The
year
2005
reportedly
has
been
a
banner
year
for
’s
Cosmetic
Valley ,
created
in
1994
to
promote
synergy
among
cosmetics
and
perfumery
businesses.
According
to
the
group,
the
area
is
concentrated
in
the
Orleans
Loire
Valley ,
Chartres
and
Tours
areas,
located
10
to
100
miles
southwest
of
Paris .
In
July
2005,
the
French
Government
officially
recognized
the
Cosmetic
Valley
as
a
National
Competitiveness
Cluster,
for
over
10
years
having
promoted
the
image
of
luxury,
perfumery
and
cosmetics
“Made
in
France”
to
the
world,
thus
reaffirming
France’s
position
as
the
world’s
leading
developer
of
perfumery
and
cosmetics
products.
One month
prior
to
achieving
this
national
honor,
the
group
expanded
geographically
and
welcomed
new
companies,
research
organizations,
training
centers
and
economic
development
authorities
to
stimulate
economic
development
and
international
competitiveness
through
joint
innovation
and
research
projects
in
the
areas
of
the
beauty
and
well-being
sciences.
Today
the
Cosmetic
Valley ’s
membership
includes
200
companies,
three
universities,
dozens
of
public
and
private
research
and
training
organizations,
ten
local
government
organizations
and
approximately
1,000
researchers.
Driven
by
renowned
names
in
luxury
products
such
as
Dior,
L’Oréal,
Guerlain,
Hermes,
Shiseido,
Paco
Rabanne
and
Yves
Saint
Laurent,
the
group’s
collective
savoir-faire
is
said
to
extend
to
every
aspect
of
product
development,
from
formula
to
finish.
The
activities
of
the
companies
located
on
its
territory
range
from
the
culture
of
aromatic
plants
and
plant
extraction
to
research,
formulation,
plastic
injection,
manufacturing,
packaging
and
logistics.
Among
the
recent
Cosmetic
Valley
group’s
projects,
for
instance,
the
LVMH
Group
plans
to
create
a
“Skin
and
Well-Being
Institute”
centered
around
the
worldwide
production,
distribution
and
product
development
of
Christian
Dior
in
Orleans .
The
institute’s
mission
reportedly
is
to
develop
new
molecules
and
put
in
place
a
system
of
quality
control.
The
partners
of
the
project
include
the
Institute
of
Organic
and
Analytical
Chemistry
and
the
Center
of
Molecular
Biophysics
at
the
University
of
Orleans ,
the
Dermatology
Department
of
the
Faculty
of
Medicine
at
the
University
of
Tours ,
the
Orleans
and
Tours
hospitals
as
well
as
the
Christian
Dior
Laboratory
and
other
private
research
and
clinical
development
companies.
The
various
players
will
work
together
to
study
skin
cells
and
prove
the
effectiveness
and
non-toxicity
of
the
new
cosmetics
products.
The
Alban
Muller
Group,
producer
of
herbal
extracts
and
natural
ingredients,
leads
another
project
entitled
“Herboretum.”
The
Herboretum
is
a
23-acre
beauty
and
health
garden
near
Orleans
dedicated
to
medicinal,
tinctorial
and
aromatic
plants
and
plants
for
perfumes,
a
greenhouse
with
exotic
plants,
an
arboretum,
an
orchard
of
rare
fruit
trees
and
a
vegetable
garden
planted
with
forgotten
species.
The
Herboretum’s
primary
mission
is
to
become
a
forum
where
botanists,
biochemists
and
pharmacists
can
collaborate
in
research.
Another
goal
of
the
project
is
to
become
a
think-tank
for
botanical
and
cosmetic,
pharmaceutical
and
health-food
applications
of
natural
ingredients.
The
Cosmetic
Valley
also
has
made
efforts
to
reinvent
itself
and
create
a
new
structure
and
new
projects
to
ensure
that
the
cluster’s
economic
development
and
global
leadership
are
maintained.
Twelve
joint
research
and
innovation
projects
with
a
budget
of
30
million
Euros
in
total
reportedly
are
already
being
implemented.
The
target
projects
of
the
renewed
Cosmetic
Valley
group
are
said
to
naturally
attract
the
interest
of
pharmaceutical,
medical,
packaging,
agricultural,
waste
management
and
biotechnology
companies,
which
are
keen
on
contributing
to
scientific
developments
in
the
beauty
industry.
Newcomers
value
the
region’s
location
one
hour
from
Paris ,
relatively
low
operating
costs
and
proximity
to
a
large
number
of
cosmetics,
perfumery,
pharmaceutical
and
other
manufacturers
in
the
area.
Many
of
these
companies
are
in
need
of
technical,
financial
or
human
resources
assistance
to
manage
their
new
activities
and
development.
The non-profit
economic
development
organization
Orleans
Loire
Valley
Development
(OVLD),
an
active
member
of
the
Cosmetic
Valley ,
has
been
instrumental
in
helping
such
companies
find
office
locations
and
human
resources,
facilitate
setup
and
technology
transfer,
and
obtain
financial
incentives,
among
other
services.
In
2005,
OVLD
helped
Caudalie,
a
producer
of
skin-care
products
based
on
grape
seed
polyphenols,
prepare
the
set
up
of
the
company’s
European
packaging
and
distribution
center
in
Orleans.
OVLD
has
also
been
assisting
Bottlemate,
a
cosmetics
packaging
manufacturer
from
,
with
opening
an
office
in
Orleans ;
and
Hydropole,
a
young
sanitary
risk
management
firm,
with
identifying
locations
for
their
site
construction.
In
partnership
with
a
large
number
of
new
members
including
small
and
medium-sized
companies,
universities,
research
institutes,
training
organizations,
and
regional
economic
development
agencies
like
Orleans
Loire
Valley
Development,
the
Cosmetic
Valley
set
three
medium-term
goals
for
itself:
- To
encourage
joint
research
projects
for
new
beauty
products
as
well
as
support
the
set-up
of
new
companies,
innovative
start-ups
&
research
units
in
the
Cosmetic
Valley.
