When you first open a cosmetic compact you just bought and are surprised and seduced by the pattern that appears on the surface of the powder, there is every chance that a small Italian company, Nastritex Lab, located a few kilometers northeast of Milan, is behind its design.

Nastritex Lab has a staff of 15 people and this year posted a turnover of € 8.5 million, up 10% over the previous year and a 70% global market share in this very specific niche.

Overview with Federico Mocchetti, CEO, and Elisabetta Albizzati, Sales Manager.

Jean-Yves Bourgeois: This activity which consists of providing the equipment and technology to apply extremely varied patterns at the surface of a powder contained in a compact is a “niche” of its own! A niche that you managed to conquer thanks to real technological advances and a very avant-garde discourse...

Federico Mocchetti: That’s true, the products we make and offer are the result of cutting-edge research. Our specialty is based on 40 years of experience in studying and manufacturing textiles and other materials for the production of cosmetics. What is important is to know the needs of customers. And, like them, we have that taste for perfection when creating a product and its motif. There must be a perfect match between the motif, the texture, and the composition of the powder. Another important point is our customer-centered service and the desire to be in line with the time to market.

Bourgeois: You invest a lot in research.

Mocchetti: We not only perform tests for the pressing of dry powders, such as stability tests, but the NastriTex Lab is also at the heart of the R&D process for researching new materials, be it in terms of thickness, permeability to air, liquids or powders, of material absorption and elasticity, to name some of the parameters that can be assessed, modified or improved. What is important is to be an integral part of the customer’s innovation processes, which involves being integrated in the creative process. And above all, to adapt to technological developments, such as the back-injection technique by developing new processes.

Bourgeois: Your customers are both makeup suppliers and brand owners?

Mocchetti: The core of our clientele still remains makeup suppliers, with brands only representing 10% of our business. Today, we boast more than 150 customers around the world and have a foothold in no less than 25 countries with seven logistics bases across four continents. Our average lead-time from order to delivery is about 12 days.

Bourgeois: The market is developing?

Mocchetti: Yes, around 10% a year! And we adapt our tools to follow demand. Our productive investments exceed €500,000 this year. We are doubling our capacity. Our R&D work is always focused on the research for new textile or non-textile materials, ease and regularity of application, a good match between our products and the products on which they are applied.