A specialist in the production of hygiene and personal care products in mid-size series, Thépenier Pharma & Cosmetics builds on its expertise in developing innovative formulations produced according to pharmaceutical standards. A level of quality that meets consumer expectations regarding “efficacy and safety.” Bertrand Lasserre, CEO, talked to Premium Beauty News.
In a market where competition is reaching record highs for cosmetic manufacturers, Thépenier Pharma & Cosmetics relies on its in-depth knowledge of pharmaceutical standards. “We are one of the few European manufacturers capable of producing cosmetic products in a pharmaceutical environment. Our factory is FDA OTC and GMP Pharma certified, which enables us to guarantee safe and effective products,” says Bertrand Lasserre, CEO.
In a committed approach towards safe and clean cosmetics, Thépenier Pharma & Cosmetics offers formulas with a high naturalness index, most of them containing more than 95% of ingredients of natural origin.
Transforming oral care
Recognized in France and internationally for its expertise in oral care, Thépenier Pharma & Cosmetics is also striving to shake things up in this segment that is very keen on new products.
“We see skinification as a major trend in the category,” underlines Bertrand Lasserre.
In this vein, the company has developed a rinse-off “anti-aging gum mask” to apply after brushing. Presented in March at the Cosmoprof Worldwide trade fair in Bologna, Italy, the formula generated great interest and was selected by the trends agency Beautystreams to be among the finalists of the Cosmopack Awards 2024.
Two years ago, Thépenier Pharma & Cosmetics had already distinguished itself with another oral care innovation, a silica-free toothpaste. With this earlier product, the challenge was to eliminate the abrasive particles, which often have nano sizes, while preserving the effectiveness of a product containing 98.9% ingredients of natural origin.
Hybrid and biomimetic formulas
In body care and dermo-cosmetics, another pillar of the Thépenier Pharma & Cosmetics offering, innovation is embodied in a range of patented and biomimetic formulas, dubbed Core Active Beauty. This is a range of stable and sophisticated skeleton formulas. Thanks to an original combination of functional ingredients, each product in the line offers underlying benefits – Hydra, Calm, Youth, Pure, and soon Glow – which can be optimized by adding active ingredients, according to customer demand, without any risk of destabilizing the activity of the core formula.
For superior absorption and tolerance, the lamellar structure of the formulas imitates that of the double-layer lipids of human skin.
Hair and sun care innovations
Also with the aim to address the latest expectations of consumers, Thépenier Pharma & Cosmetics has developed new generation hybrid products in the hair category, with a high naturalness index, in particular for hair and scalp care.
The company also wishes to make its mark in the sun care category for which it is currently working on an innovative offer. In this segment, where there is a high demand for solutions combining safety and naturalness, Thépenier Pharma & Cosmetics plans real innovations from 2025.
New industrial equipment
To meet growing demand from its clients and ensure controlled time to market deadlines, Thépenier Pharma & Cosmetics has just commissioned a new 500 m2 manufacturing workshop for liquid products, with a capacity of 4.5 million litres per year, paving the way for large-scale production.
Equipped with a state-of-the-art mixer and with an intermediate 20,000 litres storage tank, this new infrastructure is suitable for the most common products as well as viscous products, particularly in hygiene and hair care, but also for industrially complex products such as sun oils.
A new ultra-fast filling line (150 strokes/minute) is also planned for the end of 2026.
We should also note Thépenier Pharma & Cosmetics’ resolute commitment to sustainable development. Certified ISO 14001 and Silver EcoVadis, the company has set itself a target of reducing its carbon footprint by 30% (scopes 1, 2, and 3) by 2030. With this in mind, it has relocated the vast majority of its component purchases to France and worked on their rationalization (raw materials and packaging items) to improve its environmental score.
The company is also aiming for a 100% green electricity supply by 2028 and is implementing strong actions to reduce its water consumption and waste.
“An ODM manufacturer is not meant to replace brands, but to offer them solutions that optimize the expression of their identity, within controlled timeframes,” concludes Bertrand Lasserre.
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