From your point of view – as a business owner and innovator – what issue is worth talking more about today?
Dr. Irena Eris: I am a Euro-enthusiast, but certain things need to be talked about in order to reach optimal solutions. For a long time, we have seen, and not only me, but it is a common belief among business representatives that EU regulations are becoming more and more complicated, more and more sophisticated, and although they theoretically take into account the interests of the consumer, just like we do, producers are absolutely not important here. . Hence we face overshoot.
We have a research center in our company, we publish our research in respected international scientific journals, we have many patent applications, we focus on innovation also out of the pure satisfaction of creating something new. But instead of acting creatively, using the talents of people and our technological and research departments, I am involved in changing recipes because the regulations are constantly changing. New raw materials appear all the time, the previous ones can no longer be used, so we formulate new recipes. And it's not like a new recipe is simply taking out the old ingredient and putting in a new one. This is an entire technological process that is created from scratch, it is created anew, it checks the stability – whether the active substances can still penetrate into the skin and work effectively due to this change. Sometimes it happens that the presence of another substance inhibits the action of other ingredients. It happens that we finish one such process, and then it turns out that there are further orders and we start over.
We attach great importance to our customer service because we are very curious about what our customers think and we often get questions about whether anything has changed in this recipe. The client says: well, this cream was so good, this one is not bad either, but for example it smells different. Our client doesn't see it, but due to excessive regulations, instead of moving forward, we are moving backwards. I also hear this from other manufacturers in other industries.
I'm afraid so Europe begins to lag behind and fails to keep up with global progress. In the United States, where we are now entering, changes are not happening so quickly. Paradoxically, in the USA we have to go back to previous recipes because these new European ingredients are not yet approved on this market. Interestingly, EU changes are not always rational and sometimes occur under the influence of social pressure. An example is parabens. These are preservatives, because every cosmetic must have them. If someone writes on the packaging that a cosmetic is free of preservatives, it only means that they use preservatives that are not yet on the list of preservatives. Otherwise, each cosmetic would quickly deteriorate. Parabens are widely used in food, they are the safest and most tested for years. And because a famous influencer said that parabens were harmful, customers began to expect them to be absent from the products, thinking that “someone smart finally told us the truth.” Unfortunately, the European Union, often not guided by research, changes, changes and changes.
Do we understand correctly that this regulatory momentum, this pace, has increased in recent years? And how does this affect the innovative activities of a company like yours?
Innovation is progress, it is finding something different, something better, something that the consumer needs, not an innovation that no one can measure.
But can we do it in Poland and what is the climate around innovation?
I can draw conclusions from my own activities. We have three areas: in addition to the production of cosmetics, we have cosmetic institutes, we also have three SPA hotels, so this is our holistic beauty world – relaxation, professional self-care and proper daily care. We cooperate with universities and other research units. We are very pleased with the cooperation with the Polish Academy of Sciences, w result where we conducted joint research and implemented a product that was patented. This is the perfect path for us.
We ask this because there has been a lot of bitterness in Polish science lately, at least that's how it can be seen from the outside.
My personal observation is that there is generally a lack of contact between business and science, science is often conducted for science's sake, but nothing comes of it. I believe that science is one of the most important fields that should cause the country's progress and development. But for this to happen, the research results must translate into something specific, a product or service, something that does not exist yet.
Of course, in business you don't necessarily have to be innovative to run it well. There are companies that mainly follow market trends and produce something similar. I have different assumptions, I do my own thing, I have my own vision. I have to get satisfaction from it, that is, I do it properly, I put all my energy and knowledge and I wait to see what our recipients will respond, and I am very happy when they appreciate what is “inside” a given product. However, I do not tolerate unethical copying. Imitation is still OK, but I simply hate copying, I never do it myself and it just annoys me.
How do you stay focused on the really important things amid all the noise and the amount of things and phenomena that are happening at the same time?
You have to stick to your strategy and be consistent. On the one hand, we must keep up with changes and regulations, and on the other, constantly move forward. Today, some of our people who could focus on development have to deal with other matters. For example, we have an ESG reporting requirement. This obliges us to fill out various forms and analyze issues such as animal welfare, even though our activities have no connection with animals. Our company has always been interested in ecology, we wanted to run our business in a modern way: we have photovoltaics, and 20 years ago we bought machines for pressing barrels so that they could be recycled more easily. Meanwhile, now I have to monitor something that does not concern me at all. It's a bit frustrating and demotivating. Of course, we have to do it, but when a person sees that he or she is performing actions that make no sense, it is difficult to be enthusiastic about development or innovation.
And what innovation of yours are you particularly satisfied with?
We have a very interesting example. In 2009, the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded for research on telomeres, i.e. structures at the ends of chromosomes responsible for cell division. With each cell division, telomeres shorten during the aging process, and when they shorten completely, the cell dies. At that time, we were working on a cream that extended the life of telomeres. And just when we were introducing this product to the market, the news about the Nobel Prize appeared. We were very happy, and my husband, Henryk Orfinger, joked: “Now all we have to do is win the Nobel Prize!” From that moment on, the company repeats that the boss set the bar at Nobel level [Å›miech].
Second example. We were the first in Europe to use vitamin K in cosmetics. It is a vitamin that is inactive under normal conditions – it must be taken orally because it becomes active only after contact with liver enzymes. Meanwhile, in one of the American ones wash I read scientifically that these enzymes were also discovered in the skin. It was a revelation. We conducted research and it actually turned out that vitamin K applied to the skin eliminates hematomas, accelerates wound healing and shrinks blood vessels. Such situations give us energy and motivation, showing that we have achieved something special and have the necessary skills. This drives us to continue.
Interviewed by: Maria Mazurek, Rafał Madajczak