The HallStar Company, a Chicago-based specialty chemistry company, has acquired the B&T S.r.l, a worldwide leader in the development of high-performance natural ingredients based upon olive chemistry for use in personal care products.
The acquisition—the second within the naturals segment of the personal care ingredient industry—bolsters HallStar’s position in serving the burgeoning market for personal care products featuring renewable natural ingredients.
With $3.8 billion in sales in 2009, the natural personal care ingredient market boasted a 14% compound annual growth rate from 2003 to 2009 as consumers demanded more and better products featuring natural ingredients in a host of personal care categories.
“The acquisition of B&T S.r.l represents an exciting next step in HallStar’s strategic move into the naturals space,” said John Paro, HallStar chairman, CEO and president. “In addition to our broad portfolio of natural butters sourced globally by our BioChemica business, B&T brings HallStar a tremendous portfolio of branded products built on a strong patent portfolio, and strengthens our geographic footprint globally.”
The B&T acquisition follows the purchase of BioChemica, a Melbourne, Fla.-based producer of exotic butters, which was announced in January. Since a rebranding effort in 2007, The HallStar Company has expanded its formidable position of supplying innovative ingredients to companies across a wide range of personal care product categories. B&T has earned a reputation as a global leader in olive chemistry, having established an intellectual property portfolio supporting successful products such as Olivem and Sensolene.
“HallStar is committed to developing and marketing innovative personal care ingredients and to establishing a global naturals platform,” said Sergio Amari, managing director of B&T. “Together, we will accelerate the growth of a global personal care naturals platform based on producing high-performance products from natural ingredients.” Under the direction of Mr. Amari, B&T’s founder, the current staff will continue to service its global customer base from its Arcore, Italy headquarters.
