Organic Monitor recognises Intelligent Nutrients for natural ingredients

The Minneapolis-based company which is a certified organic health and beauty brand, was created by Aveda founder, Horst M. Rechelbacher, and received the high marks in a brand assessment study by Organic Monitor, for the brand’s high naturalness in their products.

“Intelligent Nutrients scored the highest rating (9.5 out of a maximum 10) in a ranking of natural & organic cosmetic brands in North America,”​ said Judi Beerling, technical research manager at Organic Monitor.

“The brand was close to a maximum rating because its products use a high level of certified organic (mostly food grade) ingredients, and most are certified by recognized agencies.”​

Ranked in order of naturalness​

The study was conducted between April to July 2011, with Organic Monitor assessing over 50 international brands of natural cosmetic products​ and ranked them in terms of their naturalness.

The project looked at a cross-spectrum of product sub-categories, including certified organic, pure natural, naturally inspired and conventional cosmetics to find out how natural the product formulations really are.

Organic Monitor said that its findings indicated that the formulations of most natural brands are not meeting their marketing claims, although there is a significant discrepancy according to the market positioning of the product.

Many companies claiming to have 'chemically-clean' cosmetics were actually found to be falling foul of having contentious synthetic ingredients.

Creating a level playing field​

The research group said the study highlights the importance of certification in creating a 'level playing field' for formulators, as natural and organic standards have tight guidelines on permitted and prohibited ingredients and encourage green formulations.

Intelligent Nutrients Founder, Rechelbacher, was quick to champion the study and added that the recognition from Organic Monitor was a great achievement for the company.

“Not only does it reinforce the need for transparency in the organic beauty industry but it also affirms what we are trying to do as a brand, which is educate the consumer that everything we put in and on our bodies must be nutritious and safe,” ​he said.