Created thanks to successive external growth operations and a dynamic business development, the family Group Anjac Health and Beauty posted sales of EUR 280 million in 2019 with a staff of 1,700 spread in France, Spain and the USA. In a fast-changing environment, where expectations from cosmetic brands vis-a-vis their suppliers are increasing, Anjac Health & Beauty has chosen a very original organizational model intended to consistently offer customers the production and R&D capacities of a large group while preserving the agility and reactive structure of the SMEs composing it.
Agility and intrapreneuriality
"It is true that innovation is on the lips of every manufacturers and the term is quite overused. In fact, beauty suppliers and brand owners alike, have understood that, in a world that is constantly accelerating, innovating is the royal road to success, not to say a prerequisite for survival. As far as we are concerned, we are fortunate to be able to rely on a very original and agile organizational model. We advocate intrapreneuriality, the culture to undertake within the Group. And indeed the Group’s ten companies [1]]] benefit from this. In practical terms, the companies’ different general management remain very autonomous, the founder is often always at the head of his company, as is the case for Aircos, Cosmetix West, Feltor, Innovi…", explains Anne Rutigliano, Head of Marketing and Communication at the Anjac Health & Beauty Group.
Relying on small structures and cross-functional innovation in a project mode, accelerates decision-making, preserves the test and learn culture, which is also similar to the way certain brands, in particular indie brands, operate.
Evidence-based innovation: the ingredient, formulation and finished product
However, to go one step further and offer more value to its customers, Anjac Health & Beauty also relies on the Group’s specific synergies. "A Group R&D unit has been created and the teams meet regularly. We are deploying the same type of unit for Marketing teams and we are increasingly integrating consumer trends in our developments," explains Anne Rutigliano.
Within the Group, expertise in Applied Research, in particular concerning ingredients and molecules, is shared. Abduction research methods, a method of reasoning based on the exploration of very large fields of research, benefit everyone. Innovation in the Anjac Health & Beauty Group is scientific and focused on proven efficiency.
In 2019, to give even more value to the innovation dynamics emerging from its teams, and to thank them, Anjac Health & Beauty has launched Anjac’tive, an in-house innovation contest open to its 1,700 employees, and encompassing processes, services and products.
Naturalness and efficiency
The Group also leverages on multiple categorical skills ranging from health products to food supplements, including make-up, personal care and dermocosmetic care, while having a mastery of the entire product designing and manufacturing chain, from ingredients to formulation.
"Our added value stands in our ability to imagine and develop innovative, tailor-made solutions that will have a positive impact on our health and environment. With Innovi, for example, the Group can rely on an entity specializing in research and innovation, capable of developing exclusive ingredients for its customers, depending on the brand’s objectives and positioning," adds Anne Rutigliano. The Group proposes a natural ingredient SPF BOOST which allows reducing sunscreen levels while maintaining high SPF levels in formulas. Research teams are working on second-generation effective and sensory, solid cosmetics, biodegradable and compostable masks combined with dermocosmetic formulations for the elderly, diabetic populations, etc.
This diversity in companies also makes it possible to deal with customers showing very different profiles, to smooth out capacity problems and to provide continuous business solutions. In terms of innovation, it also allows the Group’s customers to draw on the multiple skills and specialties developed by each company or at group level, with a particular focus on the key expectations of consumers: naturalness and efficiency.
Historically, very much focused in the Made in France, the Group recently established itself in North America with the acquisition of Cosmetix West. The expertise and know-how of the Californian company in clean beauty will thus benefit the entire Group, which also plans to transpose its technologies to its new entity to bring more proximity and service to its local customers.
