Also serving the dietary supplement and functional foods industries, Cortex will build on an established customer-base that already serves a number of leading botanical product manufacturers.
The companies will continue to be privately held, with headquarters in both Ojai, California and Beijing, China.
Dr. Stephen Morrissey, president of Cortex and Botanica BioScience said: "Botanica BioScience has been providing ingredients and clinically- proven herbal formulas to the dietary supplement and functional food industries for more than 10 years. Cortex is the next step in our evolution and commitment to grow with the demand for effective botanical materials in a market where quality and consistency can make or break our customer's products."
The process of ingredient selection in the fields and mountains of China. From there the extraction and final delivery will all be overseen by Cortex according to certified quality procedures.
The company said that its management team prepared for their launch by visiting their Beijing offices and spending time in the field with farmers, growers and their processing managers.
Botanica BioScience was formed in 1993 and since then has become a major supplier of botanical ingredients to the cosmetic industry. The company has managed to tap in to growing demands for cosmetic products containing natural active and functional ingredients.
"Twelve years after our parent company Botanica BioScience opened its doors, the years of research we've undertaken on growing conditions and processing for each ingredient is paying off for our customers," said Dr. Morrissey.
Euromonitor recently drew attention to research that shows that while the global market for cosmetic and toiletry products is expected to grow at just 1 per cent a year through to 2009, the market for natural-based cosmetic products is expected to grow at 9 per cent per year between 2003 and 2009 to reach a value of $5.8 billion.