Charles Alland appointed as chairman and CEO of Alland & Robert
On 31 March 2023, Charles Alland was appointed CEO of Alland & Robert, taking over the reins from his father Frédéric Alland. Charles will continue to develop the company internationally and diversify into new markets.
Charles Alland had held the position of deputy general manager within the family business since the end of 2017. He started his career in consulting, after studying international business. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics with Politics from the University of Buckingham and graduated with a Master of Science in Management from the University College London in 2015.
“We will continue to grow and diversify our business, while at the same time investing to meet our carbon reduction goals. Acacia gum offers significant development potential in many industries where natural and plantbased product choices are a key consumer trend.”
Charles Alland, CEO Alland & Robert
Frédéric and his son Charles Alland (right) in Senegal in 2019.
ACCELERATING AND EXPANDING ALLAND & ROBERT’S DEVELOPMENT
In taking over from his father, Charles intends to continue weaving family history that began in 1884. He will continue to internationalize the company and support ongoing projects, including the construction of a fourth production workshop at the Normandy site of Saint Aubin sur Gaillon. Set for completion in 2023, this expansion will increase the company’s production capacity by 50% to meet strong global demand for acacia gum – and create around 30 new jobs.
Charles will keep exploring the multitude of opportunities offered by the cosmetics market, following the launch of Alland & Robert’s DemeCare® range in 2022.
He is also set on perpetuating the company’s scientific and technical expertise by continuing the application research conducted in Alland & Robert’s R&D laboratory. He will develop fundamental research through an exclusive partnership with the Agropolymer Engineering & Emerging Technologies (Supagro IATE) department at the University of Montpellier (Agropolymer Engineering and Emerging Technologies).
Charles Alland is – and will continue to be – very involved in Alland & Robert’s social, ethical and environmental commitments, including the projects run by the Alland Corporate Foundation, which supports local communities that harvest natural gums in Africa.
FRÉDÉRIC ALLAND SETS AN INTERNATIONAL PATH
As President and CEO of Alland & Robert from 1988 to 31 March 2023, Frédéric Alland strongly accelerated the company’s international development. This success is reflected by the fact that 95% of the company’s turnover came exports at the end of 2022.
Frédéric will remain involved in the Alland Foundation. Created in 2021, the Alland Foundation acts in partnership with Tree Aid, a British NGO specialized in reforesting African drylands and a key player in the Great Green Wall project.
Founded in 1884, Alland & Robert is a French family business and pioneer in natural tree exudates. Drawing on deep expertise in gum acacia, an all-natural additive and ingredient, Alland & Robert exports to over 70 countries. To ensure the highest product quality and sustainable practices, Alland & Robert is fully committed to an ambitious corporate social responsibility strategy. This approach is based on a large network of raw material suppliers in Africa, international certifications, a dedicated R&D team and research partnership with internationally renowned universities.
Come & visit us at IN COSMETICS 2023 !
We can’t wait to meet you in person in Barcelona for IN COSMETICS GLOBAL 2023.
The show takes place from March 28 to 30 in Fir Barcelona. Our team will be there to attend. Meet us on Hall 3, boothX15.
Why visit us at IN COSMETICS GLOBAL 2023?
Discover DemeCare®, our range of natural gums for the formulation of clean, organic and sustainable cosmetics.
DemeCare®, based on Alland & Robert’s expertise of natural gums
Our innovative range is composed of products based on acacia gum, sterculia gum, and their blends which are patented. Each product offers various functional properties and is available organic and COSMOS certified.
Alland & Robert has in-depth expertise in the functional properties of natural gums, and we believe our expertise, combined with the high-quality of our products, can be beneficial to cosmetics formulators.
Natural gums have numerous functional properties…
…including properties essential to the formulations of natural cosmetic products such as skincare, cleansing gels and make-up. From mascaras, eye-liners and lipsticks to lotions by way of creams and haircare products, vegetal gums in general and acacia gum in particular, are considered by formulators as natural, completely harmless and healthy ingredients.
