Shiseido has started trial operations of a plant cultivation test facility established in December 2012 at its Kakegawa factory. Along with installing a container-type facility that enables plants to be efficiently grown as raw materials for active ingredients, a test farm was also set up and will commence full-scale operation from April. With this initiative, Shiseido will embark on the development of safe and reliable plant raw materials that are traceable to their source.
Going forward, in addition to aiming to launch beauty products formulated with plants that have been cultivated under the company’s supervision by 2014 at the earliest, Shiseido will gradually expand the on-site cultivation and production of sources of plant raw materials while also gaining cooperation from raw material manufacturers and suppliers.
Since it was founded in 1872 in Japan, Shiseido has pursued the beneficial effects and efficacy of products, as well as manufacturing, in order to deliver safety and reassurance to customers. Amid such circumstances, as a result of examining “what Shiseido can do as a dedicated manufacturer of cosmetic products,” the decision was made to establish the plant cultivation test facility and farm within the company’s premises and start the development of plant raw materials that are traceable to their source.
Shiseido sees the advantages of producing plant raw materials for active ingredients in-house as:
- Supervising from the stage of seeds and seedlings makes it possible to procure raw materials that are “safe and reliable,” “of stable quality” and “traceable,” which in turn enables identification of the background of plants and producers.
- Using such high-quality plant raw materials will also contribute to the development of products with strong market competitiveness. At the same time, controlling cultivation conditions will also broaden the potential of producing raw materials that contain greater amounts of active ingredients.
- Less impact caused by the natural environment, including climate changes in production areas, will lead to securing a stable harvest and reduce price fluctuation risk.
Going forward, Shiseido will promote tests of growing plants at the plant cultivation test facility and farm. By doing so, Shiseido aims to formulate the first raw materials for active ingredients, which will be cultivated and harvested under the supervision of Shiseido, by taking various measures, such as dispatching Shiseido employees to business partners’ test facilities, in products scheduled for launch in 2014. Looking ahead, Shiseido will also consider expanding production scale while also obtaining the cooperation of suppliers.
In addition to ensuring safety and reassurance, high quality and stable procurement, natural energy will be used in certain parts as a heat source of the plant farm, thereby also striking a balance in terms of being environmentally conscious as the first company to receive eco-first company certification in the beauty industry.
