‘Good regional fit’: Lucas Meyer Cosmetics can tap Clariant’s strong regional presence to boost Asia growth

Clariant announced on October 30 that it had agreed to acquire Lucas Meyer Cosmetics from International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) for a total consideration of USD810m.

Speaking to the press at in-cosmetics Asia in Bangkok, Thailand, in November, Michael Haspel, global vice president, personal and home care, Clariant Care Chemicals said that the proposed acquisition would be “a very good regional fit”.​

“We’re very strong outside of Europe, in Asia and Latin America. These are areas [Lucas Meyers Cosmetics] were just starting to enter into. So, we feel it will boost the growth and aspirations they had to grow in these area outside of Central Europe and North America.”

Clariant presence stretches across Asia in markets Japan, China, Singapore, and India. The firm also has laboratories in Japan and China.

“We have a footprint all across Asia. Now, the Lucas Meyer team is able to utilise to do further product and application development for the customer base. For every one of our salespeople that’s already talking to customers in Asia, that’s an easy entrance for them to talk to those customers​,” said Hapsel.

Conversely, Lucas Meyer Cosmetics could potentially help strengthen Clariant’s footprint in North America.

Hapsel highlighted that its respective subsidiaries, Beraca and Southern Cross Botanicals, could exchange their knowledge.

“In the future, we can have more of these kinds of localised efforts by looking at the different flora in different parts of the world and coming up with value-added actives and even functional ingredients from those different portfolios.”​

Lucas Meyer Cosmetics was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Québec, Canada. It was acquired by IFF in 2015.

The proposed transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024.

IFF said in a press statement that the proposed sale of Lucas Meyer Cosmetics would allow the firm to focus on its core businesses.

On the other hand, Clariant sees this as an opportunity to reinforce its position in the cosmetics space, which it considers the “most attractive, profitable, and fastest-growing specialty chemicals markets.”​

Clariant said its ambition was to grow Lucas Meyer Cosmetics’ annual sales from around USD100m to USD180m by 2028.

“We really see this as a continuation of our strategy to be more focused on specialty chemicals, particularly in consumer market and segments,”​ said Hapsel.

“It’s a very nice fit with our portfolio as there are some key ingredient areas like peptides, which we didn’t have in our portfolio. We really feel this will be a good boost, a good synergistic growth story for bringing together our natural active ingredients business together with the active ingredient business of Lucas Meyer Cosmetics.”​

Hapsel added that Clariant’s decision to acquire Lucas Meyer Cosmetics was also based on the company’s strong brand equity in the market.

He concluded: “The two companies together will have a really good platform for meeting our customers’ needs going forward.”​