18 INTERVIEW
EBITDA over a three-to-five-year period - when an innovation cycle can be five to seven years - it’s not surprising that investment in innovation can get stifled a little bit.
TP: How does Hallstar Beauty go about innovating? Is some of it coming from France? JP: We acquired French company Oléos in 2016 and their people and technology became the basis for our Active Naturals product line out of Hallstar France. Yes, we’re more than a little pleased with that group’s innovation pipeline. Their two-prong model produces at least one new launch a year plus some custom business. The latter usually involves
being approached by a third party that wants to explore the chemistry from a particular plant, and how it can be extracted sustainably. Hallstar France will then develop the technology, the backup materials and all the testing protocols to prove its efficacy. They do that very well, and
that’s why we bought Oléos. We purchased a process, not a group of products. They figured out how to extract lipidic active ingredients from plants via microwave and ultrasound, and those ingredients are remarkably effective and easy to formulate with. Many companies use solvent
extraction processes that result in a natural product, but the process can be pretty challenging.
TP: So, you are pleased with that acquisition? JP: Yes. In 2016, they hadn’t yet turned the corner on profitability but boy have they made progress in the eight years since!
TP: What is Hallstar France working on at the moment? JP: They’re exploring additional extraction wavelengths. Plants they use in China are different from plants they use in South America. To be able to have a highly
technical extraction methodology that is not overly onerous with regard to capital investment, where facilities can be dropped into different countries around the world, to develop plant extraction for local markets is very, very encouraging. Perhaps their greatest recent
innovation is Bliss Oléoactif, which takes a page from antidepressant and light therapy by boosting the body’s serotonin production. This is great for reducing stress’s aging effects on skin. It’s a fabulous
PERSONAL CARE November 2024
“If you haven’t had commercial success, what you’ve actually had is an
invention. The beauty industry is flooded with inventions” John Paro, CEO, Hallstar
launch, and it’s getting some good traction. They have also developed natural actives for lip plumping and for preventing the ageing effects of blue light from screens.
TP: Where else does Hallstar Beauty have operations? JP: In northern Italy, we have a Functional Naturals group that focuses on multifunctional emulsifiers and other olive-based chemistries. That operation grew out of Hallstar’s acquisition of B&T in 2011. We have invested a large amount into the facility over there, and doubled that team’s size. In 2015, we acquired Fortinbrás
in Brazil, where we’ve just built a beautiful new office. We’re ploughing money in the places where we know we can grow. That includes China, where we opened a lab and R&D centre in Suzhou in 2015. We’ve now got about 15-plus people in China focused on the Asia-Pacific markets.
TP: What about India? Do you have any plans? JP: In the next 12 to 18 months, we’re going to figure out our Indian strategy, because it’ll be time for us to start having some formulation capabilities over there.
TP: Would you be looking at an acquisition in India or opening up a facility there?
JP: The preferred way is with a lab. That’s how we started in China. Rather than start with a sales team, we started with a lab to work out what the local market needs and wants, and then we added the commercial and supply chain talent. On the other hand, an Indian
acquisition opportunity could present itself as soon as we’ve stopped talking. You just never really know!
TP: Do you see a big opportunity in India? JP: From a macro perspective, India’s major population centres have a growing middle class. That’s what happened in China. It wasn’t a huge percentage of the population but it started growing at a higher rate, and the overall population numbers are such that it got interesting. When you have that many
more people demanding skin care, sun protection, colour cosmetics, and so on, it can make a dramatic difference. I think India is entering into that phase, and the next ten years will be interesting for India, and it will be interesting for us if we play it right.
TP: Are there any other countries or regions you’ve got your eye on? JP: South America remains a huge opportunity for us. We’re only just beginning to scratch the surface and figuring out the local markets there. Southeast Asian countries
such as Malaysia also present us with opportunities.
TP: I’m interested in your views on the industry as a whole. Do you think the beauty and personal industry is generally on the right track? JP: I worry a little bit about regulations around the world. Regulation is necessary but it should be thoughtful and scientifically based. I worry about it becoming such a bureaucratic nightmare that only big companies can deal with it. The Facebooks and Apples
of the world appear before US Congress talking about the need for more favourable regulation. But what they’re really saying is, “We’re favourable to regulation, and the more it’s regulated, the better we’re going to be able to deal with it than our competitors.” We need certain synergies
on global compliance that don’t end up pushing innovation out of the industry because only big companies are able to participate.
TP: There’s a lot of industry talk about the growing role of artificial intelligence in the development of personal care ingredients, formulations and the wider industry. What are your views on AI? JP: There’s been a lot of internal discussion in our technical labs about it. My view is it’s coming, it’s
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