COSMOFACTORY

Deanna: [00:00:00] This episode is about reimagining how suppliers support brands. It's about accessible product development, about cosmetic ingredient makers partnering directly with beauty brands. About material sourcing, product development services, market analysis, and more. Today on the Cosmo Factory Podcast, Catherine sl, innovation Marketing Manager at Sim is my guest, Catherine, welcome to Cosmo Factory.
Catherine: Deanna, thank you [00:01:00] so much for having me.
Deanna: Yeah, you're welcome and I'm pleased to be talking with you, in part because brands today have choices about how they create products and develop formulations. Really whether a brand is created by a major multinational, a. Solo entrepreneur, some entity in between. Oftentimes this, this product, uh, development piece really cannot be done alone.
I, I want to talk with you about a program called Beauty Activations, but before we get to that, I want to remind our listeners where this program lives, per se. It's, it's a project of Sim Rise, a, a company specialized in flavors, fragrances, and cosmetic ingredients. But I'm hoping, Catherine, you'll start us off by telling, telling us something more about Sim Rise.
Catherine: Absolutely. Um, summarize, like you said, we are an ingredient supplier. Um, within the cosmetic industry, we have a very broad portfolio, including advanced actives, uh, preservative solutions, sun care, hair care ingredients, [00:02:00] and functional ingredients as well. So RIS is a, a supplier for all types of cosmetic ingredients.
Deanna: And can you just remind us how long has the company been in business? Um, where is your headquarters? Those sorts of details.
Catherine: So we are headquarters in Hols, Menden, Germany, and we have been around for well over a hundred years. We have, we have been, uh, you know, a firm, um, pillar in the industry. Definitely a supplier for, for many, many years.
Deanna: Yeah, a legacy company we like
Catherine: Absolutely.
Deanna: and it was just about three or four years ago now then that Ciri launched this program called Beauty Activations. My next question is, is also a fairly simple one, but what is beauty activations?
Catherine: Absolutely. Yes, Deanna. We started Beauty Activations about four years ago, and it was created to bring market insight. Custom formulations and that accelerated product development. All those pieces that are so important to, to creating consumer products together. [00:03:00] So beauty activations, we are a formulation team.
You know, we are focused on that innovation that comes, um, from creating new products. So we are focused on really, you know, the. The commercialization of a product. So we are working with the, the brands and creating that formula. Um, and that was something that Sim decided, you know, was, was needed in the industry that we needed to have, you know, a way to, to help brands get their products and their ideas to market.
Deanna: Mm-hmm. Because usually when I speak with ingredient makers, they're. Thinking about product development. The products they're developing are ingredients per se. And, and certainly you do that. Um, but this initiative focuses, focuses rather on the product development that then becomes the, the end product for the, for the consumer.
Catherine: Correct. And definitely summarize does have, um, you know, its application labs and does have its other team members. This is just a, a unique team with inside of, of our cosmetic ingredient group that is des [00:04:00] designated for, you know, that brand support. I.
Deanna: And you mentioned that the company, you know, saw an opportunity or, or wanted to fill this need. Um, this might sound a little cynical, but you know, SIM certainly has significant global market share in the ingredients industry. Why did the company choose to invest time and resources to launch this program and, and work directly with brands during their product development process?
Catherine: I think it was to just be that, that innovation partner to, to help the, to really partner with our customers, um, and to help alleviate some of the challenges that come along with product development. There's, um, you know, in the years, recent years, we've noticed the increase, um, uh. Product development cycle, you know, they're getting a little bit faster, you know, and the consumer is definitely more educated and so we wanna be able to get, you know, our sim knowledge, um, and experience and help to just infuse the brands and help with that whole process.
Deanna: No, that makes good sense. And [00:05:00] certainly, yeah. Um, product innovation, speed to market, these things are only accelerating, um, for, for a number of reasons. That's, that's helpful to hear. Um, I wanna understand more fully than the suite of services that beauty activations provides and, and maybe. As you answer, um, you can drop in some notes about what you don't provide 'cause I think that might help us really get our head around what's going on here.
