Indena to Focus on Pharma, Sell Off Cosmetics to Givaudan

Indena, a leading Italian supplier of plant-derived active ingredients, has big plans to shift its business toward core pharmaceutical and health food sectors—opening the door to Givaudan, which will step in and acquire Indena's cosmetics business.

According to Indena, to sustain the acquisition process, the two companies have entered a manufacturing and innovation partnership to continue the supply of active ingredients to the cosmetics industry. Headquartered in Switzerland, Givaudan is a global leader in active beauty and in the creation of flavors and fragrances.

“We believe that Givaudan, with its very long history and tradition in innovating taste and scent, coupled with its strong commercial presence, is the right partner to further strengthen this business in the future," said Daniele Giavini, managing director of Indena. "Givaudan’s culture and its knowledge of natural cosmetic ingredients, as well as the use of the latest sustainable biotechnologies to create high performing functional products, fit well with the philosophy we have consistently adopted at Indena throughout our history. We are in favor of this transaction, as it enables Indena to focus on its core markets, pharmaceuticals and health food, whilst continuing to support the cosmetic ingredients business, which has been a valuable part of our portfolio.”

Based on the long term partnership agreement signed by Indena and Givaudan, Indena will continue to manufacture ingredients for Givaudan and to provide innovation capabilities and other support services. This partnership will allow both companies to enhance their capabilities and to focus on their respective core competencies.

Maurizio Volpi, president of Givaudan’s fragrance division, said “The acquisition of the cosmetics business of Indena fits very well with our long term strategy for Active Beauty. They have an excellent reputation in the market, thanks to the quality of their ingredients, their strong focus on innovation as well as the mastering of their supply chain. It offers Active Beauty an expanded portfolio of plant based ingredients that nicely complement our current portfolio. We are very confident that the acquisition will further enhance our position as a leading player in the active cosmetic ingredients industry.”