Thanks to their viscosity and rheological and texturing properties, they bring
stability and texture to cosmetics. They can also be used as emulsifiers in lotions or serums which require specific textures.
Stop by booth X15 and chat with us !
Alland & Robert is taking the "We Use Wild" pledge, a commitment to good sourcing practices in the gum acacia supply chain
Alland & Robert becomes the first actor in the gum acacia industry to take this pledge, proudly declaring our use of wild acacia gum and placing a spotlight on our work to create and maintain ethical & sustainable practices.
Alland & Robert proudly declares our use of wild gum acacia (or gum arabic). We constantly seek to surpass ourselves and go beyond regulatory requirements and customers’expectations, in order to be the leader of a an industry that respects human rights and the environment. This is why Alland & Robert signed the We Use Wild Pledge, created by global NGO TRAFFIC.
It is the first time that such a commitment is made in the gum acacia industry, reflecting the unique and tireless work of Alland & Robert towards sustainability and ethics, as well as the result of an ambitious corporate and social responsibility policy.
Alland & Robert is taking the Pledge on a voluntary basis, as a self-led initiative to increase awareness and responsible sourcing of wild-harvested gum acacia. The Pledge provides an action framework to take measurable action to address the biological and social risks related to the gum acacia supply chain.
More generally, wild plant ingredients are key across a range of industries. When ethical and sustainable practices are organized throughout the supply chain, wild ingredients can support rural livelihoods that can be at risk of disappearing. Wild ingredients can alos offer the opportunity to engage in conservation projects, such as the Great Green Wall initiative in Africa.
#WeUseWild
“The We Use Wild pledge means that Alland & Robert, as an organisation, supports conservation and rural livelihoods in the African Sahel, where wild gum acacia is harvested.”
Did you know?
Wild harvest accounts for some or all of the harvest of the majority of plant species in trade (between 60-90 percent)*.
TRAFFIC is a leading non-governmental organisation working to ensure that wildlife trade is not a threat to the conservation of nature. Their team works in and connects across some of the world’s most critical wildlife trade hotspots to identify and help address both biodiversity conservation and sustainable development challenges and opportunities linked to trade in wild species.
Come & visit us at FI EUROPE 2022 !
We can’t wait to meet you in person in Paris. We are excited to be at home for Food Ingredient Europe 2022!
The show takes place from December 6 to 8 in Paris Porte de Versailles. Our whole team will be there to attend. Meet us on Hall 4, booth F40. We’ll have some surprises to share!
Why visit us at FI EUROPE 2022?
Discover the versatility of natural gums and their numerous applications in food, dietary and nutraceutical products.
ACACIA GUM, A DIETARY FIBER
Let’s discuss the recent approval by the FDA of acacia gum as a dietary fiber. Since december 2021, acacia gum can be classified as a fiber for nutrition labelling purposes in the United States.
ULTIMATE TEXTURING
Finding plant-based substitutes to non-vegan gelling agents can be a challenge if you’re looking for that perfect texture, sensory experience, hardness or resilience. In order to help manufacturers find the right balance, Alland & Robert has researched a plant-based solution that will bring excellent stabilizing and texturing properties. Using acacia gum as well as other plant-based, natural hydrocolloids, Alland & Robert designed a new gelling agent, perfect for the formulation of vegan food products. This solution will be exclusively presented at Food Ingredient Europe 2022.
GUT HEALTH
Explore the benefits of acacia gum on gut health, thanks to the study we conducted. If you’re looking for a natural way to formulate gut-friendly products or add prebiotic effect, we can help!
Stop by booth 4F40 and chat with us !
Alland & Robert obtains silver rating from EcoVadis following Corporate Social Responsibility evaluation
Alland & Robert obtains the EcoVadis silver medal for its CSR performance.
Alland & Robert has been awarded the silver medal on the occasion of the annual evaluation of the EcoVadis organization
Rewarded for its Corporate Social Responsibility management system, Alland & Robert obtains the EcoVadis silver medal. This score places us among the top 25% of companies rated by the platform.
