"By concentrating our portfolio into dedicated application sectors and divisions that indicate specific performance attributes, it is much easier for customers to identify and select the ingredients or guide recipies for addressing the individual formulation goals," said Annie Timm, head of sales & applications, personal care EMEA at Clariant.
The company said it has made a series of ongoing updates to its Concepts and Selection Guides for formulators, aiming to help formulators clearly and quickly identify the raw materials they are looking for from its extensive portfolio.
The idea to simplify the product portfolio was first introduced in April 2009, as an application concept strategy that concentrated on a broad number of concepts and selection guides.
Making raw materials quicker to find
Now the initiative has been further refined by adapting the needs of cosmetics and personal care formulators targeting certain characteristics with specific categories, simplifying the navigation of the portfolio by offering specific choices.
The new concepts include performance enhancement, processing advantages, and reduced environmental impact – areas that are all becoming increasingly important to formulators who are trying to cover all bases.
With regards to ingredient areas, the portfolio is now divided into surfactants, actives, emulsifiers and rheology modifiers, as well as specific choices for skin sensorics and synergistic aids for viscosity and preservation systems.
The growing trend for natural and eco-friendly ingredients has also meant that many of the range is now Ecocert approved and all of these ingredients are clearly flagged up within the company’s EcoTain range of natural and sustainable products.
Choice of finished product categories and formulation needs
The portfolio has also been built around different product categories, which include products aimed at men, youth, sun care, wet wipes, decorative cosmetics, silicon-free formulations and preservation.
Likewise, the navigation system has also been built around making it easier for formulators to search out solutions for very specific formulation needs.
In line with this, one of the most recent enhancements to the concept includes an Emulsifier Selection Guide, which highlights the main properties, functions and eco-criteria for its ranges of Hostaphat, Hostacerin and SilCare Silicone WSI emulsifiers.