Founded in 1958, the company is present in 88 countries across five continents with some 13,500 employees worldwide.
It has an annual turnover of around 2 billion euros, according to local media figures.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a statement on Saturday to pay homage to Yves Rocher, describing the entrepreneur as "a French industrialist, inventor of plant-based cosmetics and pioneer of mail order retail."
The Yves Rocher company maintains a botanical garden at its research and development base at the La Gacilly in northwestern France. The garden opens to the public without charge. It also has a foundation providing financial and educational aid to women and children in poor African countries.