• Three young people from Finistère have just launched their “made in France” running brand.

  • The shoes will be made in the Mauges near Cholet.

  • The first models will be marketed in early 2022.

Politicians swear by it, multiplying plans to several billion euros. But Relance is also a new brand that is about to enter the ultra-competitive running market. Behind this project, three young Finistériens, Violaine Grégoire, Florent Beng and Damien Mutambayi, all practicing running. It was the young woman, an industrial designer by training, who launched the initiative two years ago, not finding shoes to her liking. Very trendy localism, she then imagines a pair of shoes "made in France".

Her two associates quickly joined her in the adventure, one with a commercial profile and the other more financial.

"We want to show that it is possible to manufacture locally without offering ridiculous prices," says Florent Beng.

For several months, the three friends worked on the design of the shoe and looked for industrial partners to design prototypes.

The shoe will be made in the Mauges

Their first model, dubbed RL-01, finally saw the light of day in the spring and a crowdfunding campaign followed to launch the product for pre-order.

“We collected nearly 40,000 euros, which is much more than what we had planned to start a first phase of production,” says Florent Beng.

Available in four colors, the Relance has a rather clean style, going against the trend of ultra-flashy shoes.

It will be manufactured in the Mauges, very close to Cholet, while the boxes will come from the Grenoble region.

“Apart from a few small materials such as eyelets, everything will be made in France,” says the co-manager of the brand.

Our “Running” file

Sold for a little over 100 euros, the Relance shoes want to appeal to an audience of regular sportsmen.

"We are not in the ultra-efficient but it is perfectly suited to the recreational runner who does a little road or trail", specifies Florent Beng.

In the coming weeks, the first 1,500 pairs of Relance will leave the factory before being marketed from the beginning of 2022.

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