TAGS: Sustainability/Natural Cosmetics Decorative Cosmetics
An Interview with Paloma Moya del Valle, Global Head of Cosmetics – Marketing & Technical Services at ECKART
ECKART is one of the world's leading manufacturers of metallic and pearlescent pigments for cosmetics and other functional applications. These ingredients enhance the beauty and give personal care products a fascinating shimmer and unique depth.
Experts at ECKART are constantly researching new effects and formulations by which they help customers to:
- reduce production costs,
- shorten development times,
- improve sensor technology, and
- make products more environmentally friendly.
We recently interviewed Paloma Moya del Valle, Global Head of Cosmetics - Marketing & Technical Services at ECKART where she reveals how the use of effect pigments and additives can make all the difference in the personal care industry.
#1. What is ECKART positioning in the world of Personal Care?
ECKART is a leading producer of
effect pigments for the Personal Care industry. We are well known for the quality and the performance of our products, and-in uncertain times like these-even more appreciated for our customer orientation and high service levels.
Besides our effect pigments, we also manage the portfolio of
rheology additives for Cosmetics of BYK, our sister company. Thanks to this, we are experts in the challenges and possibilities of very different ingredients and in how to achieve the best synergies in a very wide range of applications. This knowledge is used daily to support our customers obtain optimal results.
All of this has made
ECKART the partner of choice for companies which want to be on the safe side regarding quality, regulatory compliance, and performance in order to be able to focus on accelerating creativity.
Personal Care Products By ECKART
#2. How is ECKART unique and why is this relevant?
ECKART has a long history (of almost 150 years!) producing
metallic effect pigments for different industries. During this time, it has established itself in a leading position and accumulated unique know-how on optical effects. This know-how was at some point the perfect steppingstone into the field of
pearlescent pigments, where we are very well established now. It is also in this area where we keep innovating most for Personal Care, for example, the Supernova series. Key features of this series that were not possible before are:
-
a new level of color intensity,
- coverage, and
- brilliance.
SYNCRYSTAL Supernova Gold (L), SYNCRYSTAL Supernova Orange (C), and SYNCRYSTAL Supernova Red (R)
Regarding the Personal Care portfolio, ECKART is unique in the sense that thanks to the
combination of pearls and metallic pigments, we offer the most attractive portfolio regarding variety of effects:
- from subtle shimmer to high coverage,
- from intensive colors to skin-colored shades, and
- from mattifying to stunning sparkling range.
Not to forget, what is really especial to ECKART:
brilliant metallic effects in silver, gold, and copper shades and incredibly intense interference pearls. This variety contributes to reduce complexity in the supplier portfolio, while providing maximum flexibility in the possible colors and effects in
all kinds of formulations.
Another factor that differentiates ECKART´s is
the focus we put on meeting the specific needs of personal care customers. Thus, we go the extra mile selecting special raw materials or customizing processes especially for cosmetic qualities. This increased effort on our side contributes to improvements for our customers, like for example, ensuring global compliance, etc.
#3. What are the most critical challenges customers are facing nowadays and how your innovative solutions are helping them?
Customers in Personal Care are facing many different challenges now. The most visible one is the growing
consumer demand for more natural products, which is definitely a driver for innovation in the industry. The biggest challenge of naturalness is, that it lies in the eyes of the observer. It may mean different things in different countries or for different people. Luckily, most of our products are of
mineral origin, so they can be easily used in natural cosmetics.
To underline this, we have already had some following product lines COSMOS approved, like our:
Another persistent challenge is the
changing regulatory environment. New regulations being enacted in different countries on different subjects make it challenging for our customers to define the requirements for their raw materials. We are well aware of this and try to be one-step ahead, making all our products fit for global use. This is especially helpful for formulators at global companies, for contract manufacturers and for companies who are starting to export: they know from the beginning the flexibility they have and don´t need to adapt formulations or change ingredients continuously. And, in the end, this is also a form of efficiency.
#4. What are the current and future market trends and how ECKART is leading them?
We see that the natural trend is here to stay, but as consumers are becoming more savvy, the “free from” claims are wearing down and the differentiation between brands is also fading. To regain momentum, there will be a turn to embrace science in all areas, but not as “opposite to” but more “hand-in-hand”. We are seeing this beginning already, with the rapid growth of doctor brands or single-ingredient serums, but this will accelerate in the next years.
ECKART is contributing to this in different ways. Technologically, we keep working on
promoting the use of clean technologies to further expand our portfolio or achieve even better effects. An example of this was the launch of
ECOFIL® B 110 a couple of years ago. Our first filler for cosmetic obtained by biotechnology from renewable sources has many interesting benefits, such as a marked soft-focus effect. On the rheology side, we also learn from nature to make
thickening agents with improved rheological behavior.
#5. What about ECKART´s contribution to sustainability and social aspects in the Personal Care Industry?
At ECKART, we are well aware of growing consumer concern for sustainability and for all social aspects related to how consumer products are made. This has always been in the focus of ALTANA, the group of companies to which ECKART belongs, who already years ago set us the goal to
reduce our CO2 impact in production and energy procurement worldwide to zero until 2025.
Thus,
compliance with social aspects,
low greenhouse gas emissions, resource efficiency, and the use of renewable energies are an integral part of our daily work, like, for example, the development of new products and processes or the choice of our suppliers. By the way, since the beginning of 2020, ECKART has been purchasing electricity from renewable sources worldwide.
An important landmark in our sustainability path was achieved in 2022, as ECKART GmbH was awarded platinum status by EcoVadis, proving that we are among the top 1% of companies in the chemical industry sector assessed by EcoVadis.
It is also worth noting, that EcoVadis also evaluated the newly introduced "
Carbon Management Level," for which ECKART achieved the status
"Advanced" at the first attempt. This is a great motivation to keep going ahead on our sustainability path and helping our customers on theirs.
ECKART's Pigment Range
View a wide range of
pigments supplied by ECKART, analyze technical data of each product, get technical assistance or request samples.
About Paloma Moya del Valle
Paloma Moya del Valle has been Global Head of Cosmetics at ECKART (Marketing & Technical Service) since 2017. As such, she is responsible for the portfolio, the technical services, and the marketing of ECKART´s effect pigments and BYK´s additives for personal care.
For that role, she brings the experience gathered during 20 years in the chemical industry in various positions in International Sales, Marketing and Product management. Paloma is a graduate in Biochemistry from the Universtat de les Illes Balears.