Premium Beauty News - 2015 was focused on investments?
Thomas Sirot - Indeed, we significantly increased our industrial investments, particularly in packaging and in automatic assembly and finishing lines. As you know, we have our own injection machine park at the Ardon site near Orléans (France), which is home to 35 machines. This makes us a fully integrated company, from the packaging to the end product, including the manufacturing of our formulas and filling operations.
In terms of formulation, our main development focus remains powders. Our mastery in the different powder formulation and production technologies is one of our featured activities. This allows us also to play a leading role in the field of "complexion" but also in the one of eyeshadows, loose powders, body powders, etc.
Hence, out of the EUR 900,000 invested industrially over the past two years, 70% benefited to our second production site in Romorantin (France), which has a production and packaging capacity exceeding 100 million units per year. We therefore can boast having a perfect mastery of the case/powder "couple" and our image as a Full service provider is not over done.
Premium Beauty News - In addition to industrial investments, you also worked on expanding your customer portfolio.
Thomas Sirot - This portfolio indeed needed to be broadened. A commercial work, which is really starting to bear fruit not only in France but also overseas. From 10% of our turnover achieved on export sales in 2014, we will reach 25-30% by next year, thanks in particular to a strong breakthrough in the U.S., on both the West and East Coasts.
Premium Beauty News - Another strong point is your back injection process?
Thomas Sirot - It is clearly thanks to this packaging/formulation expertise that that we wanted and were able to develop this new back injection process called IPM, which enables us to boast a mastery of the container/content compatibility. This process makes it possible to avoid “traumatizing” ingredients (in particular pigments and nacres), and therefore achieve amazing softness and brightness. This still accounts for 25% of our business! Which does not keep us from investing in multi-compacting and automated high capacity compacting.
Premium Beauty News - What are your other goals?
Thomas Sirot - We boast a true expertise in the filling of lipsticks, mascaras and lip glosses; however, we are concentrating on what we do best: Powders, with the ambition of becoming the European leader in this field. So ...., we will tell you more next time.
