Germany’s Evonik expands cosmetics product portfolio with Air Products acquisition

German chemicals company Evonik has announced the acquisition of Air Products specialty additives business in a bid to expand its product and technology portfolio for the cosmetics industry.

Air Products' expertise includes various encapsulation technologies for active cosmetic ingredients and multifunctional polymers.

Using various membrane-forming lipids, the ingredients can be packaged into tiny vesicles, which serve as protective transport aids.

Evonik's personal care business Line head Dr Tammo Boinowitz said: “We are adding interesting products to our actives and polymer portfolio for the cosmetics industry along with a highly attractive formulation technology.”

“The acquisition is another step toward the goal of becoming the leading specialty provider for cosmetic ingredients.”

Evonik stated that with the newly added polymers, the company is also moving into the field of hairstyling.

Evonik's personal care delivery systems head Michael Sacher said: “They enable us to deliver active ingredients specifically to the desired action site in the skin to improve the bioavailability of active ingredients and modulate their release.

“That also has additional positive effects, such as the stabilisation of sensitive cosmetic ingredients.”

Evonik operates in the Nutrition & Care, Resource Efficiency, and Performance Materials segments. It reported sales of around €13.5bn and an operating profit of about €2.47bn in 2015.