Cosmeceuticals cited as future growth in skincare

Related tags North castle Cosmetics North castle partners

North Castle Partners, an equity firm focused on the healthy living
and aging marketplace, has announced the acquisition of
cosmeceutical manufacturer HDS Cosmetics Lab. Cosmeceuticals are
the key to future growth in the skin care market with sales
expected to increase by 20 per cent a year, reports Datamonitor.

"The cosmeceutical market is a perfect fit for North Castle given our focus on healthy living and aging. As consumers seek to enhance their appearance and to address the impacts of aging, the interest in high quality skin care solutions and advanced formulations will continue to grow rapidly," said North Castle's managing director Rich Gersten.

Cosmeceuticals - a relatively new segment that combines the cosmetic and medical sectors - is the fastest growing category in the personal care industry. For example in 2003 traditional skin care sales in department stores grew by only 6 per cent compared to a 77 per cent increase in cosmeceuticals brand sales, according to the NPD Group.

HDS Cosmetics Lab formulates, manufactures and distributes cosmeceutical skin care products under the Doctors' Dermatologic Formula (DDF) brand. DDF addresses individual skin concerns including anti-aging, acne, sensitive skin, hyperpigmentation and environmental damage/sun care.

"We have been very impressed by the high quality of the DDF products and the accomplishments of the talented DDF management team and we are very pleased that they will be continuing with the business. We look forward to partnering with them to further build the brand and its growing consumer franchise," said director at North Castle Ellen Marram.

North Castle Partners, is a private equity firm focused exclusively on the healthy living & aging marketplace. To date, it has invested more than $800 million of equity in over 40 companies that have been consolidated into nine industry platforms including active lifestyle nutrition, complementary and alternative medicine, vitamins, minerals and supplements and natural personal care.

"We could not have asked for a better partner. North Castle Partners is well respected for its deep experience in the healthy living and aging marketplace, and it's clear we have similar values and share a common vision of how to best build DDF. We look forward to a future of expansive growth for the DDF brand and for the cosmeceutical industry," said Cosmetics Lab's CEO Joseph Contorno.

Terms for acquiring the controlling interest of HDS Cosmetics Lab were not disclosed.