Optical opportunities: Nanovetores sees potential in the APAC eye care market amid COVID-19 pandemic

André Genovez, international business manager of Nanovetores told CosmeticsDesign-Asia ​that company is expecting a surge in eye care products.

“Raw materials for lipsticks have decreased around 90% because we are going out less and because of masks. Now that everyone is wearing masks, the only thing people can see is the eye area. Formulating for the eye area is more important because more than ever that area is in focus.”​

He added that as consumers spend more time in front of their digital devices during isolation, the eye area was being assailed by sources of high energy visible (HEV) blue light.

“Blue light it stimulates free radicals, and this affects your skin and induces ageing. With antioxidant active ingredients you can fight back this effect,” ​said Genovez.

He added: “It’s not just blue light but this whole situation. It’s been a very stressful time for the society in general and this also accelerates ageing because whenever you are subjected to stressful situation you are accelerating the ageing and antioxidant actives help you to fight back.”​

Nanovetores specialises in encapsulation technology. These proprietary capsules are made from lipids and biopolymers using a water-based process. With this technology, the company is able to develop stable, safe and effective antioxidant ingredients.

Safety first

The safety of its ingredients makes it a good fit for the Asia market, said Genovez.

“Asian skin tends to be sensitive and there’s a big concern not just in terms of efficacy, but also the safety of the application. With the controlled release that we promote with our capsules, we are able to make eye cosmetics that are safer for Asian users. At the same time, you also have great efficacy.”​

Additionally, the ingredients can help speed up the product development process, said Genovez, which is crucial in the rapidly moving Asian market.

“Since COVID-19 hit, people have been working from home and a lot of developments stopped. R&D people weren’t able to produce anything. When you’re working with ascorbic acid, for instance, you will spend at least 60 days trying to stabilise it. Our active ingredients can shorten the development time.”​

Moving forward, the firm is focusing its efforts on the South East Asian markets such as Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. In particular, the firm is eyeing huge potential in the Indonesian market.

“Indonesia is an exponentially growing market with a growing concern for skin care. There’s a lot of demand for imported products, but domestic companies are growing. This is very positive – when there’s a market being created, we have to get inside it.”​

The company is working with specialty chemicals distributor IMCD Group to expand its business in SEA.

Genovez said: “We've worked with them in the US and we started a collaboration for the SEA countries. It's been going well. We’ve gotten great feedback. Customers are very excited about the natural encapsulation technology. I think we will be very successful there.”​