Weekly Roundup: Clariant expands China production, Serena Williams launches Will Perform

16 Dec 2022 --- This week in personal care news, Clariant invested CHF 80 million (US$86 million) to bolster the production capacity of its Care Chemicals facility in Huizhou, China. Evolva debuted Natural Nootkatone by Evolva – a natural ingredient at the highest purity level, meeting all requirements to be qualified as “natural” in the EU and the US. Tennis champion Serena Williams launched Will Perform to reframe recovery as performance care with its range of products.

Business news
Innbeauty Project, a clean and accessible skincare brand for the next generation, closed a US$12 million Series B investment led by leading consumer investor Alliance Consumer Growth (ACG) with participation from existing investors Strand Equity and Beechwood Capital. As part of this investment, ACG managing partner Julian Steinberg will join the company’s board. Funds will be allocated toward growing the brand and supporting its exposure in Sephora, with plans to expand distribution to Sephora Canada’s omnichannel operation in the first half of 2023.

Innbeauty secured US$12 million Series B investment.Clariant announced the expansion of its Care Chemicals facility in Daya Bay, Huizhou, China, to boost support for pharmaceutical, personal care, home care and industrial application customers. The CHF 80 million (US$86 million) investment will see capacity increases for existing products and the introduction of new products by the end of 2024. Clariant will also expand existing production capacity for its ethylene oxide derivatives and a broader chemical portfolio at Daya Bay. As a result, it will increase its production of more sustainable ingredients. One of those is the EcoTain-labeled plant-based Hostapon mild surfactant, which supports formulators in developing milder, cleaner beauty in applications such as solid beauty bars, body washes and cream-type shampoos.

Edgewell Personal Care announced that its private label business unit, previously known as Private Brands Group, is rebranding to Edgewell Custom Brands for a more “modern look and a refreshed online presence.” Formerly known as Personna.com, the new website can be found at EdgewellCustomBrands.com. This switch represents the group’s evolution to address its customers’ distinct and changing needs.

Fragrance Creators Association announced the creation of the Fragrance Creators Association Responsible Industry Stewardship Pledge. The pledge is a commitment to advance ten fundamental principles centered around environmental and social impacts, sustainability, employee growth and development, worker safety and good governance. Individual member companies practice responsible product, brand and corporate stewardship.

­­Shinsegae International signed an agreement with Orveon Global for exclusive distribution rights to Laura Mercier in Korea. Shinsegae International plans to open more Laura Mercier stores at major department stores and duty-free shops while selling the products online through the Shinsegae-owned e-commerce shop SiVillage.

Partnerships
Azelis expanded its Home Care & Industrial Cleaning (HC&IC) presence in the Philippines through a new distribution agreement with Novozymes. Phil-Asiatic Supply & Services (PSSI), an Azelis company, will distribute Novozymes’ enzymes for cleaning solutions. According to Novozymes, partnering with Azelis and PSSI will allow the company to provide customers with formulations that are more innovative, sustainable and aligned with leading market trends. Besides having a shared focus on sustainability, the strategic partnership will also allow Novozymes to accelerate its growth by capitalizing on Azelis and PSSI’s ability to create tailored solutions, provide dedicated laboratory facilities and drive solid commercial opportunities.Serena Williams launched Will Perform to reframe recovery as performance care.

Sirenas, a chemical discovery company harnessing computational metabolomics for natural product drug discovery, and Hume Supernatural personal care product company, announced a strategic collaboration to bring new natural ingredients from diverse marine and terrestrial sources into the personal care space. The companies plan to work together to identify, test and bring to market ingredients that enhance the efficacy of Hume’s personal care products, including deodorants, body oil and more.

Launches and releases
Evolva debuted Natural Nootkatone by Evolva – a natural ingredient at the highest purity level, meeting all requirements to be qualified as “natural” in the EU and the US. This broadens Evolva’s existing Nootkatone offering for fragrance applications and opens up new addressable markets based on naturality and sustainability. The ingredient is being launched with selected Evolva customers and will see a full market rollout in the first half of 2023.

