Yves Rocher, the founder of the eponymous cosmetics and beauty products company five decades ago, has died at the age of 79 in a Paris hospital.

Rocher, originally from Brittany, founded the company in 1959 and built it into a global business with annual sales of more than 2 billion euros. The company employs more than 13,000 people in 88 countries across the world. The company, which pioneered natural beauty products, was renowned for cultivating its own plants.
 

Apart from his role within the company, Rocher was also mayor of La Gacilly in Brittany and had been awarded the Legion d'Honneur. The office of French President Nicolas Sarkozy offered condolences in a statement on Saturday.