Seqens invests US$43.6M in sustainable cosmetics production to further Franco-Chinese relations

11 Apr 2023 --- Pierre Luzeau, CEO at Seqens, has announced the French cosmetics supplier’s multi-million dollar investment projects in the safer and more environmentally sustainable production of essential molecules in China. This coincides with last week’s meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and France’s President Emmanuel Macron.

During the state visit, the Seqens group touted its “historical support for a lasting Franco-Chinese friendship” and its “commitment to maintain and develop its complementary and value-creating activities in France and China.”

“I am particularly proud of the recognition of the Chinese and French authorities for the mobilization of the teams at our Taixing and Wuxi sites, which enabled us to maintain essential production at the height of the COVID-19 crisis,” remarks Luzeau.

“Convinced that a lasting Franco-Chinese friendship is both necessary and mutually beneficial, after having invested massively in Europe to strengthen our production of active pharmaceutical ingredients and essential pharmaceutical intermediates, we have decided to rely on local teams to launch three great projects in China.”

Eastern expansion horizons
Seqens has made an investment of nearly RMB 300 million (US$43.6 million) in three “major new production capacity projects” in China for the cosmetics and healthcare sectors.

Seqens has made an investment of nearly RMB 300 million (US$43.6 million) in three “major new production capacity projects” in China for the cosmetics and healthcare sectors.

These three projects will complement Seqens’ industrial facilities and investments in Europe with sustainable and competitive production closer to local markets and will support the growing demand of the healthcare and cosmetics markets for safe and sustainable products.

“I would like to thank the Seqens Group and also the local authorities of Taixing City and the Taxing Economic Development Zone for their renewed confidence and support with these three ambitious projects that will allow us to develop our high value-added activities for the manufacture of safer and more sustainable products in China,” comments Zhaoming Zhou, director of the Taixing site and vice chairman of the Yangzi Pharmaceuticals Board.

As China presents a lucrative opportunity for beauty players, understanding nuances prevalent in the eastern market remains essential. A new report by China strategy specialist Hot Pot China and The Future Laboratory consultancy recently delved deep into the attitudes and behaviors of consumers in this market, which is labeled “heavily mythologized and misunderstood.”

According to the report’s findings, Chinese consumers are exhibiting a high level of knowledge around specific ingredients. Meanwhile, product claims of skin lightening have been ranked lower on the priority list. In addition, it was found that the notion that purpose claims are equally important for buyers in China as in the West is a “myth.”

Specialist in natural beauty compounds
Seqens is a key supplier in the production of natural botanical beauty compounds. Last February, PersonalCareInsights caught up with Seqens on new bio-based skincare ingredients and insights into the role of the skin’s microbiome in reinforcing the skin barrier against pollution, dryness and irritants.

Among the company’s highlighted solutions is Sens’flower, a saffron-based active that increases the presence of markers such as profilaggrin, helping sustain the natural moisturizing factor that is key to skin barrier function.

The company also markets ingredients that help boost “mechanical protection” at skin level, such as a natural shield offered by complex sugars. “This is the case of some polysaccharides extracted from marshmallow root and gathered in Osmo’city,” adds Queiroz.

By Benjamin Ferrer

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