Greentech develops active ingredients for the region's cosmetics market

Country Business Reports interviews and articles by Discovery Reports www.discoveryreports.com

After completing his postdoctoral studies in biology, Dr Jean-Yves Berthon decided to establish his own biotechnology company. Initially focused on extracting active compounds from plants and later on from marine life and microorganisms, the Greentech group pioneered organic biotechnology at a time when going green was yet to become a trend. Because of this innovative and pioneering spirit, pharmaceutical companies and global cosmetics giants such as Clarins, Shiseido and L'Oréal have collaborated with Greentech in developing the active ingredients behind many of their world-renowned products.

"Our success is about flexibility, reactivity and innovation," Berthon says. "Regardless of client size, we always expedite innovation in a cost-effective manner."

Greentech accomplishes this by allocating 20 per cent of its annual turnover and a third of manpower, comprising mostly doctors, to research and development. As a result, the group boasts an enormous database of 30,000 plant species and 300,000 biological molecules. Greentech also offers a patented cryo-extraction process, which uses extremely low temperatures to extract active ingredients from living plants without harming them.

The first of three companies comprising the group, Greentech offers cosmetic, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical ingredients purified from plants, while Greensea extracts them from algae and seaweeds. Biovitis, meanwhile, derives active compounds from bacteria, yeast and fungi for wastewater treatment, agriculture and agronomy, and cosmetics.

Compliant with good manufacturing practices, the Greentech group is the world's first company to obtain organic certification from Ecocert and is also the first cosmetics ingredients manufacturer to be ISO 22716:2007 certified.

With distribution partners in 37 countries, Greentech is focusing on Asia and plans to set up an office in Hong Kong or Shanghai within the next few years.

"We're eager to explore business opportunities across the region," Berthon says. "We're excited to work with government research institutions and private companies in developing new active ingredients customised for the Asian market."

Greentech
http://www.greentech.fr