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Watier (Lise Watier)

Canadian-owned · made in Canada · based in Quebec

Montreal prestige skincare, makeup and fragrance brand founded by Lise Watier in 1972, owned by Groupe Marcelle since 2016.

Montreal, QC CA · watier.com

88.3

Watier is the Montreal prestige cosmetics brand Lise Watier launched in 1972, now a brand of Groupe Marcelle Inc., the Lachine, Quebec cosmetics maker controlled by David Cape, with the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec as the minority investor from the 2016 deal. The brand says its head office is still in Montreal and that many of its products are manufactured and distributed in Canada, and the group says it makes 8 million products a year. Ingredient origins are only partly disclosed, so the inputs split is an estimate.

Factors

Ownership

100.0 verified

CA 100%

Corporations Canada shows Lise Watier Cosmétiques Inc. (963583-1) amalgamated into Groupe Marcelle Inc. (963604-8) on 2016-02-18, and Groupe Marcelle Inc.'s individuals with significant control register, confirmed 2025-07-25, names only David Cape of Westmount, Quebec, holding more than 50 and up to 75 percent of the shares indirectly since that date, with Michael and David Cape as directors at Montreal addresses. The Canadian Press reported that the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec put $18 million into the acquisition, which accounts for the unnamed minority and is also Canadian; the brand's own terms page names Groupe Marcelle Inc. as the site operator and its story page calls Watier a Groupe Marcelle brand. Groupe Marcelle Holdings Inc. (954328-7) lists one director in Santa Barbara, California among five in Montreal, but its ISC register names David Cape alone at more than 75 percent, so no foreign owner appears on any registry.

Manufacturing

87.0 reported

CA 85% · EU 5% · other 5% · US 5%

The brand's FAQ says many of its products are manufactured and distributed in Canada, and the parent describes itself as Canada's largest cosmetics manufacturer making 8 million products a year from its Lachine, Quebec site, which also served as the Lise Watier returns address in Mont-Royal. The word many, not all, plus Made in CA's note that some products such as eye pencils are partially made in the US, means a share of the makeup and fragrance lines is contract-made abroad; the 85 percent Canadian share is an estimate, not a published figure, and the vendor names no facility for the remainder.

  • FAQ – Watier vendor_statement “Our products reflect this heritage from development and design to customer care. Many are also manufactured and distributed right here in Canada.”
  • Groupe Marcelle Cosmétiques -L'employeur beauté fièrement canadien – Groupe Marcelle Inc. vendor_statement “Le plus grand fabricant de cosmétiques au Canada. Nous sommes 350 employés. Nous fabriquons 8 millions de produits par année. Nous fournissons 3500 magasins à travers le Canada”
  • Cosmetics: Lise Watier (Groupe Marcelle) 🍁 | Made in CA directory “Lise Watier, at least, is 100% made in Montreal. ... However, there are some products that are partially made in the US (including their eye pencils).”
  • The CANADA List directory “Canadian-owned by Groupe Marcelle, with minority ownership by CDPQ (Quebec Pension Fund). Manufacturing, sourcing, and testing are majority undertaken in Canada, mostly Quebec.”

People

100.0 reported

CA 100%

The brand says it was founded in Montreal where its head office is still located, and the parent's careers page lists a single workplace, the Lachine, Quebec head office, which is also the registered office on the federal record. The group says it has 350 employees and no source names a team outside Canada, though the brand ships to the continental United States.

Inputs

48.0 inferred

CA 40% · EU 20% · other 20% · US 20%

The vendor says it uses a variety of Canadian-sourced botanicals, minerals and extracts, naming Labrador tea, and Made in CA relays a company claim that 80 percent of processing and materials come from Canada, but no page lists origins for the emollients, pigments, fragrance compounds and packaging components that make up most of a cosmetic line, and those are largely imported from the US, Europe and Asia. The split is an estimate weighted toward the vendor's Canadian sourcing claim.

  • FAQ – Watier vendor_statement “Watier proudly uses a variety of Canadian-sourced ingredients in its formulas—from botanicals and minerals to powerful natural extracts inspired by Canada's rich landscapes.”
  • Canadian Ingredients – Watier vendor_statement “With exclusive Labrador Tea extract, a highly potent Canadian antioxidant”
  • Cosmetics: Lise Watier (Groupe Marcelle) 🍁 | Made in CA directory “That said, Lise Watier and Groupe Marcelle says 80% of their processing and materials come from Canada.”

Where to buy

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