Laboratorios Dr Vinyals bought

Cognis, the holding company of the chemicals activities of the Henkel group, has acquired Laboratorios Dr Vinyals, based in Barcelona, Spain. The acquisition offers Cognis the opportunity to enter the botanical extracts market. As Carmen Arias, business director of the new botanicals unit and European manager of Cognis Nutrition and Health, explains, 'Botanical extracts are a significant source of active ingredients in the healthcare sector and are rapidly growing in importance.' The acquisition extends the range of products Cognis can offer. Its current nutrition and health portfolio consists of vitamin E, phytosterols, carotenoids and lutein esters, all of which are extracted from natural source raw material.