SIMPOR Pharma Sdn Bhd, Brunei’s first halal pharmaceutical company, is in talks with cosmetics 
manufacturers for the production of halal cosmetics in the sultanate.
Simpor Pharma Account Manager Sie Kieh Lau said the company is in talks with some potential clients which are keen to get Simpor Pharma as a contract manufacturer of halal cosmetics.
“The halal control and integrity in Simpor Pharma is very strict,” Lau said, adding that the company is one of the few halal-certified plants in the region.
Simpor Pharma has also already produced its own line of cosmetics for the local market, notably one hydration line for younger skin and one whitening line which were recently given a halal certification by Indonesia.
Lau said Simpor Pharma plans to export its cosmetics in the future. At the moment, the company is doing parallel registration with halal certification bodies in Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia, as this will help Simpor Pharma to sell its products.
“Every single certification would add to how much effort we put into the integrity of the product (in terms of halal),” she said.
Having Brunei’s halal certification will also help Simpor Pharma exports its products to the Middle East.
Lau said when the company’s hydration line was previewed in a trade expo in Dubai last year, it was very well received.
“We are trying to export to all the places we can reach,” she said.
Lau said compared to halal foods or traditional medicines, cosmetics were harder to get a halal certification. This was mainly due to the current demands on the market, which required some raw products to be extracted with alcohol.
She said it is easier to find substitutes for food and traditional medicines so they can be halal certified. Nevertheless, Simpor Pharma will continue to expand its cosmetics range by finding their own substitutes, and will be looking to launch more products soon.
Simpor Pharma was established in 2013 to produce Syariah-compliant pharmaceutical products for export to Muslim markets in Asia. The company is a $26 million joint-venture among Canadian Firm Viva Pharmaceutical Inc, private equity fund Aureous (Brunei) Capital Sdn Bhd and a group of local investors.
Apart from cosmetics, it manufactures energy drinks, hand sanitisers and supplements.
The Brunei Times