Catherine: Exactly. So beauty activations we offer, you know, our top three pillars that we offer is the hero ingredients. You know, of course when we say powered by sim we mean that we're leading with our ingredient portfolio and our expertise in those areas. Um, we talk about, uh. Marketing support. So I am the, the designated marketer for beauty activations.
And so we do help with whether it's, um, monitoring trends, identifying white space, you know, having that, that communication about what that brand is wants to see and what we're seeing in the market, and kind of meeting [00:06:00] the, the brands where they are and helping them, you know, direct them towards what, what could be possible in the market.
And then of course it is that, that full formula development and speed to market. So it's the, the hero ingredients, the marketing, and then that, that formula and that speed to market that's helping the, the brands.
Deanna: Mm-hmm.
Catherine: we don't do. I do. I know, I know. That was part of the question too. What we don't do. beauty activations is not a contract manufacturer, so we're not actually producing that final finished good.
You know, we are creating the formula and we are that part of the, the development process, you know, truly that formula that then the brands can take to. Their contract manufacturer or wherever they want to have that product produced. And we would help, you know, support, you know, where necessary, you know, to help get that, um, formula to scale up.
And so they'll have that continued support with us. Uh, but definitely we are the formula.
Deanna: Mm-hmm. No, that's, that's very helpful to understand. Um, and as you've said here now several times, formulation is [00:07:00] certainly a central piece of product development. Um. I'm wondering if you'll comment on how you're working with other suppliers, maybe ingredient suppliers or other folks along the supply chain to help them develop these production ready product formulas that you've described.
Catherine: Absolutely. So products, there's a lot of pieces when we're putting together products, you know, formula is what we are specializing in. But definitely when, when you're putting together, uh, a finished good, you know, something that is viable to be commercialized, there are many pieces that come together. So whether it's.
Packaging or components, those are things that we don't specialize in. Those are things that the brand would have to reach out and, and find vendors or suppliers for. Um, when it comes to, you know, ingredients that are available, of course summarize is using URA ingredients, but then collaborating where necessary, you know, to produce those, you know, the, the product that is desired.
Deanna: Mm-hmm. No, that makes sense. There's, there's always, always partnerships that we, we don't see in action, but it, it's [00:08:00] nice to hear that, that that's going on. Um. I think you mentioned, uh, market analysis, uh, being another piece of this initiative, and, and you and I spoke recently at Cosmo Prof North America in Miami, and I believe you were showing prototype formulas that featured different textures, um, appropriate for different consumer demographics.
I'm assuming that sort of nuance comes from market analysis. Can you say something about this market analysis piece that you offer for brands?
Catherine: Absolutely. And honestly this is one of my favorite things to talk about. So what we have, our beauty activations team has what we call our tiny talks, and these are, you know, the. Inspirational, um, conversations that we designed to spark the, the, the con or the conversation about types of products. And so we do, um, you know, of course we have access to all the tools, you know, that marketers do, but sim also does its own, you know, internal marketing.
Um. CMI data that we, that we collect. And so [00:09:00] definitely we are very in touch with what's going on and that marketing insight. So what we had at cosmoprof Miami was sensory seekers. It was a tiny talk that was definitely about, uh, the different textures that we're we're seeing in the marketplace right now.
And where those textures are coming from, like what's inspiring them, you know, the different, um, the different countries, you know, where we're drawing inspiration from the different generations where we're drawing. Inspiration from, um, and then how people feel. You know, what we're seeing in the marketplace right now is that efficacy is, is number one.
And then number two is the experience. So consumers really wanna have a, a fantastic experience when they're touching that product for the first time. So that's what sensory seekers really hone in on, you know, the experience of that product.
Deanna: Yeah. Yeah. No, that's very cool. And. I'm curious, I guess, to learn more about sim specialty in terms of ingredients. You ran through, [00:10:00] um, a nice list of product categories, uh, that the ingredients the company makes are appropriate for, but is texture something you're particularly adept at, or, or was that just something that you picked up, you know, through the market analysis, sort of noticing that that's pertinent to consumers?
Where does that fit in?
