an absurdity that I didn’t want to reproduce,” says the director. The objective was to investigate the subject of air quality from a different angle. An air purifier often mitigates the discomfort of a suffering person. It was obvious to Ricci that, beyond providing a technical solution, the important thing was to be able to guarantee performance to people entrusting their health to him. What a responsibility! A non-polluting air purifier that guaranteed healthy air instead of simply improving air quality: that was his challenge. After several months of R&D, the self-employed entrepreneur launched the company’s (then called “Habitat Confort Santé” or “Habitat Comfort Health”) very first website to offer the first indoor air purifiers guaranteeing total safety: a revolution in the marketplace. The craze for the product that followed the first year of operation confirmed Ricci’s intuition. His product provides a solution to real suffering and air quality is a health issue that must be given better consideration.

From the heart of the home to the heart of the company

As requests continued to pour in and the first employees joined the company, a phone call from the Orient heralded a new stage of growth in 2013. In China, expatriates working for a French car manufacturer in the Shanghai area were concerned about the health of their families and had learned about Habitat Confort Santé \Habitat Comfort Health’s indoor air purifiers. After ordering their air purifiers privately, the resultant health benefits were communicated to the company’s occupational health department. The switch from private to professional, from B2C to B2B, was underway.

Another French car manufacturer, also based in Shanghai, was also interested in air purifiers and placed a substantial order. “In order to convince the Global Purchasing Director to choose us over a long-standing player in air pollution control, I made a personal commitment to ensure that the employees were satisfied. I visited the teams on-site myself both to meet them and measure the performance of our purifiers,” says Ricci.

Listening to concerns, overcoming uncertainty

Working for professionals required a huge change in scale. The teams were strengthened because the challenge was significant. The name of the company was changed to “NatéoSanté”. ‘Nat‘ stands for “Nature”, as we want to produce our air purifiers in the most eco-friendly manner. Then, ‘éo‘ stands for “Aeolus”, the divine keeper of the winds in ancient Greek mythology. ‘Santé‘ means health in English. Health is always a cause for concern. The promise to keep: the provision of a quality air purification service, whose performance could be measured by clear and quantified results: a market innovation. “Each user must be able to ensure, in their home or company, that the environment is healthy and its occupants protected”, explains Ricci.

It was the fierce determination to design a product of societal utility that allowed the gathering of key skills, the involvement of the project’s team members and the overcoming of technological hurdles. The EOLIS Air Manager adventure was launched! Every aspect of the product had to be consistent with the company’s values: design, eco-design, French manufacture, performance… In parallel, from 2017 to 2018, new business issues were taken into account by the teams as they discovered a new professional environment each month. Business specificities are not easily translated into industrial logic!

Close ranks, play as a team and aim high

In 2019, the B2B switchover was made and international ventures launched in Romania, Senegal, India… Internally, all NatéoSanté employees are driven by the same conviction to act for the health of all and to empower the ability to change things. “We don’t come simply to find a job but to join a mission”. Each team member is imbued with this commitment and fully supports the integrity of the NatéoSanté approach.

Very High Density (VHD) Activated Carbon Filter