COSMOFACTORY

Deanna: [00:00:00] This episode is about cosmetic product preservation technology. It's about both traditional and original ingredients. It is about how suppliers and brands are positioning preservatives today, and it's also about regional business development strategy. today's Cosmo Factory podcast episode. I am joined by Pascal Yvon, general manager for the America's region at Sharon Personal Care . Pascal, welcome to CosmoFactory.
Pascal: Thank you [00:01:00] Deanna. Uh, thank you very much for having me with you today.
Deanna: Yeah, no, I'm so glad you're here. And for listeners who may not be familiar with Sharon Personal Care, I'll just say that the company makes active ingredients, emulsifiers, emollient, and Sharon has a long standing reputation, uh, for preservative solutions. And since, uh, we have not had the chance yet to learn about product preservation tech here on CosmoFactory, that is what I really wanna talk with you about today.
We know that uh, preservative ingredients are included in product formulations to inhibit microbial growth, to maintain product integrity. This helps the product remain safe, pleasant to use. But Pascal, can you please tell us how traditional preservation ingredients work and expand a bit on, on why we use them.
Pascal: Yeah. Uh, I think, uh, again, as you, uh, uh, reminded us, it's very important to have a preservation, uh, system in, uh, cosmetics products because it'll guarantee the, the stability of the time. And the safety of the, the, the consumer. [00:02:00] So it's very important, uh, to have that, uh, in the formulations. Uh, so traditional preservation systems, uh, uh, usually, uh, share the common, uh, uh, way of working, which is to be a membrane disruptor.
And so they will, uh, completely inhibit, uh, um, destroy, let's say the uh, um, external, uh, microbiology contaminants. Now you have different. Groups into that. Also, you have, again, very in, into the traditional, there are different periods, uh, when you can see different groups. So for example, where again, we will talk about that, uh, very likely, uh, where you had initial, uh, uh, compounds that again, uh, consumers are moving away from like, uh, s and uh, uh.
Uh, former eye donors and you have new groups that appeared like, uh, organic acids, um, uh, alcohol, like ate, but also glycols, like [00:03:00] glycols. It's very, when I'm talking about that, it's because it's very important. The first group, again, we are very, because it's a very important, uh, uh. Driver in the industry, were kind of, uh, were hydrophilic.
And now this new group or this other group, it has a very strong, uh, lipophilic characteristic. And it's very important because the, uh, microorganisms, the, the microgram contaminants will go into the water phase. And so this is a very important characteristic. And again, we can talk about that, I'm sure later on.
Deanna: Yeah. No, absolutely. But that's, that's very helpful and, and certainly we could choose any product format or category and look more closely at why preservatives are necessary and how they function. I do wanna ask you about a very particular category, which is wet wipes. We know, uh, facial cleansing wipes are especially popular, I think because of their nce.
Um, and many wipes are, uh, what I would call like a single step product, right? The cleanser or the lotion does not need to be rinsed [00:04:00] off with these types of products. Uh, as I understand it, the wipe itself, the material as well as the cosmetic product formula, you know, needs to be safe, needs some sort of preservative protection.
Is there anything different or particular about preservation technologies for the wet wipe category?
Pascal: Very good question. Because we, wipes are very different types of, uh, a different type of product that needs to be, to have a specific way to be protected. Uh, compared to cosmetic, traditional cosmetic products. Wet wipes are heterogeneous. So you have two components, two important components. You have, of course the fabric.
And you have the lotion. So you cannot, you have to have specific solutions for that. Why? And because again, you have the fabric that has a very high surface area, and so you need to, uh, take care of that because, uh, uh, microbial contaminant can, you know, take advantage of that. But [00:05:00] also what we are seeing in the wet pipes industry is a shift from plastic material, plastic fabric.
Into natural fabrics. And that is a big, big, uh, difference because for several reasons. The first one is that, uh, natural fabrics are usually polymer of glucose units and microbial contaminants can, uh, hydrolyze those polymers. Then you end up with glucose, single glucose unit glucose units, and these glucose units are actually food.
