A-peeling potential: Banana beauty biotech firm eyes Asia as key growth region

The company was founded 13 years ago and carved a name for itself by harnessing the power of banana bioactives derived from upcycled bananas in the French Caribbean.

The firm follows eco-extraction principles and focuses on extracting the benefits bananas in an environmentally respectful manner while minimising ecological impact.

Kadalys launched its eponymous skin care brand about a decade ago as a proof of concept for its patented banana bioactives.

This year, the brand made its debut as an ingredient supplier at in-cosmetics Asia 2024, which was held in Bangkok from November 5 to 7.

Kadalys president and CEO, Shirley Billot, told CosmeticsDesign-Asia that the time was ripe for the company’s next stage of development.

“Even a few years ago people maybe thought natural ingredients have efficacy but now they understand its possible to have both.”

Billot expects Asia to be a key market for the company as she has observed a tremendous appreciation for traditional ingredients and remedies.

“The Asian culture highlights a lot of natural ingredients. I think Asians give more value to natural ingredients compared even to Europe. From my point of view, Asia is more mature in that sense. They appreciate the traditional. If someone can give them the data to prove that a traditional ingredient is good, more concentrated and more efficient, I think they will welcome it.”

One of the company’s signature ingredients is derived from the pink banana (Musa acuminata) from Martinique.

According to the firm, it is a potent anti-pigmentation ingredient that is three time stronger than Vitamin C15.

This is an attractive proposition for the Asian market, where brightening skin care products remained extremely popular as most Asian consumers prioritise skin care luminous, even-toned skin, that is often associated with health, youth, and refinement.

One of the markets the firm is aiming to reach is China, where the burgeoning domestic beauty market holds tremendous potential, said Billot.

“China is a huge market and also there are a lot of new Chinese brands on the market that are looking for new ingredients and they want to grow… From research we also know that the Chinese have a very good perception of the banana and believe it has good benefits.”

Going bananas for green chemistry

After over a decade of studying all aspects of the banana, from fruit to blossom, Kadalys has amassed a staggering amount of data on yellow, green, and pink bananas.

“I’ve taken the banana tree and studied all the aqueous and lipid molecules on the different parts at different stages of maturity and different species,” said Billot.

Billot told us that it was starting to employ artificial intelligence to help it crunch the data it has to discover more about the molecules within.

One of the major projects the company is currently undertaking is the investigation of compounds derived from various extraction methods such as ultrasound and microwave extraction.

Billot elaborated that the firm is working to better understand how different parameters of extraction, such as the pH, temperature can impact the end results.

“How can we optimise it to have better extraction? We want to maximise the expressions of molecules, to have better results,” she said.