This rating assesses the CSR performance of companies according to four criteria:
- Responsible purchasing,
- Impact of the company’s activities on the environment,
- Business ethics
- Well-being of employees.
This assessement from one of the most trusted business sustainability rating agency highlights Alland & Robert commitment to put ambitious sustainability policy and objectives first, and our dedication to hard work in order to implement concrete actions and practices in our company and with our stakeholders.
The EcoVadis rating platform was created to assess CSR performance. It is based on 21 criteria and 4 main themes which are: Environment, Social and Human Rights, Ethics and Responsible Purchasing via an examination of the integration of the principles of sustainable development within the activity of each company.
This methodology is based on international sustainable development standards, in particular the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the United Nations Global Compact and the ISO 26000 standard. The objective is to set up an effective CSR management system, consisting of policies, actions and results reporting. In order to fully take into account the real impacts of a company, the assessment framework is adapted to each company according to its sector of activity, its size and its geographical location.
More information is available on the EcoVadis website.
Introducing DemeCare®
DemeCare® is a new range of natural gums for the formulation of clean, organic and sustainable cosmetics.
Our innovative range is composed of 12 products based on acacia gum, sterculia gum, and their blends which are patent pending. Each product offers various functional properties and is available organic.
DemeCare®, based on Alland & Robert’s expertise of natural gums
Alland & Robert has in-depth expertise in the functional properties of natural gums, and we believe our expertise, combined with the high-quality of our products, can be beneficial to cosmetics formulators.
According to Lucie Birchler, cosmetic expert in the R&D team of Alland & Robert, “the properties of natural gums are manifold: they can therefore be used to great advantage as emulsifiers, texturing agents, tightening agents, technological aids, film-forming agents, suspensoid agents and sensory improvers.”
After extensive applicative research and a lot of testing our laboratory, we were able to determine the combination of natural gums suitable for each expected properties in cosmetic products. Today, we are beyond excited that our research allowed us to create DemeCare®, the perfect range for the formulation of natural and safe cosmetics.
Cosmetic expert Lucie Birchler is working in Alland & Robert research laboratory.
Natural gums have numerous functional properties…
…including properties essential to the formulations of natural cosmetic products such as skincare, cleansing gels and make-up. From mascaras, eye-liners and lipsticks to lotions by way of creams and haircare products, vegetal gums in general and acacia gum in particular, are considered by formulators as natural, completely harmless and healthy ingredients.
Thanks to their viscosity and rheological and texturing properties, they bring
stability and texture to cosmetics. They can also be used as emulsifiers in lotions or serums which require specific textures.
Loredana Dattilo, General manager at Grif Cosmetics, said: “Acacia gum enriches the consistency and coating ability of mascaras, for example. It helps with emulsification when combined with other natural surfactants for liquid foundations. More generally, the touch is more “melting” in the presence of acacia gum and the difference is noticeable in the comparative tests we carried out.“
A growing and changing market
In ten years, the cosmetics market has changed completely. Consumers are now looking for natural, simple and ethical products that are good for them and the planet. More transparency and responsibility is expected from brands, which must reformulate or create beauty products and cosmetic that fit these expectations.
The properties of natural gums make it possible to respond to the evolution of recent societal trends, in all their diversity. A real miracle product, they combine nutritional, functional and also environmental benefits. In order to answer this expectation for transparency, DemeCare® products are organic and Cosmos certified, and the receive the maximum rating according to the ISO 16128 Standard, which defines the ingredients of natural and organic cosmetics.
Interested in DemeCare® ?
2022 looking promising for ALLAND & ROBERT
Alland & Robert finished the year 2021 with a 10.4% increase in turnover. This was driven by the overall rise in demand for acacia gum. In 2022, we will continue our growth in new markets. Here is an overview our (many!) current and future projects.
A new production line, expanded product ranges, and recognition of the nutritional qualities of acacia gum are some of the developments and projects which will shape the coming months at Alland & Robert.
To support our intense activity in 2021, we have already recruited twenty employees in the R&D, Production, Quality, Logistics and Sales teams. This trend is set to continue.
