New brand, new strategy as BASF hones its cosmetic focus

Speaking at its press conference at the Melia Barcelona Hotel, in preparation for the in-cosmetics trade show, the Personal Care Europe team set out its strategy for the year going forward, introducing its new brand, Care Creations.

Care Creations aims to combine the science foundation BASF is immersed in, with market empathy, to ensure it adds value and benefit to its customers.

Debuting the brand’s philosophy, ‘inspired by life’, BASF explained that the aim of the new brand is to enhance its product portfolio by developing ingredients based on specific market data, collected from dedicated centres around the world.

One step ahead​

“We have dedicated labs all around the world, and this is important because we are close to our customers and the consumers. We don’t need translators or interpreters because we are where we need to be and can react fast,”​ explained Thomas Schroeder, vice president Regional Business Management, Personal Care Europe.

“Our portfolio has grown and it is more specific in order to benefit our customers. We look at the market trends and develop our products based on this, so that we meet both consumer and customer needs.”​

Schroeder continued to explain that the new strategy means that it can get products to market a lot quicker, and that is one of the most important things in an ever-changing cosmetics world.

Speed is an asset​

“Everything moves so fast – regional trends are not specific to particular areas anymore,”​ added Frank Freiler, vice president Beauty Care Solutions.

“What may trend in Shanghai or Paris could quickly be picked up in New York – it is important to be quick-to-market, and speed is now one of our best assets.”​

BASF expects to launch multiple ingredients this year, using the in-cosmetics show as a starting point. The key strategy for the company is to focus on the claims of its products rather than the finished products themselves.

Schroeder expanded on this, stating that the company’s new market approach is about finding out what consumers want, as everyone is different, and develop ingredients that the market is asking for, in order to assist and meet the demands of its customers.

“We are not a consumer products company, but we still need to know what the consumer wants. By being inspired by life, we bring innovation to our customers, with products they want,”​ he added.