Cognis receives NPA certification for a further 15 natural ingredients
The latest round of certifications brings the total number of NPA endorsed products to 81, enabling the company to move on with its ambitions to increase its footprint in the fast growing market for natural and organic personal care products in the United States.
The NPA has forged a significant name for itself in the North American natural and organic personal care arena, and currently claims to be the oldest and largest non-profit organization certifying natural ingredients.
The most recent NPA approved ingredients from the Cognis portfolio include Cetiol C5, a fast spreading emollient that replaces silicone in skin, hair and body car formulations, together with Lipofructyl PI LS 9324, a skin care oil extracted from the French Mirabelle plum.
Other newly approved ingredients include Gluadin Soy Benz - a hydrolyzed soy protein for hair care, and Cegestof SB Organic - a shea butter with a high quality color and odor profile.
NPA discounting initiative
The extension of the company’s certified natural portfolio ties in with an initiative recently launched with the NPA, whereby consumer products players can benefit from a discount scheme on NPA certified raw materials.
“We’re excited to have such a wide range of pre-approved specialty ingredients for our customers to choose from – especially now that the NPA offers discounts for using pre-approved ingredients,” said Denise Petersen, marketing manager for Cognis North America.
Cognis is eyeing further growth in the natural and organic segment in the hope of tapping into one of the fastest moving and growing categories in the personal care industry.
Sales pick up again in 2010
Back in August the company announced that it had resumed growth in the first six months of the year, following on from a difficult period in 2009, when sales fell.
The company said that continued sales growth during the second quarter meant that full six months sales rose by 16.3 per cent to €1.51bn, reflecting a jump in sales volumes of 12.6 per cent.
The sales growth also helped push the company’s net profit out of the red, from a loss of €20m in the first six months of last year, to a profit of €129m this year.
Now Cognis is part of the BASF group
Likewise operating profits rose by 67.5 per cent, up from €113m to €281m, a figure that was a particularly good achievement given that raw material prices had risen during the period.
The Cognis group was also given a further boost back in June of this year, when it was announced that Chemicals giant BASF would acquire the business in a deal that values it at €3.1bn.
According to BASF the deal will give it a leading position in the higher margin personal care and home care markets, as well as boosting its position in human nutritional care, ultimately generating growth above that of the industry average.
