Word from Sarah Laroche, President and founder of SELV RITUEL

On May 4, 2024, I left for Toronto with the whole team for the filming of Dragon's Den . We were really excited about this new and beautiful opportunity. I wanted to live this moment with my gang. This gang who works body and soul every day for this beautiful mission: to offer natural products, well made, designed with conscience, made from A to Z without leaving anything out. Made with love and passion for our environment.

Selv was born from this way of life. I have been making my own natural products since I was little. At one point, I didn't even think about buying a beauty product because I made it at home. I was 100% in control of the ingredients, 100% in control of the quality of what I applied to my body, my hair, my face. After all... Why pay attention to what you eat, but not to what you put on your skin? The skin absorbs everything, it transmits to our body everything it receives. I couldn't imagine taking a bath with toxic ingredients. What would be the point? Why don't so many people take the time to think about the products they apply to their body?

For me, we only have one body, and we have to take care of it. You're probably going to say, "She talks about wellness, but she's fat." Imagine: I eat extremely well, I eat more vegetables and fruits than anything else, I drink water, I don't drink alcohol, I work out, I'm hyperactive... And yet, since I was very young, I've been overweight. This is how my body and I live together in harmony. My Native American roots, my genetics, probably take over what I can do to eliminate this fat that surrounds me. But that doesn't define me. I deeply believe that you can be in excellent health, even with excess weight, as long as your overall well-being is good. Self-esteem has nothing to do with weight.

I worked in the photography field for 26 years, working with hundreds of models and artists who didn't like themselves despite their bodies being considered "dream standards". Me, with my love handles, I was there, filled with love for who I was and what I represented. In the end, I am a woman with a beautiful body. This body allows me to live extraordinary experiences every day, and I am grateful to it.

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Let's get back to our time on Dragon's Den . I had already had the experience twice with the Dragons show in Quebec, one of the best experiences of my life as an entrepreneur. Thanks again to the whole team, who were incredible with me and my company.

This appearance on Dragon's Den today, January 9, is symbolic. It guides the beginning of our year in a way. 2024 was an intense year to live through: sometimes sad, sometimes joyful, like when we finally see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. But nothing is a given, and nothing is easy in entrepreneurship.

Selv. Rituel wants to be eco-responsible, human, vegan, handmade, in order to keep this pure contact with each of the products we deliver. This utopia, which sometimes seems improbable, is our mission: to do good while realizing my dreams of promoting well-being. And not just by selling it, but by doing it. It would have been easy to have all our products manufactured abroad for a pittance, with materials over which I would have had no control, in order to increase profits. But it is impossible for me to betray my convictions and my values ​​in the name of money. Never. That is not how I operate. I have always fought for my ideals. For life, for death.

No amount of money will change my mind. If, in the entrepreneurial world, it is impossible to have ambitious ideas while respecting our values, our planet, the humans who work with us, pure and good for us ingredients, and respect for animals… then what's the point?

I could never be proud of myself if I succumbed to the temptation of money at the expense of my principles. I would rather fail than break my promise to build a great company without ever giving up or compromising my values.

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There are entrepreneurs who only think about money and profitability: "How much profit did you make this year? How much? How much?" I prefer to say that this year, I treated humans with respect and dignity, that I thought about better ways to make our handmade products, that I thought about the environment – ​​our one and only planet. I prefer to say that my employees are well paid, that I collaborate, as much as possible, with companies in my province, Quebec. And if Quebec cannot meet our needs, I turn to neighboring provinces, always in Canada, then abroad as a last resort.

Every decision I make is complex because I think about a multitude of issues far beyond the simple notion of profit. I think about everything that can be affected, directly or indirectly, by our actions. My employees are souls, not robots. This humanity changes the game. I must also face the budgetary reality of supply and demand, in a context where giants produce low-cost chemicals, which attracts consumers with ridiculous prices, but to the detriment of their health.

