Ashland eyes emerging Asian markets to sustain regional growth

The company already has a distributor in Myanmar, backed up with support from its Singapore office.

Heading for Asian markets​

However, the firm’s GM for consumer specialities in Asia Pacific Nelson Corda said the country offered considerable growth potential.

“We are looking at Myanmar very seriously as we seek to grow into more countries. We are also very interested in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Pakistan.​

“We are very fortunate to be in a region that is growing rapidly because consumers will always be aspirational as these markets develop.”​

Corda also said the company was considering its technical services in the region.

Technical expertise​

“We already have labs in Mumbai and Shanghai, but we are looking at how we can increase our technical services. This may mean we open more labs, and we are constantly hiring in this area.”​

Corda was speaking to us at the In-Cosmetics Asia exhibition in Bangkok where Ashland launched its Serenityl anti-pollution biofunctional ingredient.

The product is extracted from condurango, a vine sustainably sourced in Columbia and traditionally used in herbal medicine for its detoxifying properties.

The condurango name derives from condur-angu, a condor vine used by the large condor eagles as anti-venom against snake bites.

Skin care launch​

Corda said Serenityl can help increase skin detoxination, which refers to the capacity of the skin to sense environmental toxins and eliminate internal toxins.

Likewise, he said it can help boost skin oxygenation and rosiness while improving skin wellness during skin stress conditions.

“Consumers today struggle to find ways to get everything done and they also want to have time for the things that matter the most to them, including health and wellness,”​ he said.

“This trend advances the development of products for anti-pollution cosmetics. Serenityl enables manufacturers to address consumers' desire to protect their skin against exposure to environmental stress factors such as pollution.”​

He highlighted South East Asia, China and India as key target markets for the products, but said he also expected considerable demand from Japan and Korea – two places not traditionally associated with poor pollution.

Gold innovation award​

The firm was also showcasing its FiberHance bm solution, which received a gold innovation award at In-cosmetics Global 2017 in London.

The hair-strengthening product, evolved from glucose-based chemistry, is said to penetrate deep into the cortex to create new hydrogen and ionic bonds, which support the damaged internal keratin structure to strengthen the hair.