Mr. Alpago Üresin, R&D and Factory Director of Flormar Company

We conducted an engaging interview with Alpago Üresin, R&D and Factory Director at Flormar. We discussed the company's development process, areas of activity and Flormar's remarkable success.

Could you tell us about yourself and your professional background?

I was born in 1971. I graduated from the Chemical Engineering department at Istanbul Technical University and received my graduate degree from the same university. I then attended Brussels Vrije Universiteit where I obtained a cosmetics safety assessment certificate*. Before my 16 years at Flormar, I worked as production manager for 4 years at a locally manufacturing cosmetics company. In summary, I have been professionally active in the cosmetics industry for more than two decades. During this period, I have taken direct responsibility for and developed projects across multiple areas ranging from production to quality control and quality assurance, raw material and packaging procurement through R&D and product development processes, and I continue to do so. I currently serve at Flormar as R&D and Factory Director as well as a member of the Board of Executives. I am married with one daughter. I am fluent in English, German and Italian. *This certificate authorizes its holder to conduct Safety Assessment under 1223/2009 EU Cosmetics Regulation. Brussels Vrije Universiteit is among the world's most competent universities in this field.

What would you like to say about Flormar, which was acquired by the Şenbay Family in 1970? How would you describe Flormar's place in the Turkish cosmetics industry?

Established in Milan, Italy, the capital of art and fashion, Flormar moved to Istanbul, which is situated at the confluence of Europe and Asia, in 1970. As one of the world's most dynamic makeup brands, drawing inspiration from the boundless energy of this city, Flormar has achieved sales presence in 110 countries across 40,000 retail outlets. The brand is committed to developing innovative products by merging colour with art, and ranks among Turkey's top 500 exporters.

In 2008, we commenced our retail expansion, which we continue at full speed with 950 stores in 250 cities worldwide. According to a report by globally recognized research company Euromonitor*, we are proud to be recognised as the fastest growing colour cosmetics brand globally.

We are opening a new store every four days and selling 250 products every minute to consumers, maintaining our leadership in Turkey while holding a leading position in many markets. In 2012, we joined forces with Groupe Rocher, a family company spanning three generations, to strengthen both our business family and brand. This merger represented a critical step on our path to becoming a leading beauty brand, enabling us to continue delivering achievements in the face of global competition. As a brand, we promote Turkish products and image to women worldwide in our international target markets. We participate in the government-supported Turquality branding programme with our production and export objectives. We build our efforts on years of experience and our expert team. Finally, I would like to note that we source raw materials and packaging in accordance with cosmetics regulations, do not conduct animal testing, and hold ISO 9001:2008, GMP and Halal Certifications for our manufacturing operations. *Euromonitor, Reinventing Global Color Cosmetics, 30 November 2016, London.

What are your products? Could you tell us about your quality assurance policy for your product portfolio?

Offering a young, colourful, fun and vibrant shopping experience under one roof alongside a comprehensive product range covering skincare, makeup, accessories and fragrances, Flormar aims to be the beauty brand closest to women through accessible prices without compromising on quality. Holding ISO 9001:2015, ISO 22716:2007 – Cosmetics–Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Health Ministry GMP and Halal 22:2013 certifications, Flormar's Quality Control Department tests products in its modern laboratories at every stage of production and conducts rigorous quality control. This quality control is verified through internal and external audits by international auditing firms and export customers. Every production stage and all steps in our raw material and packaging procurement processes remain under supervision and control. Quality is our primary focus to maintain high customer satisfaction. This approach extends to our business partners. Ensuring our quality is of paramount importance. We establish sound relationships with our suppliers and execute our work correctly the first time. We carefully select and train our suppliers and integrate them into our quality management system. Accordingly, we provide our employees with a work environment where they can fulfil themselves and develop their skills, encouraging their participation in continuous improvement and productivity growth. We ensure continuous improvement and development through training and suggestion schemes. In this way, we strive to make efficient use of our resources, fulfilling our responsibilities to customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders and the community to the highest standard.

What is the volume of your domestic and international sales?

As a brand committed to becoming best friends with women who enjoy expressing themselves through colour, follow trends, and most importantly, want to look beautiful in every situation, Flormar aims to continue its steady growth and double its business volume every three years. With a market size exceeding EUR 60 billion and an average growth rate of 7%, the global makeup market contributes more than 20% to total cosmetics industry growth. The market size in our country is EUR 500 million. As Flormar, we are proud to be the sector leader with a market share exceeding 20%.

