US biotechnology company The Midwest Bioprocessing Center (MBC) and cosmetic and personal beauty care ingredient distributor McKinley Resources have recently announced their commitment to a distribution partnership. The agreement focuses on MBC’s FeruliShield feruloyl glycerides ingredients, used in cosmetic and personal care product formulations, exclusively distributed by McKinley Resources in North America.
To learn more about FeruliShield ingredients for cosmetic and personal care product formulations, the potential impact of this distribution partnership on these industries, and plans for the distribution partnership between MBC and McKinley Resources, CosmeticsDesign spoke to David Demirjian, President of MBC, for his insights.
About FeruliShield ingredients
Feruloyl glycerides like the ones used in MBC’s FeruliShield ingredients “can be used to provide a powerful SPF-boost to sunscreen products,” and were “first developed by researcher at the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Services facility in Peoria, Illinois (USDA-ARS),” said Demirjian. Backed by “over ten years of peer-reviewed research publications on their discovery and efficacy, [MBC’s] FeruliShield feruloyl glycerides are part of MBC's iActive brand of scientifically developed natural personal care ingredients,” he further explained.
These ingredients “combine the photoprotective and antioxidant properties of ferulic acid with the formulation advantages of natural oils,” he shared, and “in addition to its antioxidant properties, FeruliShield is designed to be a technically validated and straightforward ingredient for B2B customers in the cosmetics and personal care industry.”
About the distribution partnership
The distribution partnership between the companies is posed to be mutually beneficial, and “by partnering with McKinley Resources as the exclusive distributor for our FeruliShield feruloyl glycerides products under our iActive brand, MCB gains access to McKinley's established industry presence and distribution channels and McKinley gains access to a new proprietary product for their portfolio,” said Demirjian.
In addition to expanding the commercial reach of MBC’s ingredients for product formulation, which will lead to “increased market penetration, sales, and brand visibility for manufacturers and suppliers, [the partnership] can also provide improved market insights, logistics, and supply chain management, allowing manufacturers and suppliers to focus on product development and innovation,” he shared.
Product formulators will potentially benefit from the partnership as well, he added, as they can now “work through the distributor directly and make it easier to get MBC’s products faster and have a single source to go to when they need additional documentation on the MBC products or other products they purchase from McKinley.”
Before establishing the partnership, it was challenging for MBC to establish “a robust distribution network to reach a wide customer base effectively,” said Demirjian. However, by partnering with McKinley Resources, MBC will now have access “to their established distribution channels, allowing them to overcome this challenge and expand their market reach,” he explained.
He also shared further that “the partnership can provide manufacturers and suppliers with market insights, logistics support, and efficient supply chain management, which can help optimize operations and improve overall business efficiency.”
Moving forward
The following steps for MBC and McKinley Resources will involve “joint marketing and promotional activities, participation in industry events and exhibitions, and continuous efforts to expand the customer base and distribution network,” said Demirjian, which will be further supported through successful brand expansion.
Moving forward, he added, “MBC has active development programs for new, biobased products for cosmetics and personal care” and will remain committed to further ingredient innovation in these industry spaces. “Over the next year and beyond, we hope to see the partnership grow beyond just the current FeruliSheild products,” he concluded.
