Alpago Üresin, R&D and Factory Director of Flormar

We conducted a pleasant interview with Alpago Üresin, Research and Development and Factory Director at Flormar, discussing the company's development process, areas of activity and the success secrets behind the Flormar brand.

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 in 1994 and completed my master's degree at the same university. I continued my education by obtaining a safety assessment certification in cosmetic products at Vrije University Brussels. Before my 16-year experience at Flormar, I worked for 4 years as Production Manager at another domestic cosmetic company. In summary, I have been serving the cosmetics industry professionally for over 20 years. During this period, I have taken direct responsibility and developed projects in many areas ranging from production, quality control and quality assurance, raw material and packaging procurement, to research and development and product development processes, and I continue to develop them. I continue my duties as Research and Development and Factory Director at Flormar, and I am also a member of the Executive Board. I am married and have one daughter. I speak English, German and Italian at a good level. *This certificate is issued regarding the safety assessment of products and grants authority to conduct Safety Assessment within the scope of EU Regulation 1223/2009. Vrije University Belgium is among the world's most authoritative universities on this subject.

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

Flormar, established in Milan, Italy, the capital of art and fashion, was moved to Istanbul in 1970, a city that bridges Europe and Asia. Inspired by the endless energy of this unique city, Flormar has become one of the world's most dynamic makeup brands, reaching 40,000 sales points in 110 countries. By blending color science with makeup art, the brand, which has dedicated itself to developing innovative products, ranks among Turkey's top 500 exporters. We continue without slowing down our retail journey, which began in 2008, with 950 stores in 250 cities worldwide. According to the report released by the world-renowned independent research firm Euromonitor*, we take pride in being selected as the fastest-growing brand globally in the color cosmetics category. We open one store every 4 days, we introduce 250 products to our consumers every 1 minute, while maintaining our leadership in many markets, we preserve our leading position in Turkey as well. In 2012, we united our forces with Groupe Rocher, a family company operated for three generations, to expand our business family and brand. With this merger, we took an important step toward becoming a leading beauty brand and have continued to achieve many successes in the face of global competition. We are a brand that introduces Turkish-made products and image to women around the world in our target markets abroad. We are included in Turquality, the world's state-supported branding program, in terms of production and export volume. We continue our work with an experienced and expert team built over many years. Finally, I would like to note that we use raw materials and packaging compliant with cosmetic regulations, we do not test on animals, and we conduct production within the scope of ISO 9001:2008, GMP and Halal Certificates. *Euromonitor, Reinventing Global Color Cosmetics, 30 November 2016, London.

What are your products? Could you provide information about the quality policy you adopt in the products you manufacture?

Flormar, which offers a rich selection from skincare to makeup, from accessories to perfume under one roof with a young, colorful, fun and vibrant shopping experience, aims to be the beauty brand closest to women with accessible prices without compromising on quality. With ISO 9001:2015, ISO 22716:2007 - Cosmetics - Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Ministry of Health-GMP and Halal 22:2013 certificates, Flormar's Quality Control Department tests products in modern laboratories at every stage of production and applies high quality control. Quality control is also monitored through internal and external audits conducted by international inspection firms and export customers. Every stage of production and all steps in raw material and packaging procurement processes are under supervision and control. The main criterion we focus on to keep customer satisfaction high is quality. This approach of ours extends to our business partners. Ensuring quality is of great importance to us. We establish healthy relations with our suppliers and aim to do our work correctly the first time. We carefully select and train our suppliers by including them in the quality management system, and in this sense, we provide our employees with a working environment where they can develop themselves and showcase their talents, thus ensuring their participation in continuous improvement and increasing productivity. Through training and suggestion activities, we ensure continuous improvement and development. Thus, by using resources effectively, we strive to fulfill our responsibilities to our customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders and society in the best way. What is your domestic and foreign sales volume? The brand, which aims to be the closest friend of women who love expressing themselves through colors, following trends and most importantly, looking beautiful in all circumstances, continues its steady growth and aims to double business volume every three years. The global makeup market exceeds EUR 60 billion in size and with an average growth rate of 7%, contributes 20% to the growth of the total cosmetics sector. In our country, this market is worth EUR 500 million. As Flormar, we take pride in leading with a share exceeding 20%.

