Orean

OREAN I

Orean is a private-label cosmetic formulator and manufacturer with sites in the United Kingdom and United States. Specialising in hair, body and skin care, the company provides sustainable solutions to the cosmetics industry. CEO Dan Williams discussed Orean’s sustainable outlook and partner relationships, with Hannah Barnett and Antonia Cole.

Joining Orean in 2012, CEO Dan Williams has watched the company’s annual turnover grow from £3 million to £30 million. In this time, Orean has shifted focus from obtaining new clients, to an emphasis on providing highquality service to existing clients.

The company guides clients through the entire manufacturing process. From product development with onsite testing facilities, to manufacturing and filling, then to packaging with sustainable solutions, Orean offers support through every step of the project. With 230 employees in the UK and 30 employees in the US, the company is well equipped with industry experts to assist clients in the development of their products.

“Our core values are collaboration, ambition, agility, integrity and expertise,” said Mr Williams. “We aim to achieve these qualities in our service to clients, community and environment. We are hoping to set new standards of responsibility within the industry by ethically sourcing raw materials.”

The company was the first contract manufacturer to achieve B Corp accreditation, attesting to its dedication to serving not only clients, but society as a whole and the environment.

Achieving ambitions

Orean’s US entity was established six years ago to assist British brands entering the US market. This serves clients as they can avoid additional freight costs, import duty tax and excess carbon emissions from transportation. The site now achieves an annual turnover of $9 million.

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The company also offers agility and flexibility to clients within the production facility. Production plans are not finalised until the first day of the commencement week in order to allow clients to make changes and to allow time for any issues to be resolved quickly and efficiently.

After the first invoice for the finished product is settled, Orean transfers the Intellectual Property rights to clients.

The company gives clients ownership of their products because of its dedication to building long-term relationships.

“We don’t want people to work with us just because they’ve signed a contract,” explained Mr Williams. “We want people to work with us because they enjoy the process, and they trust us as a company.

“Growing alongside and supporting our clients is a very rewarding experience. We value long-term partnerships and relationships above everything, which is why we work so hard to deliver honest, efficient and effective service.”

Operating ethically

Orean is consistently working to improve sustainability in operations and is setting a new environmentally

friendly standard for the industry. The company sources all raw materials as ethically as possible and utilises the expertise of technicians to reduce the number of resources necessary to formulate products.

This system allows the company to deliver the same results whilst having l ess of an impact on the environment.

By minimising the use of raw materials, resources are conserved and less emissions are produced through farming and transportation.

Orean also aims to source raw materials locally in order to limit transportation. This process not only supports the local community, but minimises carbon emissions produced in the transportation of goods.

The company has invested into renewable energy by installing solar panels at

its UK site and is looking to introduce them at its US site as well. These solar panels will reduce Orean’s reliance on unrenewable energy and minimise its contribution to the production of greenhouse gases. A rainwater capture project is being introduced at the company’s sites to reduce water usage. This project preserves groundwater and reduces the use of the carbon producing mains water supply.

Also, instead of Intermediate Bulk Containers, Orean is using Pallecons where suitable. These are a reusable and collapsible alternative that minimises transportation and disposal emissions. Pallecons reduce waste as they feature a bottom discharge outlet with an internal sump, ensuring that only low levels of residual product remain after every emptying. Orean is saving energy and reducing emissions on-site with sensored lighting around the premises and rechargeable

batteries, plus encouraging car share and bike to work schemes.

“Reducing our carbon footprint and environmental impact is at the heart of what we do for both us and our clients,” said Mr Williams. “We try and limit our impact everywhere we can. From minimising our energy use on-site, to ethically sourcing raw materials, we are evaluating every step of the production process to make it more sustainable.”

Continuous collaboration

It is important to Orean to treat suppliers the same as the brands it works with. All services that the company offers, such as sustainably sourced materials and recyclable packaging, are made possible due to suppliers. Orean’s relationship with suppliers is vital to the success of t he company and its ability to provide a full, high-quality service.

“We find ourselves getting prioritised over bigger companies because of how

“” WE ALL HAVE THE COMMON GOAL OF IMPRO SUSTAINABILITY MEASU AND HELPING THE PLA “

we collaborate with and treat our suppliers,” explained Mr Williams. “Our five-year vision will develop these relationships and encourage us to grow together.

“By being transparent and sharing what we are striving towards, then we encourage more people to help us to achieve our desired outcomes. Our upcoming supplier open day will help us to network and share our goals with suppliers, so that we can work together to reach our objectives. We want to move away from transactional relationships and build more meaningful partnerships with suppliers.”

Orean’s five-year plan is ambitious, yet possible and two open days are to be scheduled in Q2 of 2024 to share this with the supplier base. This vision will be achieved organically by supporting and developing the company’s existing customer base.

“There are some extremely talented people working with us,” said Mr Williams. “We want to keep investing in this talent and keep it growing. These are people that we know we can count on to achieve our goals and maintain the success of the company.”

A new enterprise resource planning system called Think 360 has been introduced to the company, reducing paper waste and increasing efficiency throughout the company. The system monitors task completion throughout the production process and delivers

updates to clients, which will help Orean to reach its five-year goal.

“We work with brands who we think we can make a success and we invest our time and energy into them,” concluded Mr Williams. “We don’t have a defined method of production; we adapt and are flexible to meet the client’s needs.

This attitude makes us unique within the industry. We are confident in our employees and know that they can deliver exceptional results.

“Working for Orean means that I get to build relationships within the industry, where we all have the common goal of improving sustainability measures and helping the planet.”

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