True Stories
From Mediterranean nature to organic cosmetics: meet Officinali di Montauto
Luigi Scognamiglio, CEO and Founder of OM Officinali di Montauto
I am Luigi Scognamiglio. I have a degree in economics from Bocconi University, in Milano, and an MBA from the University of Chicago. From 2003, I am CEO and founder of OM Officinali di Montauto.
NATRUE: When and how was Officinali di Montauto created? What are the values of this brand?
Luigi Scognamiglio: Officinali di Montauto (OM) was created in 2003 in the south of Tuscany, in the Maremma region. The ambition from the very beginning has been to transfer the properties and the magic of our wonderful Mediterranean nature into our organic cosmetic products. In order to achieve this, we produce directly in the organic farm of Montauto the large majority of our ingredients; essential oils, extracts, and seed oils.
NATRUE: What role does nature and sustainability play for Officinali di Montauto?
Luigi Scognamiglio: From the very beginning, we have rigorously adopted the organic method in producing our ingredients and we have chosen to have the full cosmetic catalogue certified.
The role of a company however does not limit itself to the production of goods. We feel very deeply the duty of contributing to witness and preserve the beauty and integrity of the wonderful nature that in this region we have inherited from our ancestors. For this reason, we were promoters and founders of the association Pro Montauto with the aim of protecting our environment and our social community.
In the recent past we have been particularly disappointed in finding out that among the many other threats we have to face, there is also the manipulation of the environmental emergency aimed at exploiting a form of a purely speculative green economy. Fully reflecting our values, Pro Montauto is in favor of the promotion of a clear and transparent debate about the use of RRP (European funds for the Recovery and Resilience Plan) and ultimately the objective of full decarbonization of Italian agriculture.
NATRUE: What are the “star ingredients” of Officinali di Montauto’s products? Where do these ingredients come from?
Luigi Scognamiglio: As we said before, our aim is to transmit the magic of our beautiful Mediterranean nature through our organic cosmetic products. To do so we have done a lot of botanical research on the plants of our bush. Among the very simple plants like sage, rosemary, lavender, and marigold we are very proud to have been able to extract a native variety of thyme, lavandula stoechas, and of course the king of our Mediterranean medicinal plants which is Italian immortelle (Elichrisum italicum).
NATRUE: Officinali di Montauto will be in VIVANESS 2022. Why is this trade fair important for you?
Luigi Scognamiglio: Because VIVANESS is the only trade fair that respects and treasures the real value of our work by requiring from the very beginning the full organic certification of the products exposed.
NATRUE: What is the value of the NATRUE Label for Officinali di Montauto’s products?
Luigi Scognamiglio: OM is well known in the Far East and in particular South Korea, where the quality of our products helped us to become a fairly popular brand for organic cosmetics.
We hope NATRUE Label will help us become more popular among Central and North Europe customers.
For more information about Officinali di Montauto, visit https://www.officinalidimontauto.com/
Download this interview here.