Tennis champion Serena Williams launched Will Perform – a collection of clean, cruelty-free topical pain relief and daily muscle care solutions designed to ritualize self-care. Intended for athletes and anyone leading an active lifestyle, the launch assortment will include five products, spanning four categories: ‘Will Relieve’ and ‘Will Cool’ offering pain relief and ‘Will Rest’ and ‘Will Soothe’ products for daily skin and muscle care. The collection aims to reframe recovery as performance care with its range of products.

Kx Family Care released a CBD personal care line embracing the native healing botanicals of Jamaica by utilizing plant-based healing elements at the core of its products. The debut collection features the brand’s limited edition holiday bundle with multipurpose hair, beard oil and pain relief balm. Full Spectrum CBD oil, free of THC, is used in the products for its anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antioxidant properties. Sunflower oil, also found in both products, boasts many benefits, including vitamin E and linoleic acid, which contain antioxidants that help protect the skin from free radicals and maintain its natural barrier. Additional ingredient highlights include black seed oil, mangosteen extract and soursop, all widely used in Jamaican culture for their regenerative properties.

Walker and Company announced the launch of its men’s grooming brand Bevel at Ulta Beauty. Aimed at making products and tools accessible to all men with curly, textured hair and melanin-rich skin, Bevel’s new relationship with Ulta Beauty plans to offer access to products that solve the health and grooming issues faced by men of color.

Kylie Minogue's  Disco Darling fragrance is inspired by her latest album.
Kylie Minogue launched Disco Darling in partnership with Scent Beauty. Inspired by the pop star’s latest album, DISCO, the floral, musky and fruit-infused fragrance was brought to life by the perfumers at Firmenich. It features notes of bergamot, sparkling cassis and crisp apple with a heart of jasmine, white peony and raspberry. The base of vanilla orchids, musks and ambrox invoke a night out and echo the euphoria of disco in today’s olfactory vocabulary, the brand shared.

New York double board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Yael Halaas introduced BTL Aesthetics’ latest device, Emface, into her practice. Emface is a non-invasive technology targeting facial skin and the underlying muscles to sculpt features and decrease fine lines throughout the face, utilizing a patented combination of muscle contraction and skin tissue heating. The device claims to have delivered 37% fewer wrinkles, 30% more muscle tone, 23% more lift and a 26% increase in collagen production, on average.

Ouai, the hair care and lifestyle brand founded by Jen Atkin, unveiled an anti-dandruff shampoo. The product is the brand’s first to contain an FDA-approved ingredient – 2% salicylic acid. The formula works to reduce flaking, itching and irritation associated with dandruff. In a consumer study of 103 participants over 28 days, 92% of users reported that their dandruff had improved after using the anti-dandruff shampoo.

Acquisitions and mergers
Marico South-East Asia entered a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Beauty X. Beauty X owns female personal care brands – Purité de Prôvence and Ôliv – which offer a range of premium and differentiated hair care and skin care products in Vietnam, such as shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, face wash and lotions. Marico is one of India’s leading consumer products companies in global beauty and wellness. In FY 2021-22, Marico recorded a turnover of about US$1.3 billion through its products sold in India and chosen markets in Asia and Africa. In Vietnam, Marico is a leading player in the male grooming personal care category, represented by its brand X-Men.

Awards and recognitions
Decorté, Japan’s luxury beauty brand, won accolades in the US for its skincare breakthrough, Liposome Advanced Repair Serum, launched earlier this year. The serum was honored with the Elle Future of Beauty Award 2022 and recently won the People en Español Star Product Award and the Harper’s Bazaar Skincare Award for Best Repairing Serum.

IFF became the “first and currently only” company to receive Move-level certification twice from EDGE, the global assessment and business certification for gender and intersectional equity. Earning certification entails a third-party review of gender representation, pay equity, the effectiveness of policies and practices and the inclusiveness of an organization’s culture. As part of the assessment, a global survey is distributed to employees to gauge their perception of gender equity in the workplace.

By Radhika Sikaria

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