Minimalist packaging: Monsieur Du Monde

We got a chance to talk with Omar El Rachwani, CEO of Monsieur Du Monde, a German brand becoming the Gentleman’s choice for men’s accessories.

Once a finance tycoon in the German banking world, Omar used his skills alongside his multicultural background to jump into his own entrepreneurial venture and create the brand - Monsieur du Monde.

Omar recounted the story of his brand and what it stands for. From values all the way to product design, his journey also covers the importance of packaging to develop a wholesome brand image.

Dive into Monsieur du Monde's story below.

Question: Could you tell us a little bit about your background? When did the idea of Monsieur Du Monde begin?

Answer: Sure! Well, I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and then went on to do my Master’s degree and further specialise further in the marketing field.

After working for some time in a large German bank, I knew I wanted my life to turn in a different direction, and I decided to begin my own entrepreneurial journey starting my own brand.

In December of 2018, Monsieur Du Monde was born.

Q: What inspired you to use a French name for your brand?

A: The inspiration came from my multicultural background. You see, my mum is from Germany and my dad from Lebanon. Plus, my second language is French.

That’s why I wanted an international name. I’ve always considered myself an international person, a man of the world, and wanted my brand to reflect just that.

Q: Can you tell us what your vision for Monsieur Du Monde is? How do you see your brand in the future?

A: The goal is for Monsieur Du Monde to become a well-known and established brand of Men’s Accessories in the German market.

As a vision, we want the brand to be a representation of unity in diversity. We are a German company, with a French name made up of a multicultural team of founders and want that message to be depicted across Monsieur du Monde.

The products we offer include a mix of classical, elegant designs and modern designs, and every product is of outstanding quality.

Our premium collection of accessories is completely made in Germany and it’s available at a great price.

Q: What marketing tools and tactics would you say are the most important for your e-commerce?

A: We have acquired most of our customers through traditional online marketing techniques. We try reaching them through several channels, but social media is a big one.

Specifically, Instagram has become our most important and most efficient marketing channel.

As a young startup, IG is a really attractive platform because you can appeal to your audience in a more cost-effective way compared to other social media platforms.

Q: What has been your biggest challenge? Can you tell us more about how you’ve managed to compete in the men’s fashion industry?

A: I’m aware that we didn’t reinvent the wheel or anything, but I truly believe that we can convince people with our concept of being different.

We recently declined a six-figure investment from Qatar because we want to stay true to our beliefs and make sure the brand remains this way.

We want Monsieur du Monde to grow in a healthy way and that comes from our own work.

We based our concept on two foundations.

Firstly; our vision on unity in diversity and our philosophy on offering accessories with outstanding quality and modern design. In addition, we also big believers that companies hold social responsibility towards their communities.

This inspired to regularly donate 10% of our proceeds to social organisations in Germany.

Our second foundation is our customer experience. From the moment a user enters our website all the way to the shipping experience, customer service, and receiving their product.

We strive to offer a luxury customer experience that can be compared to Louis Vuitton, Prada, or Gucci.

Our product is nicely packed in customised yet plain shipping boxes, which includes the invoice in an elegant envelope. We try to make everything as smooth as possible and try to be there for the customer at any stage of the process.

These are the pillars of our success and excellence.

Q: What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs who want to start an e-commerce business like yourself?

A: This is a great one! First of all: They should know that it’s way harder than it looks! I don’t want to discourage young people or scare them, but you have to be realistic and forget about this illusion people tend to have that opening a successful online shop is simple.

Any e-Commerce requires a lot of hard work and you have to be willing to put in all of the necessary efforts.

So here’s my tip; know your product and more importantly get to know your target audience. When you know where to find your target market and how to connect with them, you’ll figure out the best way to communicate.

This will set you on the right track.

It’s important to bear in mind that learning this is not an easy task. It takes lots of time, patience, trial and error, and of course, money.

In the beginning, it’s completely normal to fail. But that’s how you learn you get things right, so you must not get discouraged.

You have to learn as much as you can and apply your knowledge. Go on Youtube of Udemy and learn something new every day.

Q: How important do you think packaging is when it comes to marketing a product?

A: I always like to compare packaging with a date. When I started dating my wife, I tried looking as good as possible because first impressions really count. In a way, I packed myself in order to convince my date to unpack me.

In my opinion, the same thing applies to a product.

A high-quality product deserves to be presented in the best possible packaging. Plus, packaging is the first thing our customer sees when they receive their product.

So just like with the date, we want to make the best first impression possible We deliver Monsieur du Monde products in sustainable and high-quality packaging.

Q: How did you discover Packhelp and why did you decide to go with it?

A: We found Packhelp because we researched individual customisable packaging online. And I must say we really liked the usability of the site.

We were able to easily find all the information regarding the packaging products and were also able to easily design our packaging using the online editor. You don’t need skills in Photoshop or InDesign which I really liked. The price of your order is also calculated immediately and in a click, your custom packaging is on the way.