Plant chemistry
Gattefossé has long excelled at plant chemistry. It all dates to the turn of the last century, with distillation of essential oils in Provence, France. The company gradually expanded this core expertise to include selective extraction of phytochemicals to provide the cosmetics industry with innovative, effective actives.
Detailed botanical knowledge and an interest in their biological properties complete this skill set. Gattefossé scientists have curious minds that seek inspiration in ecology, ethnobotany, agriculture, phytochemistry, and plant physiology to select the best raw materials for high-quality products.
High efficacy actives based on plant extracts
Through years of experience, we have identified ideal actives for any formulation and proven their efficacy.
Green chemistry, eco-design, and naturality are the focus of all our new product developments. Our innovative ingredients satisfy consumer expectations without any concession on quality or efficacy.
Exemplary supply chain
A plant extract is only as good as the raw material it originated from. We begin at the planting stage, through a responsible commitment that involves all parties in the production chain, including farmers, harvesters, dyer-conditioners, traders, and transporters. Gattefossé goes above and beyond adherence to specifications and preservation of traceability: it cares about fair trade and both socioeconomic and environmental consequences. We ensure that our raw material supply chain is sustainable and worthy of trust.
Our raw materials are sourced worldwide in compliance with international agreements, usually through long-standing partnerships with suppliers.
Extraction processes at the forefront of innovation
We adapt our extraction procedures to each raw material and to the results we wish to obtain. Our engineers are constantly searching for innovations, to complete the range of available techniques and solvents that can be used. Conventional solvents, supercritical fluids, and microwave-assisted extraction are all part of their toolkit and are behind many well-known ingredients in our portfolio.
Recently, the acquisition and development of Natural Deep Eutectic Solvent (NaDES) technology has leveraged our capacity to manufacture actives with high substantiated efficacy. A pioneer in the use of NaDES technology, Gattefossé is now able to offer innovative yet totally natural active ingredients, based on plants.
Gattefossé complements its extraction expertise with the mastery of a wide range of separation techniques for extract purification and concentration. Some of our products undergo ultrafiltration, molecular distillation, or low-pressure chromatography during their manufacture.
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Lipid chemistry
Gattefossé has developed unique, respected expertise in lipid chemistry over the last 70 years. We design and manufacture functional ingredients for the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.
Application laboratories
Gattefossé application laboratories are responsible for demonstrating the benefits our ingredients can offer to prototype formulations. They provide advanced technical support needed to develop a cosmetics and drug formulas.
Sustainable sourcing
At different stages in its history, Gattefossé has placed considerable emphasis on the study of botany. Its investment is proof of the company’s intense interest in plants as high-quality, complex raw materials requiring in-depth scientific study so they can be put to good use in industry.
