The company, founded in 1978 by now-president Alban Muller, has always made plant-based products for the skin care and cosmetics markets. Muller attributes the growing demand for natural beauty products to increasingly health-conscious consumers.
“The public today is checking the composition of each cosmetic product, and consumers are telling the cosmetic producers, ‘This is not what I want, I want something more in line with my way of life,’” Muller tells The Miami Herald. “You are putting something on your skin—it’s very personal.” Muller adds that in addition to plant-based ingredients, Alban also uses extraction processes that consume less energy and composts its wastes.
This growing trend is particularly evident in Europe and the United States. About 450 companies in France’s “cosmetics valley,” which includes those engaged in packaging, R&D, and formulation for the cosmetics industry, have pledged to use environmentally friendly processes and organic ingredients. Consumer demand is also growing in the US, which accounts for 20% of Alban’s business.