NEWS
Spain’s Persán acquires Mibelle Biochemistry owner
Spanish personal and home care product maker Persán has acquired Mibelle Group, the parent company of Mibelle Biochemistry, from Swiss retailer Migros. Mibelle Group specialises in
personal care and beauty, home care and nutrition products, as well as owning Mibelle Biochemistry, which develops active ingredients for the cosmetics and nutraceutical industries. Seville-based Persán is taking
over all employees and facilities of the Mibelle Group in Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, USA and Australia. The acquisition also includes all
legal entities that form the Mibelle Group, all supplier and customer contracts, as well as all employee contracts.
“We are continuing all our
existing activities to provide our customers with the best products and services,” said a Mibelle Biochemistry spokeswoman. “The transaction is expected to
be completed by the end of April,” she added. Not included in the sale is the
South Korean subsidiary of the Mibelle Group, Gowoonsesang Cosmetics, which has been acquired by L’Oréal last year. With the acquisition of Mibelle
Group, family-owned Persán will become one of the world’s largest private label and contract manufacturing companies with more than 3,000 employees and a turnover in excess of €1 billion ($1.1 billion). The companies have agreed not
to disclose the terms of the sale, including the price. Migros said the decision to sell
the Mibelle Group is a result of its commitment to focus on its core business with supermarkets, with an emphasis on local business in Switzerland. Migros continues to pursue a
strong own-brand strategy. The popular Migros own brands such as ‘Handy’, ‘I am’ and ‘Zoé’, which are produced by the Mibelle Group, will continue to be available at Migros.
Long-term supply agreements
have been concluded between Migros and the Mibelle Group for the home care, personal care and nutrition segments, ensuring that the Mibelle Group will remain an important strategic supplier to Migros in the future. In recent years, Persán has embarked on a course of international expansion and has also started to build its presence in the personal care sector. The acquisition of the Mibelle
Group therefore fits perfectly in Persán’s future growth strategy, said the Mibelle Biochemistry spokeswoman. The two companies complement
each other very well in terms of expertise, technology, markets and production sites, she added.
IFF, Kemira form Alpha Bio biopolymers joint venture
IFF and Kemira have formed Alpha Bio, a joint venture aimed at commercial-scale production of renewable biobased materials. With an investment of
approximately €130m ($148m), the Alpha Bio facility will start production in late 2027, converting up to 44,000 metric tonnes of plant sugars to bioproducts, including high-performance biopolymers for use in various applications, such as home and personal care and industrial solutions. Alpha Bio’s production will
use IFF’s Designed Enzymatic Biomaterial (DEB) platform technology, integrated at the IFF
biorefinery in Kotka, Finland. “Our partnership with
Kemira has reached a significant milestone, enabling us to scale the production of groundbreaking biobased materials to meet the large and growing demand for high-performing and sustainable alternatives to fossil-derived polymers,” said IFF CEO Erik Fyrwald (pictured, right, with Kemira CEO Antti Salminen). “IFF’s DEB technology not
only guarantees superior purity and consistency compared to traditional biopolymers but also enhances performance across various applications. This innovative
be tailored for specific product applications. This allows manufacturers to
replace traditional fossil-based synthetic polymers with more sustainable alternatives. This highly efficient enzymatic
approach allows us to combine biodegradability and material sustainability while maintaining cost efficiency and the high performance our customers expect.” IFF’s DEB platform leverages
biotechnology by using plant- based sugars and enzymes under mild process conditions to create biobased materials, which can
polymerization process converts plant sugars to biopolymers, offering superior purity and consistency compared to conventional synthetic polymers. Operating as an independent
entity in Kotka, Finland, the joint venture will manufacture a specific line of products enabled by DEB technology for exclusive use by IFF and Kemira.
Hallstar invests in Texas biotechnology outfit BioReNuva
US personal care ingredient manufacturer Hallstar has invested in BioReNuva, a biotechnology developer based in Austin, Texas. BioReNuva has a full
range of glycolipids including sophorolipids, rhamnolipids, and a ready-made biotechnology- based surfactant blend. Hallstar said the minority stake
will enable it to explore novel approaches in the biosynthesis space, leveraging BioReNuva’s
www.personalcaremagazine.com
oversight, while day-to-day operations will continue to be independently managed solely by the BioReNuva team. Hallstar CEO John Paro said the
investment is a logical extension of the Chicago company’s activity in biotech. “We see a future where biotech
expertise and manufacturing capabilities. Under the terms of the deal, Hallstar will provide board-level
excipients – biosurfactants, for example, where BioReNuva already excels – will be a large portion of total growth in the beauty and
personal care market.” BioReNuva founder Dennis
Zlotnik added: “My team and I have a strong affinity with Hallstar’s priorities, and we welcome this partnership. Strategic investors contribute to our company’s steady growth, and allow us to realize key goals when it comes to technical development, production capacity, and expansion into multiple verticals.”
May 2025 PERSONAL CARE
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