David Preusse Garcia: We saw a gap in the personal care industry for service oriented and flexible supply of specialty raw materials and we wanted to close that gap. With that help of our trusted distribution partners, we were able to spread very fast into 20 countrys in the first year of the business.
David Preusse Garcia: I hold a degree in International Business and Foreign Trade and have built a strong global network of partners over the last 15 years. I spent 13 years at TER Chemicals, a leading chemical distribution company, where I worked as a Product & Sales Manager. During this time, I spent nearly five years in Spain as an expatriate, gaining deep insights into international markets and business operations. In 2020, I co-founded evident ingredients, where I am primarily responsible for procurement and finance, driving strategic growth and operational efficiency.
EURO COSMETICS: You started evident ingredients GmbH almost 5 years ago and you will celebrate this anniversary in summer, congratulations. How did this time go so far?
Dr. Fernando Ibarra: We started the company as a team of two, combining 30 years of industry experience. We had an excellent network of partners, distributors and many customers in our industry knew us and our business ethics. We enjoyed a very successful start and grew quickly with our business, coverage of countries and staff.
David Preusse Garcia: It was definitely important to bring the two different areas of expertise together and rely on the marketing & sales knowledge of one founder and on finance know-how and sourcing network of the other. From our experience we can strongly recommend to start a company with your person of trust and sparring partner. There are good times and bad times in the first years and it is very comforting to share both with your founding partner. Luckily we had mostly good times and were able to celebrate this together.
Dr. Fernando Ibarra: We invested from the beginning in staff but also in the technical capabilities of our company. It took less then two years to have all relevant business, natural cosmetics and quality certifications and to grow our staff to more than 10 people.
EURO COSMETICS: Can you explain a little about your keys to success and the current state of your company in this difficult economic environment?
David Preusse Garcia: We saw a gap in the personal care industry for service oriented and flexible supply of specialty raw materials and we wanted to close that gap. With the help of our trusted distribution partners we were able to spread very fast into 20 countries in the first year of business. At the same time we hired the right mix of talents and experienced experts who wanted to create something new in this field.
Dr. Fernando Ibarra: We invested from the beginning in staff but also in the technical capabilities of our company. It took less than two years to have all relevant business, natural cosmetics and quality certifications and to grow our staff to more than 10 people. At the same time we invested in our application lab and in advanced analytical tools like Viscosimeter, UV-Vis Spectrometer, HPLC and GC, to ensure that we can follow up our own and our clients’ expectations in product quality and formulation support.
EURO COSMETICS: That sounds as if your company was profitable right from the beginning?
Dr. Fernando Ibarra: We wish it was, but of course it took us some time to get to the break-even point. However, with 18 months and a lot of sweat and hard work we were pretty fast in reaching profitability for a new company in our environment.
David Preusse Garcia: We decided to work with a bank that has a focus on investments in sustainable businesses and they supported us very well. This gave us financial security so that we were able to focus on our company and its growth.
EURO COSMETICS: The core product segment in your portfolio is your line of preservation. How do you see the changes, trends and the future in this market?
Dr. Fernando Ibarra: We have seen an evolution rather than a revolution in the last 20 years. I was present in the pioneering days in the development of modern preservation and introduced many of those concepts to the market. 15 to 20 years ago the market was dominated by effective chemical preservatives that were created in the lab only for one reason, to kill microorganisms and increase the shelf life of products.
David Preusse Garcia: Researchers became more open to other concepts with time and developed smarter systems. Many natural based antimicrobials hit the market with additional functions like moisturization or skin conditioning. So instead of preservatives being seen as potentially harmful with the need of clear restrictions in dosage there was suddenly access to systems that protect the product and have caring properties for the skin. This was groundbreaking.
Dr. Fernando Ibarra: Today most formulators are familiar with modern preservative systems. Sometimes the formulation, e.g. the pH or other factors need to be adapted to make them work. But then they do not fall behind traditional preservatives in efficacy. Of course they are evaluated with the same methods, usually the preservative efficacy test in its different forms (Ph.Eur, BP, USP, ISO etc.).
EURO COSMETICS: So is evident ingredients all about preservation?
David Preusse Garcia: We consider our technical staff as experts in this field and with more than 40 preservative systems, many of them natural, we are certainly among the leaders and offer a wide portfolio for every preservative need in our industry.
Dr. Fernando Ibarra: However, we are covering other segments of raw materials, too. We have positioned evident ingredients as a one stop shop for everything our clients need to stabilize their products. Antioxidants, thickeners or emulsifiers protect or stabilize personal care products as well, but in a different way. These functional ingredients create physical stability or protect against oxidation for instance. Both are important features to allow consumers the same user experience when applying a cream even months after opening.
David Preusse Garcia: Finally we have some specialties like neurosensorial molecules that create specific perceptions in consumers.
EURO COSMETICS: You have to explain this a little further please, is this related to the trend of neurocosmetics?
David Preusse Garcia: Precisely. Personal care products always need consumer acceptance. Many of the benefits like the caring effect, moisturization or wrinkle reduction cannot be perceived on the skin after application. So why is it that consumers decide for a certain brand or product?
Dr. Fernando Ibarra: One driving force for instance is the fragrance. Consumers mostly prefer a scented product over fragrance-free ones. Also the texture of a product is very important. We spend a lot of time in our lab to develop new textures with special skin sensations. Emulsifiers or emollients help to create the desired skin feel, e.g. a very light serum or a rich and protective hand cream. The next level is neurocosmetic effects. Here you exploit certain sensorial impulses by triggering receptors in our skin. With our range of warming and cooling agents the consumers get an immediate pleasant sensation on the skin and instantly connects the application of a product with a perceivable action.
EURO COSMETICS: That sounds very interesting, but complicated too.
Fernando Ibarra: Not more complicated than adding the right fragrance to your product or creating the perfect silky texture.
David Preusse Garcia: Absolutely, the ideal product is the one with best acceptance of the consumer. If they love the product they will use it more often and buy it again. This sounds good for the business within our industry, but in fact is also the most effective skin care regime. Products need to be used repeatedly to show the desired effect and this only works with enhanced acceptance of the consumer.
EURO COSMETICS: Do you have anything special planned for the year of your 5th anniversary?
David Preusse Garcia: We will showcase our products for the first time at the In-Cosmetics Global at our own booth. We will have new launches presented in the sustainability zone and further innovations to discuss with our clients. Furthermore we will have some truly magic formulations presented by our formulators at our booth, this alone is definitely worth a visit.
EURO COSMETICS: Sounds as if evident ingredients is offering a lot of innovation and expertise along with their products.
Dr. Fernando Ibarra: Indeed this is exactly our philosophy, spiced up with a pinch of fun.
EURO COSMETICS: Thank you for the conversation. We wish you continued success.
