Zachary Woods
October 5, 2021
Alchemy is pleased to announce the addition of the newest customer to its rapidly growing roster of formulation-focused, optimization-oriented partners—Vantage Specialty Chemicals, a diversified specialty additives developer and manufacturer based in Deerfield, Illinois.
With more than 2,000 specially formulated solutions across a broad spectrum of applications, including natural oils and glycerin, surfactants and esters, mold release systems and equipment solutions in food, and high-end bioactive ingredients and sensorial additives in personal care, Vantage is no stranger to ‘mixing it up’ in the lab.
When their Personal Care Business Unit, one of four strategic Vantage Business Units, went on the hunt for a better way to manage their global lab teams and formulations, Alchemy was eager to partner from day one. Aside from the strain of managing a team spanning from Shanghai to Sao Paolo, it was clear from the outset of the dialogue that leveraging previously created formulation and application testing work was a core requirement.
The cosmetics industry places great importance on the ability of ingredient and additive suppliers to a.) predict that a trend for certain performance characteristics is on the horizon and b.) begin formulating - yes, even in advance of a request to do so! - the perfect recipe to fit that trend. Moreover, this must all be done while striking the ideal balance between eco-friendliness and performance.
The Vantage team didn’t have an efficient way to sort through its various file types / storage locations to locate the best starting point formulation for a soon-to-be hot concept. Realizing there must be a better way, Vantage took up the challenge - the so-called Demo Sandbox Program for those interested - of running a two-week configured trial of Alchemy’s solution.
“The best part of the Sandbox Program was the convenience of having all ingredients and suppliers in one place, something that until Alchemy was done in various local databases. We see that this platform will speed the development of formulas on a global basis.” - Smitha Rao, Vice President Global Innovation at Vantage
In the lead-up to this hands-on, in-app experience, Alchemy’s Solutions Engineering (SE) team worked closely with key stakeholders to better understand the nature of their work, the processes governing product delivery, and what better really meant to them individually and at the BU level. Armed with these insights, the SE team configured a trial environment that included their digitally mapped SOPs for formulation development, a subset of ASTM and ISTA test methods for experimental data capture, and a material database complete with ingredient properties ranging from pH and viscosity to INCI and trade names.
Alchemy was chosen because of its highly customizable digital lab management solution and the team of expertly trained Chemists and Chemical Engineers that support it. Alchemy’s platform, which comprises elements of Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN), Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) and Formulation Software, is built specifically to help materials science and specialty chemical companies streamline product development and improve their overall service delivery.
“Alchemy’s fit with Private Equity-backed firms in the Specialty Chemicals industry is no mere coincidence. Vantage’s commitments to adaptive innovation, process excellence and extreme customer intimacy, underpinned by H.I.G. Capital and The Jordan Company’s co-ownership, ensure our shared interests are aligned both in the short and long term. We are thrilled to help yet another customer, growing both organically and through acquisition, gain greater operational leverage as they innovate and go-to-market.” - Sasha Novakovich, Co-founder and CEO at Alchemy
