What Intercos does

Intercos S.p.A. is a publicly-traded global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for the color cosmetics, skincare, and personal care industry, headquartered in Agrate Brianza, Italy. Founded in 1972 by Dario Ferrari and listed on Euronext Milan since 2021 (ticker: ICOSF), the company operates 16 production plants and 11 R&D centers across 11 countries in Europe, North America, South America, and Asia, serving over 550 brand-owner clients worldwide including L'Oréal, Estée Lauder Companies, Coty, Shiseido, Dolce & Gabbana, and Revlon.

The company's technical platform spans formulation development, proprietary active ingredients (via wholly-owned subsidiary Vitalab), patented powder technology (Prisma Shine, patented in four major jurisdictions), and packaging engineering. It develops over 1,300 new formulas annually through a workforce of approximately 5,500 employees, including 905+ innovation professionals. The portfolio is organized around makeup (foundations, eyeshadows, lipsticks, nail products), skincare and personal care (face, body, hair care), packaging services, and the Intercos Concept brand-development module.

Intercos generates revenue through B2B contract manufacturing fees, product development fees, and long-term supply contracts negotiated on a client-by-client basis. The commercial model relies on enterprise field sales through dedicated account teams across commercial offices in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and other major markets. Recent strategic priorities include expansion in skincare and clean beauty segments, a stated $2.5 billion revenue target by 2027, and active pursuit of a US acquisition in the skin and hair care sector valued at $100-200 million.

Name

Intercos

Legal name

Intercos S.p.A.

Website

https://intercos.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Intercos is a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for color cosmetics, skincare, and personal care products, serving over 550 brand-owner clients across 11 countries from 16 production plants and 11 R&D centers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Agrate Brianza

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices25 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Contract Manufacturing Services: CDMO services providing development and manufacturing of color cosmetics, skincare, hair care, and personal care products for major beauty brands. Revenue generated through product development fees, manufacturing fees, and long-term supply contracts with brand owners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Intercos is a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for the color cosmetics and skincare industry. The company develops, formulates, and manufactures makeup, skincare, hair care, personal care products, and packaging on behalf of major beauty brands through 16 production plants and 11 R&D centers across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Complementary offerings include brand development services via Intercos Concept, packaging design and engineering, and proprietary active ingredients developed by its Vitalab subsidiary.

Product overview

Intercos is a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) offering a comprehensive portfolio of beauty products and services. The company operates as a unified platform comprising color cosmetics (foundations, eyeshadows, mascaras, lipsticks, nail lacquers), skincare and personal care (face care, body care, hair care, cleansing), and related services. Core offerings include manufacturing through 15 global plants, brand development via Intercos Concept, and packaging innovation. The portfolio is strengthened by wholly-owned subsidiaries CRB (Swiss premium skincare), Cosmint (body/hair/personal care manufacturing), and Vitalab (active ingredient development).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CRB: Centre de Recherches Biocosmetiques - Swiss skincare development and manufacturing excellence, renowned worldwide for outstanding quality and breakthrough skincare innovations.
• Cosmint
• Vitalab
• AGER
• Intercos Concept

Products and services

• Makeup (Color Cosmetics) Contract Manufacturing Contract development and manufacturing of color cosmetics including foundations, concealers, face powders, eyeshadows, mascaras, lipsticks, glosses, nail lacquers, and delivery systems/pencils. Intercos provides 360-degree makeup development from formula engineering to colored finish advancement for major beauty brand clients.
• Skincare & Personal Care Contract Manufacturing Comprehensive contract manufacturing of skincare and personal care products including face care, eye care, body care, hair care, cleansing, masks, hybrid formulations, and men's grooming products for beauty brand clients worldwide.
• Cosmetic Manufacturing Services Global contract manufacturing services operated across 15 plants in Europe (7), North America (2), South America (1), and Asia (5). Delivers technology, safety, quality, timeliness, sustainability, and global footprint excellence for color cosmetics, skincare, hair care, and personal care products.
• Packaging Design and Engineering Creative packaging design and engineering services for beauty products, including compacts, palettes, cushions, lipsticks, sticks, pencils, and dispensing pens for makeup, and pots, jars, tubes, bottles, caps, pumps, and droppers for skincare.
• Intercos Concept (Brand Development Service) 360-degree brand development service providing marketing support to help envision, revive, and accelerate beauty brands through co-creation, strategy actualization, and brand activation, including go-to-market strategy execution.

