Scott Beaudry, Director, Baby Care, R&D, Asia-Pacific, J&J, spoke at the industry event, and emphasised that to formulate top tier personal care products for babies, it is essential to meet their specific needs. Formulators cannot treat babies simply as small adults, he asserted.
The R&D expert outlined the company's top priorities and guiding principles for making baby care products.
How to formulate ideal products?
The market expert reminded delegates at the event to be vigilant when it comes to choosing ingredients: no negative data does not mean a product is safe if the necessary testing has not been carried out.
According to Beaudry, there are six key criteria that need to be met when formulating an ideal baby care product.
These are:
- Consider babies’ unique needs
- Contain only ingredients that are necessary and have been evaluated and documented for safety
- Undergo a strict comprehensive assessment to ensure that the final formulation is safe, mild and non-irritating, and appropriate for babies
- Ensure the formulation is effective and delivers intended benefits
- Include labelling and packaging with babies and their caregivers in mind
- Meet or exceed all applicable government standards and regulatory requirements
What do babies need?
When looking at the difference between babies and adult consumers, Beaudry outlined five key areas where babies have specific demands when it comes to personal care.
- Babies need products that are mild and non-irritating and that maintain the skin barrier
- Babies need products that are designed for their unique needs - including gentle, non-irritating and non-drying cleansing
- Babies need products and routines that encourage physiological, cognitive and emotional development
- Babies need [products that protect skin in sensitive areas such as occluded diaper regions
- Babies need products with safe packaging.
Beaudry noted that the industry functions best when it engages in knowledge sharing, and stated that the majority of research into the baby care category in recent years used by the wider market has been led or supported by J&J. He concluded by encouraging continued vigilance when it comes to safety, and continued collaboration in research to achieve this.