The deal builds on an existing long-term relationship, easing the transaction that is expected to close in Q1 2020. In a statement, Givaudan says it plans to fund the transaction from “existing resources”.
While no other terms have been disclosed, Givaudan says that Indena’s cosmetic ingredients business would have represented around €8m of incremental sales to its 2018 results on a proforma basis.
Meanwhile, the partnership agreement between the two firms will see Indena continue to manufacture ingredients for Givaudan and to provide other supporting services.
“The acquisition of the cosmetics business of Indena fits very well with our long term strategy for Active Beauty,” says Maurizio Volpi, president of Givaudan’s fragrance division.
“They have an excellent reputation in the market, thanks to the quality of their ingredients, their strong focus on innovation as well as the mastering of their supply chain.
“It offers Active Beauty an expanded portfolio of plant-based ingredients that nicely complement our current portfolio. We are very confident that the acquisition will further enhance our position as a leading player in the active cosmetic ingredients industry.”
€2.7m global industry
The acquisition is the latest move by Givaudan to bolster its presence in the burgeoning nutricosmetics sector – a €2.7m ($3bn) global industry in 2017, according to market research analysts Euromonitor.
As part of its 2020 strategy to expand the capabilities of its Active Beauty business, the Swiss firm have been involved in a series of acquisitions designed to align with its priorities that also include Naturals, Health & Well-being, Integrated Solutions and local & regional customers.
In October, Givaudan made available its microbiome analysis and profiling system (i-MAPS) that uses bioinformatics data to create individual profiles, claiming to map the skin microbiome in around seven hours.
Each profile is said to feature user-specific insights describing the bacterial communities that make up the microbiome and how it links to oily, dry, sensitive, or an ageing skin type.
In 2017, Givaudan’s collaboration with Draco Natural Products looked to develop a range of anti-aging and moisturisation products that use bioactive botanical ingredients derived from traditional Chinese medicine.
The use of traditional Chinese medicinal (TCM) ingredients is a move on Givaudan’s part to establish the ‘beauty from within’ concept in which global beauty rituals stem from homespun wisdom.
Core market focus
Commenting on the latest deal, Indena’s managing director Daniele Giavini spoke of the firm’s decision to sell its nutricosmetics business unit in order to “focus on its core markets, Pharmaceuticals and Health-food”.
“We believe that Givaudan, with its very long history and tradition in innovating taste and scent, coupled with its strong commercial presence, is the right partner to further strengthen this business in the future
“Givaudan’s culture and its knowledge of natural cosmetic ingredients, as well as the use of the latest sustainable biotechnologies to create high performing functional products, fit well with the philosophy we have consistently adopted at Indena throughout our history,” Galvini adds.
Indena’s portfolio of nutricosmetic-focused ingredients include ginger extract (whitening, antioxidant activity, soothing), green tea extract (tonic, antioxidant) and millet extract (Skin restructurant, Skin barrier function improver).
