Case studies

Havea

Headquartered in France, Havea is a leader in the natural consumer healthcare industry in Europe. It manufactures, designs and distributes a wide range of products from functional and natural food supplements, to natural personal care products for babies and women in its world-class plant in France. Its key brands include Aragan, Vitarmonyl, Dermovitamina, Biolane and Naturé-Moi.

There is a growing global consumer trend towards natural healthcare and personal care products. This is driven by multiple factors, including:

an increasing awareness of the issues posed by the use of certain synthetic chemicals in some products;
a desire for accountability and transparency in ingredients, packaging and sourcing;
a rising incidence of allergies; and
an ageing population and the promotion of healthy lifestyles and nutrition by health authorities.

As consumers become more informed and aware, they increase their consumption of natural and organic products that contain fewer potentially harmful ingredients and are more sustainable, in terms of sourcing, manufacture and packaging.

3i’s consumer and healthcare teams have devoted significant time to understanding the drivers of this important shift in consumer preferences and are supporting its development through our 2017 investment in Havea. 3i has supported Havea’s development since it first invested, notably through a number of bolt-on acquisitions, including notably the acquisitions of Aragan, Densmore Laboratoire, PHC and Laudavie, which have increased the business’s critical mass and its ability to develop and market more sustainable products.

Sustainability is at the core of Havea’s business

Safe products

Havea has best-in-class in-house R&D capabilities, working on all aspects of product development.

The business operates in a highly regulated environment with strict health, safety, health and quality standards under the European Food and Safety Agency (‘EFSA’), which checks all products and validates their health claims.

Sustainable, ethically sourced ingredients

Havea recently implemented a raw materials sourcing policy, to ensure that all ingredients are ethically sourced from sustainable sources, where possible from France (to reduce its carbon footprint).

In compliance with EFSA guidelines, the business uses organic ingredients in most of its formulations (eg 95-100% of ingredients for Biolane and Naturé-Moi).

All controversial ingredients (eg paraben, alcohol, titanium dioxide) are banned from its products.

Sustainable packaging

Havea is progressively replacing existing packaging with sustainable packaging made from bioplastic, cardboard and other recycled materials, and using vegetable-based ink. It is also introducing eco-refills for its shower gels.

All of the packaging for Biolane, Naturé-Moi and Vitavea products is recyclable and includes guidelines for recycling.

State-of-the-art production facilities in France

A significant part of Havea’s products is manufactured in France in state-of-the-art facilities, with a strong focus on employee engagement and wellbeing.

Reducing environmental footprint

Havea is on a journey to reduce the environmental footprint of its operations through:

energy-efficiency upgrades to its headquarters and production facilities (using 100% of renewable energy and recycled paper);
the reformulation of certain products to reduce their overall environmental impact and introduction of biodegradable personal care products (eg wipes); and
increased waste management and recycling.