Chinese Herbal Skincare? BASF Targets Botanical Ingredients in China

On September 8, BASF announced on its official website the launch of Phytocine™, a new generation of actives inspired by traditional Chinese herbs.

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The Phytocine™ series is described as the result of its combination of modern skin bioscience and herbal plants grown in the pan-Himalayan region of Yunnan Province, China. These naturally inspired actives are preservative-free and have skincare benefits such as improving skin hydration and barrier function (Phytocine™ AQUA), fighting aging /oxidation signs(Phytocine™ NOVO), and soothing sensitive skin (Phytocine™ CALM).

Viju Jose, Vice President of Personal Care Solutions, BASF Care Chemicals Asia Pacific, said that the Phytocine™ series is BASF's way of combining modern biotechnology to apply these herbal-inspired actives to the cosmetics industry, ensuring that they meet the latest standards and are suitable for BASF's customers. 

Currently, the Chinese cosmetic market has shown three major trends: natural, green, and skincare with efficacy, all of which have a strong demand for cosmetic botanical ingredients. According to market research data released by Euromonitor, the demand for plant-sourced ingredients in the cosmetics market will grow at a CAGR of 3% from 2015 to 2020.

CHAILEEDO learned that international brands also attach importance to plant-based ingredients in China as a development opportunity. L'Oréal Group, for example, has set up a dedicated team to research on the efficacy of high-purity plant extracts in China. And about 71% of L'Oréal's products add or use ingredients from natural plant extract sources, while other brands such as Estée Lauder, Shiseido, and JALA have high rates of natural plant extract usage.

In Asia, demand for personal care products that combine modern herbal medicine with skin biology is growing significantly, according to Eunice Jeong, regional head of market development, said by Eunice Jeong, Head of Regional Market Development, Personal Care Solutions, Care Chemicals, BASF Asia Pacific. In addition, the strong growth trend of using herbal ingredients is not limited to Asia but encompasses the global skin beauty market. 

Notably, just earlier this month, BASF announced on its website that it had formed an innovation partnership and signed a cooperation agreement with Chinese startup Ingredi Bio, which includes a strategic equity investment by BASF in Ingredi Bio. BASF claimed that through this partnership, it will use its expertise to apply these actives in personal care product formulations, finding and commercializing new solutions to the global personal care market.

Founded in 2017, Ingredi Bio was said to focus on the R&D of innovative, highly active, and sustainable botanical ingredients and provides innovative natural active ingredients and total market solutions for the personal care industry. It is worth mentioning that these ingredients are sourced from species native to the Pan-Himalayan region.