A fourth production line to be built in Normandy
In 2022, Alland & Robert will begin constructing its fourth production line in its Saint-Aubin-sur-Gaillon factory in the department of Eure. “The €11 million investment we announced at the end of 2020 is coming to fruition. This project will ultimately increase our production capacity by 45%, of natural gums.” adds Charles Alland, deputy general director.
The launch of DemeCare®, a new range of natural gums for cosmetics – COSMOS certified !
The Demecare® range features twelve products made with two natural gums, gum sterculia and gum acacia. Since it was founded, Alland & Robert
has been developing a comprehensive knowledge of natural, plant-based gums. Alland & Robert is now providing its expertise to cosmetics brands for the formulation of clean, sustainable, organic skincare and beauty products to address the needs of today’s consumers.
The United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recognises the nutritional qualities of acacia gum
At the end of December 2021, the FDA announced that it intended to include acacia gum in the FDA definition of dietary fibre, rubberstamping the results of several clinical studies by a working group of manufacturers including Alland & Robert. Two specialist clinical nutrition laboratories, including a university, designed and conducted these tests. According to the studies, acacia gum specifically reduces blood glucose and insulin levels when included in meals with carbohydrates. “This FDA decision will be felt beyond the United States as many countries apply the FDA guidelines in their local markets. It also confirms the benefits of acacia gum on human health,” explains Violaine Fauvarque, communications and marketing manager.
Acacia gum can improve the nutri-score of biscuits from C to A
Following its study into the gut health benefits of acacia gum (insert link), Alland
& Robert conducted various trials on biscuit formulations. We wanted to demonstrate that acacia gum helps formulate healthy and natural biscuits. The key finding of the trials was that the Nutri-Score of a classic multigrain biscuit recipe improved from C to A, the best rating, as sugar was reduced by 30% and acacia gum was introduced.
Acacia gum also had a positive impact on the texture, crunchiness, and crumbliness of biscuits. In nutritional terms, acacia gum enhances them with prebiotic fibre with high digestive tolerance, which is particularly useful for people with irritable bowel syndrome or who are sensitive to the presence of FODMAPs. This will whet the appetite of manufacturers in the extremely promising biscuit market, who are always looking for innovations to improve their recipes.
Concrete commitments to combat global warming
Alland & Robert also intends to bolster its short-term environmental commitment. By 2025, the company will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram of processed rubber by a fifth. “These objectives are specific and realistic, and are in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement,” explains Violaine Fauvarque, communications and marketing manager. To this end, the firm has established a concrete action plan based on its carbon footprint updated in 2020. Several levers will be used, and will concern freight, packaging, and training staff to adopt green habits. The biggest progress will be made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the production workshops. At the same time, Alland & Robert is continuing its reforestation initiative in the Sahel and its investment in the Great Green Wall through the Alland Company Foundation. This African project is designed to create a “green barrier” to the desert by planting trees over 8,000 km in around twenty African countries. This initiative has allowed Alland & Robert to plant over 8,000 trees since 2020 and it has been able to support projects that help local communities live off forest products.
French market supported by agreement with new distributor
To undergird its growth in France, Alland & Robert signed an agreement with Firmalis at the end of 2021. Firmalis specialises in the distribution of speciality ingredients and flavours to the food and nutraceutical sectors. Its teams will complement those of Alland & Robert in France. As well as supporting business
development, Firmalis will be able to offer customers tailored and proactive solutions.
Organic acacia gum launched for the public in France
Alland & Robert declared the launch of its new organic acacia gum for the French public in late January 2022. Acacia gum is now available for kitchen enthusiasts to purchase on Greenweez and Shopify. “By offering acacia gum, Alland & Robert is meeting the requirements of consumers who want a healthier, more natural and organic diet,” explains Anne-Sophie Alland, head of strategy and development. To introduce the public to the properties of acacia gum, it has jointly developed recipes in with Clémence Catz and Vanessa Fouquet, two authors and chefs who specialise in plant-based cooking.