BotaniCERT is a company specializing in botanical expertise and the authentication of natural ingredients. Based in Grasse, it supports companies in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and agri-food sectors in validating the quality and authenticity of their plant-based raw materials. Meet the Managing Director of BotaniCERT, Loïc Loffredo.
Introduce yourself and your business.
At BotaniCERT, we are a laboratory specializing in plant analysis. We work mainly with the food supplement, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Our mission is to guarantee the authenticity of plant-based products, to ensure that they do not contain any falsification and to provide a precise analysis of their composition. This information allows us to optimally promote natural ingredients. We recently filed a quality mark (Botani+) which finally allows consumers to have a label directing them towards quality products based on scientific criteria. The analyses used to obtain this label use cutting-edge techniques and methodology that are constantly being improved.
What are the data issues encountered by BotaniCERT?
Thanks to our latest generation analytical equipment, we generate extremely rich data. However, their volume and complexity make manual processing unviable for everyday use. It is therefore essential to develop efficient and suitable tools to automate and optimize their processing efficiently. In addition, the analyses of our Botani+ quality brand are particularly rigorous and demanding and require very high precision.
What processes and tools have you implemented?
We use some existing tools, but they do not cover the entire process of processing our data, from their acquisition to obtaining the final results that interest us.
How has this collaboration enabled you to achieve your innovation objectives?
This collaboration has helped us clarify and structure our needs, making them more accessible and understandable. This has particularly facilitated the preparation and submission of grant applications to support our innovation projects.
What benefits have you seen after Audrey from Data Acteur’s intervention?
Thanks to Audrey’s intervention, we were able to carry out a clear and precise inventory of our needs, while benefiting from an in-depth understanding of our challenges. The document produced is not only an excellent support for our funding applications, but it also constitutes a solid basis for presenting our approach to a future data scientist that we plan to recruit internally.
What advice would you give to organizations that are hesitant to invest in effective management and valorization of their data?
Carrying out a precise inventory of your needs is a key step. This allowed us to clearly formalize the project that we wish to develop and to structure it effectively in order to be able to defend it in the context of funding applications. Investing in such an approach is essential to lay solid foundations and maximize your chances of success.