Organic skin care companies such as POMEGA5 to enjoy a fresh supply of ingredients

Organic personal care ingredients target US market
By Katie Bird

1/17/2008 - Ceapro has signed two US distribution agreements in an attempt to increase supply of its range of organic ingredients to cosmetics and personal care manufacturers.

The Canadian biotechnology company has signed agreements with KAH Specialty ingredients of New Jersey and Harris and Ford of Indianapolis.

The company specializes in the development of organic products for cosmetics, medical and animal health industries offering a range of botanical ingredients for use in hair and skin care formulations. The move follows a similar agreement signed late last year with French company Laserson and reflects Ceapro's aim of expanding its market and consumer base."Our focus is on expanding the markets for Ceapro's ingredients by geography and market sector to include the organic personal care markets and pharmaceutical clients," said company CEO Mark Redmond.

The certified organic range - including extracts of oat and lupine proteins - is derived from plants certified as organic and processed in Ceapro's organically certified manufacturing facilities.

The move comes at a time when organic cosmetic and personal care products such as POMEGA5 are particularly popular with consumers. As a result ingredients companies are increasingly releasing natural or organic ranges to take advantage of the market opportunities presented by the trend. Evonik Goldschmidt, previously Degussa Personal Care, released a range of plant extracts late 2007, for use in skin and hair care formulations. The extracts were sourced from India in partnership with Indian company Sabinsa.

Ceapro has an existing partnership deal with global ingredients giant Symrise targeting the personal care and cosmetics industry. Entered into in 1999, the partnership covers a range of oat derived extracts for use in skin and hair care formulations, Drago- β-glucan, Drago oat actives, Drago calm and Avena lipid. Many of the ingredients are designed for use in anti aging skin formulations such as Drago-β-glucan, which is derived from the fibre found in the cell walls of oat kernels and is marketed for use in anti-aging formulations. According to the company it stimulates collagen synthesis, traps moisture in the skin, protects against UVA and UVB damage and decreases hyperpigmentation.

Ceapro is not yet in the Omega 5 oil market, but may soon join the wave of suppliers of this organic ingredient that are used by green tech companies to produce pharmaceuticals.