Safic-Alcan UK launches opacifier for cash strapped times
Presenting Blanc 544 to the UK cosmetics industry at SCS Formulate in Telford last week, Safic-Alcan underlined the cost effective character of the ingredient.
Price sensitive marketplace
Opacifiers are most commonly used in everyday products such as shampoos, shower gels and soaps that are all sold in a crowded marketplace where consumers are likely to play close attention prices, especially in a recession.
“Women may keep up their spending on their face creams and cosmetics but they are likely to look for cheaper shampoos and soaps for their families in an effort to save money,” said Safic-Alcan UK spokesperson Ken Jones.
Low addition levels cut costs
The new opacifier from Safic-Alcan helps manufacturers to save money because the quantity that is required in a formulation is much lower than normal, added Jones.
Another benefit of low addition levels is that the ingredient is unlikely to upset the formulation.
Jones said that when a high quantity of opacifier is needed in a shampoo or shower gel bottle, the pH of the product can change because opacifiers tend to have a low pH.
Blanc 544 is also nonylphenol free and preservative free, two claims that Jones said European cosmetics manufacturers are asking for in increasing numbers.
Safic-Alcan claims that the opacifier is easy to formulate with because it is a low viscosity liquid that works in systems with pH 5-12.
The company has developed another opacifier called Op 504 that is more expensive but offers fewer residual monomers than Blanc 544. The UK has a large mass market that is set to experience lower growth as the economy dips into a recession, so the more cost effective Blanc 544 is currently taking precedence over Op 504.
