KDC expands into home care with acquisition

30-Nov-2017 - Last updated on 30-Nov-2017 at 15:52 GMT

This month, the Ontario-based personal care and cosmetics contract manufacturer announced the acquisition of the Aromair Fine Fragrance Company, a move that expands the KDC business into a whole new industry.

At a time when many ingredient makers, manufacturers, and retailers are expanding their businesses to include the beauty industry, it is interesting to see a beauty player branching out. “We believe that the Home Care category offers a series of growth opportunities,” Nicholas Whitley, president and CEO of KDC, says in a press release about the acquisition.

The company’s board chairman Michel Cote agrees: “This acquisition is adding a product category that, we believe, will add significant opportunities to expand KDC's growth.”

Business strategy

And the acquisition will bring new strategies and practices to the business as well. “We were particularly attracted to Aromair's product quality and innovation and, most of all, its team of talented, highly skilled professionals,” explains Whitley.

“KDC and Aromair have very similar operating principles and business cultures, representing a strong alignment from the outset. We will welcome some of Aromair's best practices into our business, while also exporting some of our best practices. The synergies from our alignment will bring tangible benefits to the combined network entity.”

Beauty competencies

KDC is known for an array of beauty care manufacturing capabilities. KDC produces skin care, body care, hair care, fragrance and more. Besides its facility in Canada, the company makes product at its Ohio, New Jersey, and Kentucky locations as well.

Earlier this month the company bought skin care maker Thibiant International. About that deal, Whitley tells the press, “We are very confident that this acquisition will add considerable growth potential and enable us to establish a strong presence on the West Coast of the US. We found particularly attractive Thibiant’s innovation-driven business model, its high-tech facilities and equipment, its exceptional client base and, most of all, its team of talented and highly qualified professionals. KDC and Thibiant also share very similar corporate cultures and operating principles, which establishes a solid base for cooperation. We are going to phase some of Thibiant’s best practices into our operation and export some of ours, which will make for excellent synergies benefiting everyone.”