BASF announces an innovation partnership with start-up Ingredi, China, including a strategic equity investment

BASF and Ingredi, a China based supplier of natural actives and solutions for the personal care industry, announce the signing of a partnership, including a strategic equity investment into Ingredi by BASF.

While the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) market is known by many consumers, the use of plant-based actives with a TCM background is a new trend in the personal care industry and continues to grow fast.

Ingredi, established in 2017, brings in their strong capabilities identifying new personal care active ingredients from the natural plants found in the Himalaya area of China. BASF contributes its expertise in demonstrating how to successfully add these ingredients into personal care formulations and will market these products globally to its customers.

Ingredi has a proven track record and gained a reputation by bringing new actives from this traditional background, both with local Chinese and international personal care formulators. Based on a strong R&D platform and in-house testing facilities (in-vitro and in-vivo), Ingredi has expanded its business rapidly. Through the equity investment from BASF, Ingredi will be able to extend its production facilities.

In addition, BASF will jointly work with Ingredi to identify new solutions and commercialize these to the global personal care market.

“It is a great honor for us to be recognized by BASF as such a valuable partner for the industry,” said Dr. Ji Zhou, Chairman and Founder of Ingredi, China. “The partnership with BASF will enable us to benefit from BASF’s experience in the industry and profit from each other’s knowhow.”

“We are committed to deliver new innovative solutions to the personal care market, and to build an ecosystem of partners that can support our customers,” said Dr. Robert Parker, Director of New Business Development & Digital Officer, Care Chemicals at BASF. “We are proud to collaborate with Ingredi developing their business with mutual benefits together.”

The partnership between BASF and Ingredi is a further example of how BASF’s Care Chemicals Division is addressing future challenges. Sustainability, digitalization, innovation, and new approaches to working together are the key cornerstones to Care 360° – Solutions for Sustainable Life.

About the Care Chemicals division at BASF
The BASF division Care Chemicals offers a broad range of ingredients for personal care, home care, industrial & institutional cleaning, and technical applications. We are a leading global supplier for the cosmetics industry as well as the detergents and cleaners industry, and support our customers with innovative and sustainable products, solutions and concepts. The division’s high-performance product portfolio includes surfactants, emulsifiers, polymers, emollients, chelating agents, cosmetic active ingredients and UV filters. We have production and development sites in all regions and are expanding our presence in emerging markets. Further information is available online at www.care-chemicals.basf.com.

About Ingredi
Rooted in Yunnan, southwest China, a region dubbed the Kingdom of Flora, well-known for its rich biodiversity, Ingredi is specialized in extracting high-performance botanical ingredients from Pan-Himalaya regional species for the personal care industry. Depending on expertise on phytochemical, pharmaceutical and biochemical science, Ingredi unwraps excited and functional active ingredients based on the integration of cultivated native plants, indigenous practices and cultures in the region bringing the industry new marketing perspectives. Ingredi provides both standardized and customized research services based on customers’ needs. Its business also supports the local communities cultivating native plants for sustainable sourcing. Further information at www.ingredi.cn.