For microorganisms. So that's a significant, uh, difference, uh, with, uh, you know, previous, uh, plastic fabric. The other thing is that, uh, with natural fabrics you have a propensity to observe bio information. And if you have a bio information, that's a big problem for wet wipes. The fourth thing again, and to [00:06:00] come back a little bit to, uh, what we said about the hydrophilicity of, uh.
Uh, the, for the protection and the cosmetic products, is that what we call the crisscross affinity, which is that, uh, again, we talked a little bit about the components that are more, uh, lipophilic, uh, characteristic. Where the microorganisms are gonna be more on the water phase. And it's particularly important in weight wise because the water phase is very, very important, very big, you know, up to up to 90%, 95%.
So, and the natural fabrics are also on the more. Towards the, uh, water phase. So everything is going into, uh, the propensity to have more contamination. So you need to address those specific characteristic, and that's what we, we do at the, uh, shown personal care. To be, to have an efficient, uh, uh, uh, protection.
So you need to protect not only [00:07:00] against the, the microbial, uh, contamination, but also, uh, the, the bio information, for example. So it's very important that, uh, those, again, the wet pipes industry is a very specific, uh, uh, type of, uh, product to, to protect.
Deanna: Yeah. Yeah. No, that's so helpful. And I, I love, I love learning, so it, it's so nice to think about, of course, like you suggested the materials are changing, right? Um, what's, what's in the material? And that's making a, a difference in what's needed for preservation, but also that idea of surface area. If we think about cosmetic products.
Many of them are, are very tiny, and then in con contrast to a wet wipe. Like it is, it is like a very significant, I think that's, that's wonderful to, for my imagination at least. Well, you've already mentioned that, um, in recent years, co some cosmetic preservatives in particular have come under scrutiny.
Right? We heard a lot about, um, parabens were sort of a buzzword for a while on social media, consumer media, uh, even, you know, content from some clean beauty brands. And that seems to have really shifted [00:08:00] consumer demand and consumer expectations. They, we still see paraben free now as a, a common marketing claim.
My question for you here is if demand for preservatives from your customers has changed in recent years because of sort of the skepticism or scrutiny they're getting from the end consumer.
Pascal: Completely the, the consumers are more and more informed. I would say more and more educated. They have access to a lot of, uh, process of information. And also, again, as you mentioned, they are, are moving away from some components. You mentioned parabens, but we are seeing also more and more like moving away from ox ethanol and even some additional compounds even, you know, we are, uh, hearing now moving away from, uh, sodium Benz weight.
So. What's happening is that it puts the, uh, formulators into kind of a, of a corner where there is no more simple solutions. There is no more one side fits all, [00:09:00] and every pretty much formulation. We require a specific solution. And, uh, uh, so that's why it's very important to, to understand that it's also very important for companies like Sharon to, uh, spend, uh, our resources in research and development to provide, uh, uh, uh, innovative solutions to that.
Uh, uh, shift in the marketplace and we see this, you mentioned this, uh, uh, moving away from some components. This what we can call, no-no list is expanding. I wouldn't say by the day, but pretty much so very fast. So you need to be very fast, you need to be reactive and to be, to, you need to provide solutions that will address this, those consumers, uh, expectations.
Deanna: Are there any types of, uh, traditional preservative technologies that are still very much in demand? From manufacturers, from from brands.
Pascal: You. Yeah, that's a very good point because even though the consumer's expectations are shifting, you'll [00:10:00] still have some, uh, products that, uh, cosmetic products that are still dealing with, I would say, traditional, uh, preservation systems. So it's very important that. For a company like Sharon to address that by having a portfolio that can cater to the different groups of consumers.
Yeah.
Deanna: Very good and certainly new preservation technologies are coming to market. And, and there are many more in development. I'm hoping you can share with us, uh, some new technologies or approaches to product preservation. What's happening in this space?