To make my products accessible, I often reduce my margins, because it is important to me that everyone can one day get a healthy product for themselves and their family. But it is clear that producing with love and thought costs much more than producing without heart or conscience.

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Love is at the heart of everything we do. It is the engine that unites us, that feeds our own self-esteem. At Selv, we touch, see, analyze every micro-detail of the hundreds of thousands of products we send. I remember the small defects that I noticed and removed from the market to guarantee the best quality.

Handmade, love, are not perfect. At Selv, we do not claim to achieve perfection, because it does not exist. But we can guarantee that we dedicate hours to perfecting our offer and examining every detail under a magnifying glass. I spend entire nights thinking about the future of Selv, and I see beauty. A community that stands up for its own well-being and that of the planet. We will all come out winners.

Supporting a company like Selv means participating in a global well-being movement. It means supporting a promise of authenticity and benefits without compromise.

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My crew was waiting for me outside CBC. They had taken the time to wander around downtown Toronto while I was filming. I was supposed to show up alone and set up my set-up inside. But, true to form, they helped me right out on the sidewalk in front of the CBC doors to set up some furniture and cut the 300 flowers we had brought for the shoot. A few touch-ups of makeup, a final comb through using the mirror in my car, and, hey presto, they greeted me, wishing me the best of luck. We were all excited.

Six hours later, I walked out of CBC. My crew was waiting for me to charge everything. I had texted my boyfriend and two best friends to tell them that filming had been tough. The first 25 minutes had gone incredibly well, and I really thought I was going to get some deals. But then the question came: “Why did your sales drop in 2024?” I replied, “The economic crisis.” What else could I say? It’s a fact: 2024 was a terrible year for our local businesses. Over 60,000 businesses closed that year in Quebec. That’s a huge number, especially considering the limited number of businesses we already have here.

I wanted to come out victorious. I wanted them to fight for us, to make deals. But it was the opposite. I felt like a teenager facing bullies, misunderstood, wondering why they couldn't see that we were living through one of the worst economic crises. It was simple, right? There's still a year left in this crisis, but after that, everything will be better... right?

My answer to another question still haunts me today. They asked me how many products we had, and I answered "300," before correcting myself. Why did I answer 300? WHY? That mistake marked the beginning of the downward spiral. They decided we had too many products, and on that point, they were right. But in reality, it wasn't 300: I had counted the products from our bimonthly boxes in my answer. Anyway, these things happen, and life goes on. I wasn't perfect, and that's life.

Two of the Dragons were very kind to me throughout the show. They recognized the impact of the economic crisis and supported me, which softened my experience. It remains a comforting balm.

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We never know what a television appearance will bring. We hope, of course, that it will be positive and fruitful. But it goes without saying that mobilizing a team, traveling to Toronto and participating in a show of this caliber entails costs. However, the memories of this adventure will remain etched in our minds forever.

Despite how things turned out at Dragon's Den , I am deeply grateful for the opportunity. I felt proud of myself and my team. We have one motto: keep moving forward. Nothing will shake us. We experience our pain, we accept it, but then we roll up our sleeves and we go for it, straight ahead. We never back down.

My plan for the future of Selv is clear and precise. My primary mission remains to offer natural and well-made products to as many people as possible, while treating each person who contributes, directly or indirectly, to our success with love and respect.

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Selv is still a baby. We take care of it with the same attention we put into our products. We want it to grow strong and healthy. I want to thank all the people who have contributed to making Selv what it is today. Each of you has given me something, and above all, helped me grow as a human and an entrepreneur.

Nothing is impossible when you put your heart and will into it. My parents always told me, "If there is love, there will be will." This simple yet meaningful phrase remains my guide as I continue on this path.

I end by wishing you all the beautiful and the great. Remember that all dreams are possible if you put everything you have into them. There will be refusals, obstacles, but nothing will be able to distract you from conquering what springs from the depths of your heart.

As I always say: One life! Live it to the fullest! Live it to the fullest!

Sarah, with all my love