10 NEWS Azelis to seek IPO


Chemicals and ingredients distributor Azelis, which is currently owned by private equity firm EQT, has announced plans to list its share on the Euronext Brussels exchange at a time not yet disclosed. The company is seeking to raise €880 million via a primary offering of new shares from a capital increase and a secondary component from existing shareholders. Azelis said that it will use the


proceeds, together with borrowing, to “significantly strengthen” its financial position by paying outstanding debts of around €1.6 billion, while funding further investment and acquisitions. It would also gain the access to capital markets it thinks necessary for a company of its size.


Biosurfactant launched


Locus Performance Ingredients of Solon, Ohio, has developed a line of clean label formulations featuring its novel biosurfactants (INCI: Glycolipids). It describes these as “a new powerful tool to easily improve the sustainability of personal care offerings by replacing legacy surfactants without sacrificing performance.” The formulations are made without sulfates, amine or citric acids. Each is specifically designed to meet demands for simpler formulations and environmentally friendly ingredients in applications such as hand cleansers, moisturising body washes and two-in-one shampoo and conditioner. Ferma S are made via a


zero-carbon fermentation process that uses sugar and vegetables, and they are highly pure, GMO, vegan and palm- free. The ingredients are USDA- certified as containing 100% biobased, renewable content. “Lab studies demonstrate


the ingredients have higher water activity than other biosurfactants with 5-25x better performance and up to 5-6x less relative loading than surfactants,” the company stated. “They also have a unique ability to be blended into tailored solutions for use in high-foaming to low-foaming applications.”


PERSONAL CARE October 2021 The company has also completed


the previously announced acquisition of Quimdis, a French distributor of ingredients, mainly essential oils and actives, for industries including flavours and fragrances, and personal care. It had previously announced the acquisition of the Greater China operations of Ingredients Plus. Azelis said that the former deal


enhances its lateral value chain by diversifying and expanding its presence in France and the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. Quimdis has sales of nearly €100 million/year, 78 employees, about 1,000 customers and 400 suppliers.


The part of Ingredients Plus China to be acquired is based in Hong Kong


Azelis plans to launch its IPO on the Brussels Stock Exchange


and has subsidiaries in Shanghai and Guangzhou that both operate application laboratories. Azelis China had established a footprint in China’s personal care market through the acquisitions of Cosbond and Bronson & Jacobs in 2020. Finally, Azelis has opened its new personal care application laboratory


in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. This is its seventh such laboratory in Europe, Middle East and Africa, and will enable the firm to offer new formulations and stability studies to customers in the region. The lab has already been working on formulations for hair care, skin care and sun care products.


Solvay: “Breakthrough restorative routine for textured hair”


Solvay has unveiled what it called “the complete routine for textured hair, featuring ten products formulated to help textured hair consumers to cleanse, moisturise and style their hair with products made specifically for them”. This was developed with stylists and models at Studio Ana’e in Paris, to evaluate and validate each product in real-world conditions The company spotted a gap in the market, with a lack of high-end


shampoos, conditioners and other hair care products for textured hair, even though nearly 75% of the world’s population has textured hair, and natural hairstyles are increasingly seen as an element of personal identity. “Textured hair has unique


characteristics that ordinary hair care products cannot address,” Solvay said. “From dryness and fragile fibres to frizz and scalp issues, textured hair requires a caring and cleansing routine that prioritizes moisturisation,


Sheet mask for smiling faces


Kanebo, a skin care brand of Japan’s Kao Corporation, has launched the Smile Performer mask in its domestic market. It claims that the mask stays firmly in place when the face moves, “bringing out radiance as it moistens and firms,” because it lifts the cheeks, the corners of the mouth and the jawline during the ten minutes of recommended use. Smile Performer is backed by


Kanebo’s ‘I Hope’ brand theme and, the firm said, “offers new ideas for products and messages to lift spirits this autumn, a season when everyday mask-wearing remains the norm”. It was prompted in part by surveys showing that people often feel they have no reason to smile under their masks and that this can affect their mood.


The mask’s thick, highly elastic


sheet material is saturated with a concentrated serum that adheres tightly and follows the movement of the skin. The ingredients include extracts of mallow flower, peach leaf and rice bran, plus methylserine, and it has a fruity, floral fragrance that blends lily of the valley, rose and jasmine, accented with Teatopia tea flower.


repairs damage and nourishes the scalp.”


The routine begins with six


‘clean and care products’: a pure, clean shampoo, a hydration-boost shampoo, a cleansing cream, a luxurious moisturising conditioner, a moisture lock mask and a wake- up curls day cream. Four styling products – a foaming lotion, a hairspray detangler, a scalp oil and a wax for baby hairs – will be announced shortly.


Investment into Coptis


Coptis, a French publisher of software for cosmetic laboratories, has received funding from Extens, a fund dedicated to healthcare software publishers, and Clearsight, a Swiss investment fund. It will use this to consolidate in Europe, develop its product range and continue to expand operations in New York and Singapore, where it established subsidiaries in 2008 and 2016 respectively. Coptis offers specialised


software to support cosmetic laboratories and raw material manufacturers in the formulation and regulatory compliance stages challenges.


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