Pascal: It's very interesting, uh, uh, effectively because that's, uh, one, uh, key aspect of, uh, resources that, uh, are spent by, uh, Sean Personal care. For that, um, you have different approach and different technologies. So, uh, again, uh, to be, to align with consumers exp expect new consumers expectations, uh, you need to deal with some other considerations like multi-functionality like, uh, naturality.
But in addition, you need also [00:11:00] again. Because we are moving away from, uh, traditional preservation systems to new technologies as well. So what, what it means, again, we mentioned before the key, uh, considerations about hydrophilicity. So we need really to focus on hydrophilicity to the, the new solutions for the maximum, uh, efficacy.
The other thing also is, uh, uh, to find now, uh, Synergistics. Action, uh, from different compounds. And that's what we observe now, which is the combination of different compounds to provide, uh, optimal efficacy while diminishing the, uh, quantity of, uh, uh, preservatives that you can put on your skin, but also a very important, uh, to find new mode of action to, uh, protect from, uh, uh, the, the microbial contaminants.
Deanna: Mm-hmm. Uh, I think I said a moment ago how much I love learning. So I'm, I'm curious, um, there is a, a new product, I believe in your portfolio, [00:12:00] this Aqua Vita Tech. Does that fit into what you're describing now? And, and if so, can you, can you teach me more about that?
Pascal: Uh, completely. Uh, there are different, uh, considerations here that, uh, Sharon Aqua Vita addresses. First of all, it's a, it's a product that is completely, uh, heterophilic. So again, it'll, uh, focus. On the water phase, so for maximum efficacy. The second thing is that it's a multi-functioning, it's, uh, uh, uh, vitamin based and particularly niacinamide based, uh, uh, ingredient that has the multi-functionality to be of course.
High preservation efficacy combined with skin health and hair, hair health benefits. But also what's very interesting, and again today to be very effective in the preservation market, you need to be a science-based. You need to have a strong scientific understanding. Not only about the cosmetic products, but about the bio contaminants, and that's [00:13:00] what we have with Sharon eta.
Again, that has been demonstrated by two published papers. There are recently 2024 and 2025, where we demonstrated another mechanism of action where we protect from micro contaminants. So instead of having a a, a membrane disruptor. We are something that will interact with the bacterial DNA. So again, with and again, that has been demonstrated through different, of course, the traditional challenge test and different, uh, testing that you can, uh, approach.
Uh, but this is a new way to look at preservation that will more align with consumers to their consumers expectations.
Deanna: Yeah. Yeah. No, that's so interesting. There's a, there's a lot going on there. Um. I I wanna ask a, a little follow up question. And I, I think listeners know at this point I am not a scientist. Uh, but my understanding is that even the sort of traditional preservation systems, even if they're added during the oil phase, they are functionally active in water.[00:14:00]
I'm trying to get my head around this idea of sort of lipophilic and hydrophilic preservative systems. 'cause we know, um, a hydrophilic, right? This is water loving, lipophilic is sort of oil loving. Um. And you're talking about something that is like fully hydrophilic now and going towards, you know, being used in the water phase, um, being more effective since that's where the microbes are likely to propagate and, and cause problems.
Is there something I, I wonder if there's more for me to learn here. Is there something else you can, you can share that would help me understand this new technology and, and really how it's, how it's different.
Pascal: Again, all preservation systems to be on the market needs to show, uh, efficacy. Okay. So, but in addition to that, you're talking about the, the, the, the percentage you put, uh, on you need to put in your phone. Allow the, the, uh, level of efficacy, uh, uh, towards, for example, some [00:15:00] specific applications. Like there are different products that are sometimes diff more difficult to preserve.
So by having those, uh, uh, panel of various solutions will. Allow you and will allow formulators to find always the right solution to, for their products, but also to address again, the consumer expectations. So, but definitely, uh, the more hydrophilic you are, the better efficacy you will be able to provide.
