Nutrition & Care
In the Nutrition & Care segment – consisting of the Care Chemicals and Nutrition & Health divisions – we serve the growing and increasingly sophisticated demands for fast-moving consumer goods. Our customers include food and feed producers as well as the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, detergent and cleaner industries. We also offer solutions for technical applications and for crop protection and plant nutrition. We strive to expand our position as a leading provider of ingredients and solutions for consumer applications in the areas of nutrition, home and personal care. Our goal is to drive organic growth by focusing on emerging markets, new business models and sustainability trends in consumer markets, supported by targeted acquisitions.
Divisions
Individualization of personal care products is a global key trend. BASF has launched a variety of technologies that allow our customers to create a digitalized, data-driven consumer experience. Offerings that focus on matching this consumer need for personalized cosmetics include:
Emuage – Customized personal care products
In a partnership with the French startup company B2B Cosmetics, BASF is offering a technology, Emuage, that allows users to create their own individualized personal care products, for example, for hair, sun or skin care.
siHealth – Analyzing the skin and the environment
Apps providing individualized data on topics such as skin condition and environmental factors, such as UV radiation, have been developed and launched in collaboration with siHealth, an emerging company based in the United Kingdom.
By combining data from apps, formulation expertise and a broad range of personal care ingredients and actives, we are driving innovations digitally and enhancing customer experience.
Factors influencing sales
EBIT before special items
| Million € | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
| Sales to third parties | 6,019 | 6,075 | 5,940 |
| Share of total BASF sales (%) | 10 | 10 | 10 |
of which Care Chemicals |
3,989 | 4,118 | 4,244 |
Nutrition & Health |
2,030 | 1,957 | 1,696 |
| Income from operations before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) before special items | 1,190 | 1,214 | 1,128 |
| Income from operations before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) | 1,152 | 1,189 | 1,107 |
| EBITDA margin (%) | 19 | 20 | 19 |
| Income from operations (EBIT) before special items | 773 | 793 | 736 |
| EBIT before special items margin (%) | 13 | 13 | 12 |
| Income from operations (EBIT) | 688 | 644 | 715 |
| EBIT margin (%) | 11 | 11 | 12 |
| Return on capital employed (ROCE) (%) | 10.6 | 10.0 | 11.8 |