kdc/one and Clarion Group Announce Major Production and Packaging Joint Venture in Fast-Emerging Indian Market

Industry Leaders to Leverage Complementary Expertise and Industry-Leading Capabilities, Develop New Manufacturing Facility in Gujarat Region

LONGUEUIL, QC and MUMBAI, India, March 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Knowlton Development Corporation Inc ("kdc/one"), a global leader in custom formulation, packing design and manufacturing solutions for many of the world's leading beauty, personal care and home care brands, and the Clarion Group ("Clarion"), a premier contract manufacturer of beauty, personal, home care and food products and decorative tin packaging, today announced a new strategic joint venture in India.

The agreement will establish kdc/one Clarion Beauty Pvt Ltd to support the growth of beauty and personal care brand owners in the rapidly emerging Indian market by offering best-in-class and cost-effective solutions in beauty packaging manufacturing and formulation innovation designed to enhance the customer experience. The agreement was signed by Sandra Wisniewski, Global President Beauty & Personal Care at kdc/one and K N Lakshmanan, Chairman of the Clarion Group, in Chennai, India.

The joint venture brings together more than 65 years of experience and the combined strengths of both companies, including manufacturing and engineering capabilities, local knowledge of the Indian marketplace, global credentials, cutting-edge R&D and innovation capabilities and expertise in injection moulding and metallization. The partnership will cover both packaging manufacturing for colour cosmetics, skincare and personal care, as well as leverage both Clarion local market formulation requirements and kdc/one's global formulation and innovation expertise in India.

Over the next 12 months the partnership will develop and build a brand-new manufacturing facility in the Gujarat region of India to produce injection molded and metallized beauty packaging.

"We are delighted to join forces with Clarion Group and combine our individual and collective strengths to enable brand owners to grow their global business in the fast-developing Indian marketplace," said Sandra Wisniewski, Global President of Beauty and Personal Care at kdc/one. "We look forward to bringing the bespoke packaging design, quality and development credentials of both kdc/one and HCT, and benefitting from Clarion's significant track record in India, highly strategic personal care manufacturing footprint and deeply experienced local management team."

"Our two companies not only have complementary manufacturing, formulation and packaging strengths in the beauty and personal care products sector, but we also share a commitment to providing the highest level of innovation, quality, service, agility and regulatory compliance," said K N Lakshmanan, Chairman of the Clarion Group. "We are excited by the huge potential of this joint venture and believe that together, we will be the partner of choice for brand owners, and I believe the dream for brand owners, whether they are already operating in the Indian market or looking to enter the region, we aim to help bring their vision to life."

Notes to editor:

About kdc/one

Headquartered in Longueuil, Québec, Canada, kdc/one is a trusted global provider of value-added solutions to many of the world's leading brands in the beauty, personal care, and home care categories. The company partners closely with both industry-leading consumer products companies and fast-growing independent brands in the ideation, formulation, design, packaging, and manufacturing of products. The innovative products that kdc/one has helped to develop are sold by its brand partners in more than 70 countries worldwide.

About Clarion Group

Headquartered in Mumbai, India, Clarion is one of the largest Contract Manufacturers of Personal Care and Home care products in India. Clarion also offers Private Label Manufacturing facilities and exports its products to USA, Europe and Middle Eastern countries. The footprint of the Clarion Group covers verticals as diverse as beauty, food, tin packaging and training. The full involvement of the company in delivering the best, without compromise, shines through in each of these ventures.

For further press information, please contact:

Natalie Reed, Chief Financial Officer kdc/one
Phone (914) 473-0687
nreed@kdc-one.com
kdc-one.com