L’Oréal to Buy Organic Beauty Firm

2006-10-30 | 10:00

L’Oréal has acquired French organic beauty manufacturer Laboratoire Sanoflore for an undisclosed sum and intends to capitalize on consumer demand for organic products and to expand Sanoflore’s international reach. The acquisition will become part of L’Oréal’s active cosmetics division, which also includes the pharmacy brand Vichy. L’Oréal also plans to increase Sanoflore’s international turnover going forward. Currently, 20% of the brand’s sales are generated outside of France. “We are determined in our aim to internationalize Sanoflore, making its products available all over the world to consumers whose appetite for natural and organic products is constantly growing,” explained Brigitte Liberman, managing director of L’Oréal’s active cosmetics division. This is the second investment in an organic brand by a large French beauty firm this month. On October 6, Groupe Clarins announced it acquired a 10% stake in the newly founded natural brand Kibio. Clarins and Kibio plan to create an organic cosmetics line together.