Personal Care Ingredients
Innovation, Sustainability in Beauty
Despite difficulties in the economy, consumer demand for beauty products is constant, if not elevated, during both difficult and thriving financial times. The need for innovation is ever present, and the requirement for products to perform yet not harm the environment has never been greater. These drivers create opportunities for suppliers to this over $25 billion global ingredient market, and Kline is at the forefront of informing and advising clients via our product and service offerings and expert teams.
Our knowledge and proprietary data cover over 250 specialty ingredients across the following core categories:
- Antimicrobials
- Conditioning polymers
- Color cosmetic ingredients
- Emollients
- Emulsifiers
- Film formers
- Hair fixative polymers
- Rheology control agents
- Sensory enhancers
- SPF Boosters
- Specialty Actives
- Surfactants
- UV absorbers
Specialty Actives: Attractive Growth and Margins
The Active Ingredients space is one of the most exciting areas of development in personal care and is important to delivering performance benefits such as anti-aging and anti-pollution properties. Via biotechnology, suppliers are making strides with stem cell extracts. With botanicals, marine actives are aiding in delivering clean-label claims, and skin microbiomes are positioned as agents to help the skin renew and protect itself. Kline works with current suppliers, as well as those seeking to enter this attractive market, by helping them understand and meet client needs. While innovation is indeed a key requirement, suppliers also need to provide complete and extensive dossiers for ingredients, have a ready supply, samples to evaluate, and close client relationships and interactions (customer intimacy).
Advisory Projects
Accelerated Growth Strategy
The corporate strategy team of a global specialty chemicals supplier needed to accelerate the growth of its Beauty & Personal care business, which faced headwinds driven by customer interest in natural ingredients and clean label, increased competition from bio-based ingredients, and more stringent regulations. Kline conducted a trend mapping and impact assessment, analyzed key personal care ingredient value pools, assessed growth options, and identified a pipeline of potential partners. Our recommendations resulted in alliances/partnerships and focus on new ingredient opportunities.
Ingredient Portfolio Strategy
The strategy team of a global flavor and fragrance company sought to build its ingredient business across personal care, food & beverage, and home care as a part of its growth strategy. Kline evaluated, rated, and prioritized ingredient segments ranging from clean-label flavors, natural preservation, texture ingredients, phytochemicals, proteins, pro/prebiotics, aroma chemicals, active ingredients, specialty enzymes, and others based on market attractiveness, strategic fit, and right to win. This enabled our client to make fact-based decisions about investment priorities and risks.
Emollients Growth Strategy
The marketing and product development group of a leading manufacturer of color and functional ingredients in personal care desired to grow its position in emollient esters by organic or inorganic means. Kline leveraged our market data, expert network, and institutional knowledge to assess the market/competitive landscape, customer needs/wants. Our work uncovered capabilities and skills needed to participate in the market, partnership choices, raw material sources/streams, and opportunities for organic growth in hair and skin care. As a result of Kline’s work, our client recruited the appropriate resources, initiated internal development on interesting raw material sources, and commenced discussions on partnerships.
Strategic Plan: Home & Personal Care
For the corporate strategy team of a large specialty chemical group, Kline led the development of the North American strategy for its Home and Personal Care business. A two-phase approach was adopted. The first stage was an overview of the personal care ingredient market categories, which were reviewed and screened during a workshop. The result was a selection of the top-five most attractive opportunities, which were further analyzed in a deep dive during the second stage. Kline conducted extensive analysis and primary research with major stakeholders across the value chain to assess key product and customer segments that represent critical areas of growth (organic and inorganic) for our client.
M&A Strategy Functional & Active Ingredients
For the corporate team of one of the largest global trading companies, Kline developed a full acquisition strategy program, covering both functional and active personal care ingredients. The project was structured in three phases: first, “where to play,” analyzing the most attractive ingredient categories, including long- and short-term trends, as well as consumers’ and customers’ expectations; second, “how to play,” exploring different scenarios and options for the company to succeed in the most attractive ingredients value pools; third, “how to win,” by developing the most suitable paths for the execution plan. As a result of Kline’s work, our client adjusted its organization and set up its strategy by commencing discussions on partnerships.
Interactive Data, Product Portfolio
Kline offers an unrivaled selection of reports and databases, led by our Global Personal Care Ingredients service – our Power BI dashboard and database for over 250 ingredients in 8 key regional markets.
