Fenchem enjoys growth and eyes further expansion

The industry-leading growth comes off the back of its expansion into the cosmetics field this year, when the company statedt it was building on cross-over ingredients for its food and nutritional division.

The company said that, in contrast with many companies in the manufacturing supply segment, it is currently in the process of expanding its production and personnel to help meet increased demand, which is also being fed by an expansion of its pet food ingredients.

Increased workforce by 30 per cent​

The workforce has increased by about 30 per cent at both its Nanjing headquarters and its US branch, which it opened in California last year, according to the company.

The new positions have been mainly created in the areas of research and development, quality control and sales.

As well as China and the US, the company also has a European representative branch in Norway, which forms part of plans to maximise its geographical representation.

Building on its cosmetics platform​

The company says that, building on its cosmetics ingredients platform, it is developing a series of new products, which will include Arbutin, Magnesium, ascorbyl phosphate and reduced L-Glutathione.

In September of this year the company announced that it would expand into cosmetics with the launch of the cosmetic grade HyaMax Sodium Hyaluronate.

Although many of the company's food-based products have already been used to manufacture cosmetic products – including its G-Tea green tea extract and Grapfruit grape seed extract – this was the first launch of an ingredient dedicated to the personal care arena.

First foray into cosmeceuticals​

Fenchem made its first foray into the cosmeceutical world relatively recently by targeting a number of its food extract ingredients at this growing segment of the market.

The next building block in its personal care ambitions came in November, when the company announced that it was increasing its cosmeceuticals focus with a newly launched carotenoid line.

The beta-carotene-based ingredients include lycopene, astaxanthin and lutein, primarily used by formulators for their strong anti-oxidant qualities.

Likewise, the company’s Beta-One ingredient is a betacarotene derived from the fermentation of the naturally occurring blakeslea trispora, and is also high in anti-oxidant properties.

Fenchem says it will introduce its new cosmetics ingredients portfolio to the industry at the forthcoming SCCNY show, to be held in New Jersey in May, as well as the In-Comestics show, which will held in Munich in April.