We are French and proud of it! “It is not by chance, explains Florence Lefeuvre, the Sales and Marketing Director, if we wanted to assert our feeling of belonging to the long-standing French know-how in the manufacture of cosmetics with our little Eiffel Tower at the centre of our communication.” Especially since the expertise of the Alkos Group is real. “It just needed to be nurtured,” says Dominique Vautier, CEO. “A process which started two years ago and which is not competed yet...”
First axis, reinforce the image of a group of its own that concentrates the expertise of Alkos, the only manufacturer of Made In France cosmetic pencils praised by export markets, of Intercosmétiques specialized in the development and industrialization of cosmetic and skincare products and finally of Sagal, a manufacturer of soaps and perfumed deo sticks.
Second axis, highlight the capacity for innovation and the wealth of the offer of these three entities:
– Make-up: in all possible galenic forms: pencils, fluid, poured, sticks and for every axes, eyes, lips, face and even nails.
– Skincare: in airless tubes, bottles, jars, sticks for creams, masks, serums, scrubs, bi-phase, milks, gels, jellies, mists, oils.
– Scented soaps and deos: with translucent and transparent, opaque textures.
"Our strength also stands in our full range of services to meet the needs of our customers and the market trends, explains Vautier. Our core-business is to provide industrialized innovations (concepts and products) and ‘tailor-made’ products to our customers using their briefs as a starting point. Our activity is complemented by a comprehensive’ full-service offer (developed by our teams from formulation and components to the finished products), including a ‘partial’ full-service offer (with components developed by our clients’ services).”
Third axis, guarantee a top level of quality services (99.3%, 99.5% and 99.9%) and OTIF which makes the Group’s strength for the three entities. The French group is also very proud of the motivation and involvement of the staff in the three Business Units which is capable, since 2012 of working on a 3X8 7d/7d basis if necessary.
A tool to meet these ambitions
To fulfil these commitments, the Group did not skimp on resources both human and technical. The Intercosmétiques plant located in Angers is capable of producing some 41 million units per year (currently 25 million in skincare and 16 million in make-up). The workshops operate under a controlled-atmosphere and the factory provides custom developments matching the specificities of each project whether in formulation, manufacturing or packaging.
As regards make-up more specifically, the factory offers for 2013 a capacity of 20 million pieces for lipsticks, 13 millions for gloss, 10 million for mascaras and 6 million for hot filled products. Citus, a “latest-generation” brand new machine for hot filled lipsticks was commissioned a few days ago. The factory is also capable of filling 30 million tubes, 14 million bottles, 3.5 million of jars and 8 million of airless bottles. As for the Sagal plant, the production capacity for soaps in 2013 will exceed 15 million units and that of deo sticks 6 million units.
Finally the Alkos Cosmétiques factory located in the North of France will rely this year on an overall production capacity of 96 million pieces. 34% of its turnover comes from wood-made cosmetic pencils (Slim, Jumbo and Super Jumbo) and 46% from plastic pencils (Slim and Jumbo) which, due to the sharp increase in demand explains the installation of a new high performance line for the filling of plastic pencils. The factory’s other booming activity concerns the production of eyeliner pens, brushpens, French liners, make-up felt erasers and correctors, for an overall conditioning capacity of 30 million pieces per year accounting for 18% of sales.
A comprehensive and attractive offer
The Group is now reaping the fruits of a successful “product” repositioning and of industrial investments with sales jumping from nearly EUR 27 million in 2009 to more than 41 million expected this year. “Our make-up product offer, which represents 55% of our business, has enriched itself considerably,” emphasises Lefeuvre. “We will be showcasing a whole range of new products on the occasion of upcoming professional events, at Cosmoprof Bologna this week and MakeUp in Paris in a few months.”
Alkos has decided to give readers of Premium Beauty News a sneak preview of some of the fruits of its innovative harvest by unveiling its Jumbo Twist Mania. A series of innovative textures presented as part of a Full Service offer with a new gesture, Must Have: at last a lipstick mechanism in the form of a pencil! It comes in two generations of packaging, the latter is sleek with a cap following the body alignment. Many textures will be presented: the lipstick Couture, intense and rich; the natural and light Color Balm, the Glossy Touch, a comfortable gloss with a finish bursting with natural brightness. The Jumbo Twist also comes in a very interesting formula in between skincare and make-up, the Beauty Care Balm.
Easy to use correcting concealer will also be showcased. Ultra Long Lasting Eyeshadows are also in preparation for MakeUp in Paris....
Skincare Innovation will present three new serums: the WakeUp Serum with an ultra-light texture, enriched with anti-aging tightening actives; the Renewal Night Serum boosted with a unique mixture with ultra restorative properties; the Sugar of Life Serum, a fresh jelly stimulating the cell renewal.
Alkos also complements its range of ultra long-lasting plastic pencils with the introduction of the Waterproof Addict Eyebrow Pencil and the Universal Lip care liner; Anti Age Defying Lip Liner.
The Alkos team is exited to introduce these new products and more!... at the Cosmoprof (Hall 15 - Stand C6-D5).
