BASF boosts emollient production capacity with decade-high investment

BASF has opened a production plant in Düsseldorf, Germany, dedicated to specialty emollients for skin care and sun care products. The company says it invested a mid-double-digit million-euro amount in the project, marking its largest investment at the Düsseldorf site in a decade. 

With the new production plant, BASF wants to increase its production capacity for specialty ingredients to better serve its customers across Europe and global markets. The company also highlights that the location uses renewable raw materials, which helps it offer more sustainable options, aligning with what consumers now expect from personal care items.

“The new plant is more than an investment in production. It is an investment in our expertise and in our ability to help customers bring differentiated products to market,” says Agus Ciputra, head of BASF’s global Personal Care business unit.

“By expanding our production capacity for specialty emollients based on renewable raw materials, we are laying the foundation for innovative personal care solutions that meet evolving consumer expectations for performance, formulation flexibility, and sustainability.”

The Düsseldorf site plays an important role in BASF’s production network. It is the company’s third-largest overall site in Europe and its biggest cosmetics production site globally.

BASF already offers its widest range of emollients at the site, and with the new plant, is now making that position even stronger. Emollients are used in personal care products for their ability to help the skin hold moisture and for improving the feel of a product when applied. 

The new plant increases BASF’s production capacity for emollients used in skin care and sun care.“We are convinced that our Düsseldorf production site is well-positioned for the future, and we are taking decisive steps to secure its competitiveness. This capacity expansion is one of the strongest signals of that commitment,” says Sven Crone, SVP of global operations, Care Chemicals, at BASF.

BASF’s strategic maneuvers

The plant fits into a broader series of moves BASF has made to reshape and reposition its personal care business.

In December, BASF sold its optical brightener business, used in laundry detergents, to Catexel. The sale was part of the company’s Winning Ways strategy, where it slimmed down its portfolio to focus on higher margin growth categories — of which cosmetic ingredients were one. 

At the same time, BASF has been heavily investing in more sustainable products as the demand for eco-friendly beauty innovation surges. The company expanded its production capabilities for biodegradable surfactants at its plant in Thailand. The company also has another production facility underway, set to open in the US later this year.

The company also has another production facility underway, set to open in the US later this year.

BASF’s biodegradable surfactants are manufactured from renewable raw materials and used in both personal care and home care formulations. The Düsseldorf emollient plant follows the same logic, as it uses renewable feedstocks to target the growing market for skin care and sun protection.

On the defensive side of BASF’s business moves, in March, the company raised prices on many of its products by around 30% due to the Iran war. The conflict has pushed up oil prices and disrupted supplies of key raw materials like ammonia and phosphate, especially in Europe.

By expanding its local production capacity in Düsseldorf, BASF could reduce its reliance on long supply chains and better control its costs. The new plant also gives the company more flexibility to serve European customers without being as vulnerable to shipping delays or price spikes.