Hi! My name is Eva Poelmann, and I recently completed my internship for one of the most well-known Dutch beauty companies – Gisou. My role was PR and influencer marketing assistant in the influencer marketing team, which I was a part of from February to July.
The brand was founded in 2016 by the influencer Negin Mirsalehi and her partner Maurits Stibbe, and is well-known for their honey infused hair care. Honey is a key component of not only the products, but also the brand philosophy. Created on the foundation of a long line of beekeepers, Mirsalehi being an active beekeeper herself, Gisou has the mission of creating effective products whilst simultaneously drawing awareness to the bees and beekeeping industry. Honeybees are not only essential to keeping the global population alive, but to thrive as well – more than a third of bees pollinate the globe’s crops!
This is not something I was familiar with when I started the internship. In fact, I knew very little about the impact bees carry for our environment. I knew that Gisou based its products on honey, but I had no idea of the initiative the brand takes in terms of educating their consumers about the vital importance of bees. That changed when Bee Season ‘22’ came around.
Bee Season is the time of year when bees are most active, which usually starts in spring and goes on until late autumn. During this time of year, Gisou has special events scattered across these months in order to raise awareness, educate and inspire a new generation of beekeepers. It began with the Bee Season Pop Up. Every year, Gisou travels to a new location and opens a pop-up store for one weekend only dedicated to selling Gisou products, along with limited edition Bee Season merchandise and flower seeds. This year, the pop-up was in Amsterdam. For four days (and many weeks prior) the entire Gisou team was hands on in helping build a bee season floral honey wonderland. The pop-up sold Gisou’s bestselling products like the Honey Infused Hair Oil or the Honey Infused Lip Oil, as well as limited edition Bee Season merch and honey from the Mirsalehi bee garden. It was truly a special event to be a part of.
The work on Bee Season does not stop at the pop up. For the first time ever, Gisou introduced the Gisou Bee Learning course. This course is a comprehensive and educational step-by-step program that supports the brand’s core mission, which is to raise awareness about the importance of bees. The course is directed at Gisou’s customers, and is created for those aspiring to become beekeepers themselves. It dives into the world of bees, their importance and that of the beekeepers who play a crucial role in the colonies’ health as well as helping them thrive. In order to promote the Gisou Bee Learning course, my team was responsible for sourcing beekeepers active on social media. The idea was that these beekeepers would create content about the nature of bees and beekeeping that Gisou would post on their social media. My role, specifically, was to find young female beekeepers to adhere to the female empowerment angle the brand likes to portray as well.
It was incredibly special to see a successful beauty brand not only focus on selling products, but also using their platform to raise awareness on a matter that rarely gets mainstream attention. Furthermore, it was very inspiring to see an entire company dedicated to one cause and all working collectively to bring about a vision. It felt authentic and not performatory whatsoever, and made working in PR and influencer marketing a real joy.
