BASF’s Care Creations® has opened a state- of-the-art evaluation salon for personal care at its site in Lagos, Nigeria. The new facilities will enable in vivo sensory and performance testing of ethnic skin and hair care formulations on volunteers, helping customers to develop finished products with high relevance and consumer acceptance in the sub-Saharan African market. “To develop successful formulations and ingredients for ethnic personal care products, a deep understanding of African consumers’ preferences and pain points, their skin and hair characteristics, as well as how ingredients affect them is indispensable,” said Tosin Dania, Technical Manager Personal Care sub-Saharan Africa. “The BASF ‘Care Evaluation Salon’ combines market empathy, science excellence and formulation expertise, allowing us to share this understanding and benefit with our customers across the region.”

Facilitating sustainable growth of the sub-Saharan African market

This new in-house salon is the first of its kind launched by a personal care ingredient supplier in Nigeria. It complements BASF’s Application Technology Laboratory inaugurated in February 2019. “This expansion is another example of our commitment to this growing and important market. With our strong local competency, we aim to drive the evolution of the personal care industry in sub- Saharan Africa towards more global competitiveness,” said Jason McAlpine, Vice President Personal Care – EMEA.