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Evonik to acquire plant-extract producer Botanica

| By Mary Bailey

Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany) has signed a purchase agreement to acquire the Swiss plant extract producer Botanica, with closing expected in November. With its presence in Switzerland, France and Germany, Botanica is a European leader in sustainable botanical extracts for the personal care industry. Botanica will be integrated into the Care Solutions business line within Evonik’s life sciences division Nutrition & Care.

The acquisition of Botanica is the next logical step for the Care Solutions business line as it transforms into the leading actives partner for the personal care industry. Recent acquisitions include the cosmetic delivery company Infinitec Activos (2021), the biotech company innoHealth (2020), Wilshire Technologies (2020) and ALKION Biopharma (2016). By leveraging the synergies between these strong and complementary technology platforms, Evonik is enhancing its entire product portfolio, opening new markets, accelerating growth and creating significant value.

By drawing on Botanica’s plant know-how and extraction competence, Evonik will innovate a wide range of sustainable base extracts in order to strengthen its broad portfolio of actives. Evonik will lead the active ingredient market, of which 40-50 percent is botanicals. Furthermore, Botanica’s highly customizable extracts will boost the portfolio of unique system solutions offered by the Care Solutions business line. The division Nutrition & Care aims to increase its share of system solutions from 20 percent today to more than 50 percent by 2030.

“Botanica’s outstanding track record in customization, in sustainable sourcing and production aligns perfectly with our goals to become the sustainable specialties partner,” says Yann d’Hervé, head of Evonik’s Care Solutions business line.

The sustainable and fair-trade practices underlying Botanica’s philosophy are renowned worldwide. This outstanding ethical profile matches the strategy of Nutrition & Care, which has made sustainability its guiding business principle.

“Finding a strong partner with a trusted sustainability record can be challenging. With Evonik we feel confident that Botanica can continue to operate according to our philosophy, while bringing our high-quality plant extracts to a wider customer base,” says Andreas Wälti, Managing Director of Botanica.

With a portfolio of over 1,000 different plants available for extraction, Botanica offers customers an unrivalled level of expertise and power for innovation for their cosmetic formulations. The plant extracts are used for cosmetic formulations and are certified according to Swiss Organic Produce Regulation, ISO 9001 and CSE sustainability standard, including ISO 14001. Plant extracts are even traceable back to the field.