Quantifiable outcome

• Crossed €1 billion revenue milestone for first time in 2024
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ShiseidocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025Shiseido partnered with Intercos in May 2025 to co-manufacture high-end skincare lines. This strategic partnership leverages Intercos' manufacturing expertise and global footprint for Shiseido's premium skincare products.
• MeiyumecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic alliance between Intercos and Meiyume announced in 2025, presenting products including Intercos x Meiyume collections, Longevity, NovaTouch, and BloomTots. The partnership combines Intercos' manufacturing capabilities with Meiyume's beauty intelligence platform and packaging expertise.
• Shinsegae InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture established in 2015 creating Shinsegae Intercos Korea to harness Korean beauty innovation expertise. In June 2020, Intercos acquired Shinsegae International's 50% shareholding, becoming sole shareholder of Intercos Korea Inc.
• Fareva GroupminorOthersCompetitor peer in the global personal care contract manufacturing market mentioned alongside Intercos in market analysis reports.
• Cosmax Inc.minorOthersCompetitor peer in the global personal care contract manufacturing market mentioned alongside Intercos in market analysis reports.
• Kolmar Korea Co.minorOthersCompetitor peer in the global personal care contract manufacturing market mentioned alongside Intercos in market analysis reports. Note: Kolmar Korea won a legal battle against Intercos Korea over sun care technology leakage in 2024.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Cosmax: South Korea-based global cosmetics ODM/CDMO serving major beauty brands across color cosmetics, skincare and personal care. Direct head-to-head competitor to Intercos in prestige and masstige contract manufacturing, with comparable global plant footprint and innovation pipeline.
• Kolmar Korea: Korea's largest cosmetics ODM offering color cosmetics, skincare and sun care development and manufacturing for global brands. Direct competitor to Intercos in formulation and full-service beauty CDMO; recently won the trade-secrets lawsuit against Intercos Korea.
• Fareva Group: French-headquartered global contract manufacturer serving beauty, personal care, pharmaceuticals and industrial markets. A direct CDMO peer to Intercos, frequently cited alongside it in beauty contract-manufacturing market analyses with similar multi-region plant network.
• Meiyume: Beauty intelligence and packaging-driven CDMO serving fragrance, skincare and color cosmetics brands globally. Now a strategic partner of Intercos (announced 2025) but historically a direct competitor in B2B beauty manufacturing and packaging services.
• Ancorotti Cosmetics: Italian-based color cosmetics CDMO specializing in mascara, lip products and pencils with strong European manufacturing footprint. Closely comparable to Intercos in category (color cosmetics) and geography, often competing for the same brand customers.
• Chromavis: Italian color cosmetics manufacturer (now part of ADALYA Group) specializing in lipsticks, glosses and nail products for prestige and masstige brands. Direct European-based competitor to Intercos in color cosmetics formulation and manufacturing.
• Schwan-Stabilo Cosmetics: German-based global cosmetics manufacturer offering pencils, lip products and full-service beauty CDMO solutions to brand owners. Comparable to Intercos in serving prestige beauty brands with multi-country manufacturing presence and strong color cosmetics IP.
• Fiabila: French family-owned global leader in nail polish and nail care manufacturing for brand owners. Comparable to Intercos in B2B contract manufacturing of beauty products and global plant footprint, though narrower in category focus.
• Mana Products: US-based private label and contract manufacturer of color cosmetics, skincare and personal care products for prestige and mass brands. Direct US-market CDMO peer to Intercos, with comparable customer base of major beauty companies.
• Alkos Group: French-headquartered cosmetics CDMO offering color cosmetics, skincare and personal care development and manufacturing for global brand owners. Comparable to Intercos in serving prestige beauty customers from European manufacturing bases with multi-category formulation expertise.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/intercos
• Xx.com/intercosgroup

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Intercos