Making It Work: Mayo firm LLR G5 eyes international growth with launch of new cosmetics range

LLR G5 Ltd, a Mayo-based manufacturer of specialist food supplements and cosmetics, is planning to expand into the US market after recently launching a new skincare range.

John Loftus, managing director of LLR G5, said the company has invested heavily over recent years to develop a new range of skincare gels, body lotions, face creams, cleansers and mists which all contain the active molecule organic silicon G5.

A natural promoter of collagen, LLR G5 Ltd own the global patented development rights to organic silicon G5, a molecule which was first developed by a French scientist in the 1950’s. Loftus said the company, which was set up in 1999, started out manufacturing specialist food supplements containing the molecule, but is now moving into the cosmetics space.

“Our wellbeing range of food and nutritional supplements remains our core business. We’re an export focussed company with about 98 per cent of sales coming from our key markets in France, Belgium, Portugal and Spain. In France alone, we work with around 2,200 retailers,” Loftus said.

“Consumers in continental Europe have a strong awareness for clean label and natural products. Our organic silicon G5 products have a huge following in France, and we’re hoping to build on that with the launch of our new cosmetics range.

“We’ve done a lot of work to make sure the products are made using only natural ingredients. And then the key selling point is that our active G5 ingredient boosts collagen production, which really benefits our skin’s elasticity and hydration. And cosmetics that works is a very sellable product right now,” he added.

Loftus said he believes the new cosmetics range will help the company break into the US market, where there is a fast-growing market for functional skincare products. The Mayo-native, who is the majority shareholder in LLR G5 Ltd has spent the last week at a cosmetics trade show in the US, as he seeks to build a presence there for the first time and connect with distribution and retail partners. He believes the move into cosmetics will help the business more than double its sales over the next two years from €2.2 million this year to a target of €5 million by 2026.

“Because LLR G5 holds the exclusive rights to develop organic silicon G5, we’ve had a lot of approaches over the years to manufacture white label products for other companies. But its something we’ve always turned down. We want to generate our own products,” he said.

Loftus said the company currently employs 10 full time staff, and uses contract manufacturers to produce its nutritional food supplements and now its cosmetics range. He said the company has been self-funded throughout but has worked closely with Enterprise Ireland to enter export markets across Europe and beyond.

“We’ve had a lot of support from Enterprise Ireland over the years. We’ve been a client of theirs for a long time and they’ve really supported us on our export journey, helping us to open new markets. EI’s international office network helped us build a presence in Saudi Arabia for the first time, and we’ll be working with them to grow in the US. Thankfully they’re big fans of ours,” Loftus said.