Catherine: So, well, texture is a big part of, of product development and really finding the textures that meet and, um, you know, lend themselves to the products, the ingredients that we have. So we, we had some prototypes that really spoke to sensitive skin and having that nice kind of cloud texture to it. So our chemists were able to, you know, work with some of our products and, and create some of these, these really great storytelling prototypes.
So, and sensitive skin is something that Suras is, you know, very well known for. We have ingredients that address, um, many issues, and sensitive skin is one of them.
Deanna: Okay, that makes sense. And. I don't think we've said it directly here, so I, I want you to help [00:11:00] us think about who beauty activations is for. Um, you we're talking about really, you know, connecting the brand with product development expertise. That's, that lives at an ingredient supplier, but what, what sort of brand is this or what sort of professional are you working directly with?
Who, who is beauty activations for?
Catherine: So our target audience would be the product developer. And this product developer could be at, um, a small brand, a mid-size brand, or even a, a large, you know, global brand. You know, depending on the. What their need was. And so if they're looking to just, you know, infuse some innovation into their product line, you know, beauty activations can help with that.
If they're looking, um, you know, if they're creating something new, beauty activations can help with that. But definitely it's the product developer that, that we're looking to have those conversations with as well as marketers, you know, they're a big part of the story as well. Um, and, and truly working with that, that.
Working from a brief, you know, so definitely, you [00:12:00] know, when that product development brief is available and, and starting the conversation and talking about, you know, types of directions that they want it to go in. So that's really, you know, who we wanna talk to and, and probably when we wanna talk to them to, you know, when they're ready to, to have conversations about something that they're ready to brief out.
Deanna: Right, right. And, and once they have a brief that comes in part right from the brand, knowing themselves, knowing their customer, um, and your lending expertise, even when it is market analysis from a, a different angle,
Catherine: Absolutely. Absolutely. And we, and when we talk with the brands, you know, it is, it's their, it's their DNA that we're infusing into that finished product. You know, it's beauty activations, it's summarized active ingredients, but it is that brand's, DNA. So we work very closely with what their, um, what their callouts are and what they want to achieve.
Deanna: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. That makes good sense because we, we know brands like to maintain their identity and certainly, um. Yeah. That's [00:13:00] so interesting to think about. Um, so I mean, you've shared, you know, so many insights thus far about beauty activations that I think are, are very helpful example, or I don't know if I should boldly call it an experiment, uh, that other suppliers listening might benefit from.
Um, but I do wanna ask, you know, is this working? Is this something that, um. It feels appropriate for RIS to continue doing. Is this something that brands are appreciating? Do ingredient suppliers fit comfortably into this product development conversation?
Catherine: Absolutely. I do think brands are appreciating this service. You know it, it is. It's always great to. Have another, um, another mind in the mix and having a, a, a conversation that can just expand. So I do think the brands are enjoying it and I think it is something that will continue to be part of what we offer, you know, for our brands and for our customers, so that they can have that, you know, that space to have more conversations and to see what [00:14:00] direction is possible with their next product.
Deanna: Mm-hmm. And I, I realize, um, you and I know, uh, beauty activations, I believe it's, it's North American or us your
Catherine: So, yes,
Deanna: regional.
Catherine: is a North American, um, team. So we are in North America. Um, URAS does offer similar services, um, in different regions. Um, but definitely this is a North American initiative. The Speedy Activations is part of North
Deanna: Mm. Mm-hmm. But like you said, there are similar initiatives in other markets, um, that makes sense for a global company. Is there something I haven't asked you? Is there something everyone, um, wants to know about this sort of program or? Um, that you like to share that, that maybe I didn't think of.
Catherine: So I think when, when customers come to us, they, they do have that question of, you know, is this, is this something that is, that we can do? And it is so it, it's not something, you know, summarize isn't charging for this development service. It's [00:15:00] something that we truly are collaborating with our customers because there is that mutual, um.
Benefit, you know, of, of having the summarized ingredients and, and working with these brands to create their next product. So I feel like, yeah, it's something that customers want to know. Is this something that we can do? And the answer's yes, of course.
Deanna: Wonderful. Well, Catherine, it was very generous of you to let us learn from your work in this area. I thank you so much for being my guest on the Cosmo Factory Podcast.
Catherine: Deanna, thank you so much for having me.
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