Botanics & Organics cosmetics distribution firm to launch in Modesto

A Welsh cosmetics company will open an office and distribution center in downtown Modesto this fall, and it expects to start hiring staff in November.

Botanics & Organics Inc. will be the American branch of the company Naissance, which sells about 3,000 skin and body care products and essential oils primarily to European customers.

The Modesto operation will be based at 14th and H streets, in a portion of the building where The Modesto Bee leases space. Botanics & Organics signed a six-month lease for a 3,000-square-foot office and 1,000 square feet of warehouse space.

“My intention is for this to be a locally run business,” Jem Skelding, the company’s managing director, said Tuesday. “By the end of six months, we expect to get up to 10 people.”

If the company grows as planned, Skelding said “over the next five years, we anticipate creating upwards of 100 jobs, ranging from administrative and marketing roles through to production and warehousing jobs.”

Skelding estimated about 30 percent to 40 percent of the company’s positions will be for high-skilled workers, with most of the rest being “picking and packing jobs” to prepare products for shipment.

“This will be a foot on the ground,” Skelding said of the downtown Modesto location. But he is not sure whether it will be where the company ultimately expands its operation.

What he likes about the region is its proximity to producers of grape seed, almond and walnut oils, which Skelding said are among his company’s products.

Almond oil, for example, is used in aromatherapy and “is particularly suited for nourishing the skin and is known to be effective in moisturizing eczema,” according to promotional material posted on the Naissance website. The company describes grape seed as producing “an excellent oil for moisturizing and protecting normal to dry skin, leaving it soft without feeling greasy.”

The company also sells cold-pressed walnut organic carrier oil – which “is thought to balance the nervous system” –​ at a price of 4.49 British pounds for a 50-milliliter bottle. That equates to about $7.14 per 1.7 ounces.

Skelding said he started his cosmetics business in Wales nine years ago “in a back bedroom.” It now employs about 160 people in Europe, selling its products online and shipping directly to customers.

Naissance has distribution centers in Wales and Germany, and the new Botanics & Organics operation in Modesto is expected to market those products throughout the United States and Canada.

To jump-start Botanics & Organics, Skelding said Naissance will ship two to three months’ worth of product to Modesto for redistribution to American customers. The new website will be at www.botanicsandorganics.com.

“The community here is fantastic,” Skelding said about Modesto. He said assorted government and business leaders, including the Stanislaus Business Alliance, helped him find potential lease locations and toured him around the region. “The people here have been very supportive and friendly.”

Skelding said his company, which is “self-financed,” began looking to launch an American branch 18 months ago.

“San Francisco was the first place I came,” Skelding said. But he soon discovered there were more suppliers, producers and manufacturers in the Central Valley. So he started searching for the right location in the Valley.

Turlock, Stockton and Sacramento were among the other cities the company considered, according to Margaret James, a business analyst for the city of Modesto who helped Skelding find the right spot in town.

The cosmetics firm is a good fit for Modesto, according to David White, the alliance’s chief executive officer.

“We have a great ag-based economy,” White said, “and they need the same raw materials and skill sets we have.”

The alliance will assist Botanics & Organics in crafting its job descriptions and hiring its staff.

In the meantime, two of Naissance’s leaders, operations manager Chris Till and compliance manager Mathew Rees, will set up operations in Modesto.

This story was originally published October 14, 2014 at 3:11 PM with the headline "Botanics & Organics cosmetics distribution firm to launch in Modesto."