Flower power: Floratech sees potential for Sunflower-derived emulsifier in APAC

The US-based ingredient company was at Society of Cosmetic Scientists Singapore’s Suppliers Day 2019 to showcase its range of naturally-derived ingredients, including its sunflower-derived emulsifier, Emulsun.

Emulsun is the company’s low-cost, PEG-free, COSMOS approved, HLB independent oil-in-water system that can be used in a variety of products in skin care, make-up and hair care.

Kelly Dwyer, senior vice president, sales and market development of Floratech, told CosmeticsDesign-Asia​ that the firm saw a need for PEG-free emulsifiers in the market.

“[PEG-free] is a trend that started 15-20 years ago and its moving around the world. Not trending much in SEA but in Korea you definitely see it. Trends will eventually go around the world. They will have greater or less impact in different markets. The PEG-free trend has been building for quite a while I don't see any reason it wouldn't reach SEA,’ ​said Dwyer.

Dwyer added Emulsun was designed to have multi-features. “​We built features into Emulsun like easy to handle particle forms, rapidly melting… ​It also has a secondary benefit of extended hydration. A lot of emulsifiers on the market are good but don’t provide a secondary benefit.”​

Emulsun in APAC

According to Dwyer, Emulsun has been received well in the APAC market where the company is represented by a team of distributors in 14 countries including China, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

“The word we hear the most from our distributors and their customers is texture. They like that it has a very pleasing texture and good spread. Sometimes when you put an emulsion on, it can leave a bit of a white residue on the skin, that doesn’t occur with Emulsun.”​

Dwyer highlighted that APAC was an important market for Floratech.

“Asia is a market that we have a very high percentage of our efforts in… In general, Asian women will spend more time per day taking care of their skin and hair than in other markets.”​

As such, the company places a lot of emphasis on designing prototypes that resonate with Asian consumers. For instance, the firm tweaks the viscosity of its products to cater to the higher-level of humidity across APAC.

“We are putting a lot of effort into the design of our prototypes. We pay attention to the trends in the Asian market and will design our prototypes demonstrating the use of our ingredients in formulas that are very desirable for the Asian market. For instance, we developed a sprayable milky lotion designed specifically for the Asian market in mind.”​

Additionally, the firm conducts clinical studies in Asia. “We did clinical studies in Taiwan with frequent sheet mask users. The double-blind studies found that these ladies preferred mask with our product over 80% of the time compared to the same face mask without,” ​said Dwyer.

“By doing on-site clinical studies in Asia and working with our Asian distributors to identify the type of sensory consumers are looking for, we are able to bring to our distributors examples of on-trend ingredients.”​