According to a press release, Kao is joining as a founding member of the project to scale up plant-based alternatives to palm kernel oil. The announcement adds to the previously announced $120 million investment from Unilever.
Implementation of the Genomatica-developed alternative could decrease the carbon footprint of palm-derived ingredients by up to 50%, according to the release.
“Kao’s investment in this venture will make possible the provision of new eco-chemical solutions and represents an opportunity for Kao to play an even bigger role in helping consumers, customers, industry and society to realize decarbonization and make the shift to a resource-circulating economy,” Masahiro Katayose, Kao Senior Executive Officer in charge of Chemical Business said in the release.
Katayose also said Genomatica is an important partner for Kao as a chemical manufacturer because of the role the biotech firm plays in creating more sustainable raw materials.
The release said the venture will help Genomatica achieve a 100 million ton reduction of greenhouse gases in upcoming years and Kao’s goals to become carbon neutral by 2040 and carbon negative by 2050.
Click through to read more about these companies and the venture.
Q&A
Biotech is a buzzword in cosmetic ingredients today, and Genomatica has insight into the movement both a supplier and partner in the space.
CosmeticsDesign spoke with Genomatica product marketing manager Kyle Huston about what the company is doing in the personal care space beyond their own butylene glycol ingredient, what role biotech plays in the industry and what the technologies future may be.
I was hoping we could talk a little more broadly about what your company is doing in the personal care space right now.
A lot of our business is composed of designing technologies, licensing and selling technologies to companies who want to remake their supply chain.
Global beauty and personal care supplier Unilever and biotechnology developer Genomatica (Geno) have launched a €114 million ($120 mn) venture to scale alternatives to palm oil and fossil fuels and seek sustainable ingredients for personal care product development.
Unilever and Geno have teamed up on the multi-million-pound deal to develop and launch plant-based alternatives to feedstocks such as palm oil or fossil fuels to produce core ingredients for everyday personal care products.
The duo behind the new initiative, of which Unilever is the first to support through investment, is expecting additional investors to join its goal of establishing sustainably-sourced palm oil in the personal care market. In addition, as part of the initiative, the companies are said to be striving to identify and deliver additional responsibly sourced palm oil alternatives to the industry.
Using biotechnology to find new ingredients
With biotechnology at the centre of the venture, the partnership marks Unilever’s largest investment to date in exploring possible biotechnology alternatives to palm oil. It is understood the initiative will focus on commercialising and scaling alternatives to palm oil and fossil fuel-derived cleansing ingredients by seeking options for prominent ingredients within personal care items that rely on cleansing by lathering and lifting dirt.
Biotech company Genomatica presented a bio-based alternative petroleum-based solvent in fragrance during NYSCC Suppliers’ Day which they claim can cut carbon emissions by up to 50%.
The San Diego based company showcased their Brontide natural butylene glycol in the show’s fragrance pathway as the company attempts to transition the ingredient from primarily personal care products into the world of perfumes and other scents.
Genomatica Product Marketing Manager Kyle Huston said the company develops ingredients through biofermentation of sugars and created the Brontide natural butylene glycol as an alternative solvent to the conventional petroleum-based butylene glycol.
Moving into fragrance
The ingredient has been on the market for around three years as a personal care solvent and Huston said the company recently began building out data to show its use in the fragrance sector.
Japanese personal care major Kao Corporation believes achieving a circular society will require a delicate balance of minimising beauty materials and maximising use, with thin-film packaging offering plenty of promise.
In May last year, the Kao Corporation, which produces a range of beauty brands such as Sensai, Kanebo and Kate as well as cosmetics ingredients for industry, unveiled plans to become carbon negative by 2050. Much of this, it said, would be achieved by switching to 100% renewable energy across its entire operations, as well as via a strong focus on raw material usage, water-saving innovations and reduction of plastic packaging.
And this week at in-Cosmetics Global, Junko Ohtani, director of ESG communications at Kao Corporation, outlined how important innovation in packaging, specifically, was in fulfilling the company’s carbon negative goals.
‘This maximising and minimising philosophy, we believe, is key’
“Zero waste, as you can imagine, is one of the biggest challenges and focuses for our customers and consumers,” Ohtani told attendees during her presentation at the Sustainability Corner during the tradeshow, connecting via livestream from Japan.
Personal care major Unilever has widened the call for startups, scaleups and entrepreneurs to engage with its collaboration initiative, inviting those specialised in sustainable ingredients and packaging to join.
Launched in September last year, Unilever’s collaboration platform ‘Positive Beauty Growth’ had been designed to drive next-generation in-house innovation across its portfolio of brands via collaborations with innovative startups, scaleups and entrepreneurs. Its first call to team up with those specialised in social commerce had drawn in 300+ applications, leading to the shortlisting of 33 businesses that were now kicking off pilot projects with leading Unilever brands worldwide.
The beauty and personal care major now wanted to engage with companies and individuals with expertise in next-generation biodegradable and sustainable ingredients and packaging. Submissions for those interested in joining would close on April 11, 2022.
Creating sustainable ‘breakthroughs’
“We’re creating the next generation of technologies and ingredients for our beauty and personal care products that are not only highly effective, but also natural and sustainable,” said Richard Slater, chief research and development officer at Unilever.