Would you share your thoughts on research and development?

I can say that the most important parameter triggering the research and development process at Flormar is our vision of "being the innovative beauty brand closest to women". Being innovative is one of our most important values. As a research and development unit, we very much embrace this value. We support technology, which is part of innovation, with continuous research, trade fair organizations and training. In this sense, we encourage unconventional thinking, creativity and marketable solutions. Like every sector, the cosmetics sector is nourished by developing technologies, and for us, technology does not only mean machine technology, raw material technology, formulation technology and packaging technology are also very important parts of our work. We try to follow them closely and be the first to implement them. What are your investments in research and development as Flormar? In an environment where technology and social media are developing so rapidly, you have no chance of staying distant from cosmetic trends. All these digital tools actually support our business development processes. Finding out about innovations has shortened so much thanks to all these tools that we started thinking more about what we can do faster and differently than our competitors when developing products. We are a young and research-oriented team. We have an openness to innovations and sharing of knowledge and different technologies. Our research and development, production and development, and marketing teams regularly meet on the subject. We hold regular meetings where experiences, knowledge, trends and new products are discussed. At these meetings, every member of the team shares all kinds of information and physical material that could be input to the product development process. Cosmetics is a very dynamic sector. Monitoring all developments around the world and quickly adapting to innovations is the most basic rule of becoming a leader in this sector. By participating in numerous trade fairs, seminars and trainings both domestically and abroad, we increase the knowledge of our innovation team. We come together with international trendsetter companies and consultants to discuss which product groups the sector is focusing on, what performance textures will have, what popular colors are and packaging solutions, and we develop and carry out projects.

Could you provide information about the latest product you have introduced to the market? What features and technology has this product been manufactured with?

The latest product we have introduced to the market is our "Kiss Me More Lip Tattoo" product, which has attracted considerable interest and created buzz with our marketing activities. It is a liquid matte lipstick that does not fade, does not smudge in any way and provides intense color. In creating this formulation, we based ourselves on the "comfortable durability" feature that is among recent trends. Our formulation, which has enhanced durability through technology of gelling fine oils of different structures and coated pigments, was enriched with vitamin E. With its long-lasting special formula, Kiss Me More has a smooth creamy texture on the lips and can be easily applied with a soft sponge applicator. Thanks to its rich content, unlike other long-lasting matte lipsticks, it does not create dryness on the lips and provides comfortable use. Its light texture leaves a feeling as if nothing is on the lips. What are your goals that you plan to achieve in the name of technology and research and development in the coming years? Could you share with our readers the factors that determine these goals? Over the last 5 years, we have particularly focused on monitoring Far Eastern brands and products. We examine and analyze them extensively. Following our muscles of innovation and in line with the basic needs of our target audience, we have begun to enrich our creativity and continue to create new products by combining different products with our own knowledge and technology. What measures have you taken during production for a sustainable environment? I would say our priority is to adopt the waste reduction at source method. (Such as using papers front and back.) For waste that we cannot reduce at the source, we use the separation at source method. There are separately defined waste bins for each type of waste. By sending our packaging waste for recycling to be used as secondary raw material, we use our natural resources less and contribute to nature. We separate at source the contaminated waste and hazardous waste we cannot recycle, store them in temporary storage areas, and ensure their final disposal through licensed companies without accumulation. In production areas where chemicals with hazardous chemical markings are present, we have chemical spill kits available. Thus, in case of spills, we collect them in the area without spreading to the environment and send them for disposal with licensed companies. To increase environmental awareness among employees, we organize environmental training both under the job entry orientation program and as part of the annual training plan.

Could you mention your corporate social responsibility projects?

Corporate social responsibility is an area we place great importance on and plan to undertake major projects within the next 5 years. If we are self-critical, we have not yet been able to work at the level we desired in this area so far. But in the near future, we want to implement a project that will create an impact both locally and nationally. We have already started work and discussions for this. Beyond the projects we have planned institutionally, we have also established a voluntary team within the company. We have a social responsibility club consisting of our colleagues. Within the scope of club activities, we carry out work in different areas ranging from shelter visits to participation in organizations held for the benefit of various foundations, and we aim to make this awareness part of the company culture.