Could you share with us your thoughts on R&D?

I can say that our vision of being "an innovative beauty brand closest to women" is the most important driver of the R&D process at Flormar. Innovation is among our core values. As the R&D unit, we fully embrace this value. We support research, trade fair participation and technology training, which are integral to innovation. Accordingly, we encourage out-of-the-box thinking, creativity and commercially viable solutions. Like every other industry, the cosmetics sector depends on advancing technologies. Technology encompasses much more than machinery: raw material, formulation and packaging technologies also constitute essential components of our operations. We endeavour to monitor all of these closely and to be among the first to implement them.

Could you tell us about Flormar's R&D investments?

In an environment where technology and social media communication develop so rapidly, we cannot afford to lag behind cosmetics trends. These digital tools also support our business development processes. It has become so easy to learn about innovations through these tools that we now focus increasingly on our product development work to determine what we can do differently than our competitors and how quickly we can do it. We are a young research team. Our structure allows us to remain open to innovations and the sharing of knowledge and different technologies. Our R&D, Product Development and Marketing teams meet regularly to discuss these matters. We hold regular meetings to exchange experiences, information, trends and new products. At these meetings, each team member shares all information and physical materials that could contribute to the product development process. Cosmetics is a highly dynamic industry. Following global developments and rapidly adapting to innovations is the fundamental requirement for achieving leadership in this sector. We participate in numerous trade fairs, seminars and training programmes both in Turkey and abroad to enhance the expertise of our innovation team. We engage with international trendsetter companies and advisors to discuss product categories on which the industry focuses, texture performance, popular colours and packaging solutions, develop them and execute projects.

What is your most recent product release? What features does it have and which technology was used to manufacture it?

Our most recently released product is "Kiss Me More Lip Tattoo", which has attracted considerable attention and made an impact through our marketing activities. It is a smudge-proof liquid matte lipstick with intensive tinting properties. In developing this formulation, we employed "comfortable longevity", which is among the latest trends. Our formulation's longevity is enhanced through technology that jellifies thin oils in various structures and uses coated pigments enriched with Vitamin E. Kiss Me More features a smooth, creamy texture with its long-lasting special formula, and applies effortlessly with its soft sponge applicator. Thanks to its rich ingredients, unlike other permanent matte lipsticks, it ensures easy application without causing dryness on the lips. Its light texture provides a no-makeup feel.

What technology and R&D targets do you have planned for the coming years? Could you share with us the factors that determine these targets?

For the past 5 years, we have been closely monitoring Far Eastern brands and products in particular. We examine and analyse them extremely thoroughly. In line with the strength of our innovation capabilities and the core needs of our target audience, we have started to enrich our creativity and continue to generate new products by combining different products with our expertise and technology.

What measures are you taking to manufacture for a sustainable environment?

I can say that reducing waste at source is our priority (such as using both sides of each sheet of paper). For waste we cannot reduce at source, we employ the method of source separation. We have separately designated waste containers for each waste type. We send packaged waste for recycling to ensure their use as secondary raw materials and contribute to the environment by reducing our consumption of natural resources. We separate contaminated and hazardous waste that cannot be recycled at source, store them in temporary storage areas, and ensure their final disposal through licensed firms without accumulating them. In production areas, we maintain chemical spill kits wherever chemicals with hazardous markings are present. In case of a spill, we collect it immediately at the source before it spreads and ensure it is sent to licensed firms for disposal. To raise environmental awareness among employees, we conduct environmental training both as part of our new employee orientation programme and our annual training schedule.

Could you tell us about your social responsibility projects?

Corporate social responsibility is an area we value greatly and where we aim to achieve significant projects over the next five years. By our own assessment, we have not yet reached the level we targeted in this field. However, we plan to launch a project that will make an impact at both local and national levels shortly. We have already initiated our efforts and discussions to achieve this. In addition to planned corporate projects, we have established a volunteer team within the company. We have a social responsibility club comprised of our colleagues. As part of club activities, we aim to work across various fields ranging from visits to shelters to participation in activities organised to benefit various foundations, and to make this awareness part of our corporate culture.