Deanna: No, this makes sense. No, that's helpful to think about too. And like you said, really it, it depends as much on the product formulation as it, you know, as it does the efficacy. It's, it's always, um, it's always a collaboration really, or, or a system. Right. We talk about preservative systems. Yeah.
Pascal: Absolutely. And again, today, the key is there's no more one size fits all. So you need to have in your portfolio a wide range of solutions where formulators can tap on so that they will find the exact [00:16:00] solutions to, uh, what they're doing.
Deanna: Perfect. Yeah, no, that makes good sense. And, and you mentioned a moment ago the idea of sort of. What we would call multifunctional preservatives, um, something that acts as a preservative, but also imparts, maybe skincare or haircare benefits. Um, and I don't think, I don't know your entire background, but I don't think either of us are regulatory specialists, so we're certainly not ready to offer legal advice.
But I do wonder if having a multifunctional preservative, at least in. Markets around the world, would that mean that the finished product could be called preservative free? Can we sort of focus on the hair care benefit and, and just wash over the other, or, or do you have any comments on that?
Pascal: Yeah, I think, you know, uh, again, uh. We have to be careful when you say multifunctional. Multifunctional definitely will means, uh, uh, uh, preservation efficacy with. Uh, skin, uh, uh, benefits or hair care benefits. So, [00:17:00] uh, definitely you have a preservation efficacy here in the multi-functionality. I think it's very important and I think it's very important because it's very important to, even though we hear some conversations about preservation free, I think it's very important to communicate to consumers that the cosmetic products are safe
Deanna: Yeah. Yeah. I, I, I, I appreciate that. It, it almost sounds like even if there were an opportunity to say preservative free, we shouldn't, because it's very misleading.
Pascal: Absolutely. And again, we need to make sure that we, we are, uh, uh, assuring the consumers that what they're using is safe.
Deanna: Yeah. Yeah. No, I like this answer. Um, and Pascal, before we finish up our conversation, I want to move, uh, from the preservation of. Products, um, to perhaps I can say the preservation of business. Uh, over the years here, uh, that I've spent in the industry, I have seen many ingredient companies enter the US market, the greater America's region.
Some of these companies [00:18:00] will start with local offices. They'll build an in-country team, then they'll find distribution partners to cover various regions, right in or beyond the states. Other companies. Sort of first partner with an established distributor and later on bring the business in-house, right, and develop a team in the us.
I'm wondering if you can tell us anything about Sharon's approach to business development in the Americas and, and really how you as general manager for the region are shaping the business for long-term success in these markets.
Pascal: Well, of course it's a, it's a very good question because we have that question every day. How we can, you know, address, uh, uh, our uh, uh, customers in the best way. So definitely for us, uh, Aron, you mentioned before, we had a, a very strong, uh, expertise, historically, 45 years of expertise in, uh, preservation.
But also for the last three, four years, we have expanded into, uh, uh, uh, other categories such as functional and active, active ingredients. Why? Because then we can propose the complete [00:19:00] solutions to, uh, our, uh, uh, uh, customers also then, uh. Today. Uh, because also from the, for under the pressure of, uh, uh, consumers, it's more about, uh, it, it needs to be science-based.
So you need to have a strong foundations and you need to be able to, uh, uh, uh, substantiate all your claims. You need to be able to, again, provide as, uh, you know, for our preservation systems, the total safety to the consumers. So this is what we want to, to develop, but also, again, to provide a service. It's not only to put the products on the market, but you need also to be able to service, uh, uh, uh, directly your customers so that they, they will feel, uh, comfortable about, uh, the solutions you provide.
So this is our commitment, uh, to, uh, deliver quality products, but also, uh, very, uh, a very expert, uh, services.
Deanna: That makes sense. That's very helpful to know. Pascal, everything you [00:20:00] have shared with us today has been quite interesting. Thank you for being my guest today on the Cosmo Factory Podcast. Asked.
Pascal: Thank you so much. It was a pleasure being with you today.