Future Origins JV launch aims to produce sustainable ingredients for cosmetics and personal care products

01 Feb 2024 --- Founded by industrial biotechnology experts Geno, Unilever, Kao and L’Oréal, Future Origins makes its debut. It plans to create and commercialize sustainable alternatives to common ingredients used in everyday personal care and cleaning products.

The US-based biotechnology venture was unveiled at the American Cleaning Institute’s Innovation Showcase. It seeks to change the formulation of widely used surfactants in products like laundry detergents and face washes.

Key achievements include the completion of pilot-scale fermentation runs totaling 63,000 liters and several metric tons of material, some converted into hundreds of kilograms of detergent alcohols.

The products resulting from these activities are now being distributed to commercial partners for use in various applications. Future Origins says this provides crucial data for the design of its new commercial plant, scheduled to open within the next five years.

Fermentation powered solutions
The venture leverages Geno’s fermentation-based technology and proprietary engineered microorganisms to produce eco-friendly surfactants.

Future Origins’ completion of pilot-scale activities marks a milestone in developing sustainable ingredients.“We are at a moment in time when biotechnology innovation is meeting the demand for sustainable alternatives. Support from the US for growth in biotechnology and biomanufacturing has enabled businesses to produce innovative products with significant potential environmental benefits,” says John Gugel, CEO at Future Origins, in a statement.

Future Origins expects the drop-in replacement ingredients to have “significantly lower carbon footprints” than their current counterparts, complying with evolving regulatory standards and corporate commitments to deforestation-free supply chains.

The EU deforestation rule aims to minimize the risk of deforestation and forest degradation caused by expanding agricultural land to produce commodities. However, it has also faced criticism by producer countries for being “discriminatory.”

Industry support
Richard Slater, chief research and development officer at Unilever, emphasized the company’s investment in Future Origins as part of a broader strategy to transition toward sustainable ingredient sourcing. “Biotechnology sits at the intersection of science and sustainability and holds huge potential for futureproofing our business, as well as the planet.”

Masahiro Katayose, senior executive officer and president of Chemical Business at Kao, says: “Through our partnership with Future Origins, Kao aims to produce more sustainable ingredients for use in our home and personal care products, as well as supply derivatives to its chemical business customers.”

“By establishing such new supply chains that are traceable and transparent, we will further promote responsible raw material sourcing.”

Mohamed Kanji, chief open innovation officer and operational excellence for North America at L’Oréal, adds: “We are thrilled to see Future Origins achieve this significant milestone with our joint efforts, propelling us toward our vision of a more sustainable and responsible beauty industry.”The venture leverages Geno’s fermentation-based technology and proprietary engineered microorganisms to produce eco-friendly surfactants.

“This collaboration reflects our dedication to innovation and sustainability and sets a precedent for the broader industry and consumer options. We proudly lead this transformative journey, demonstrating how partnerships can effectively unite beauty with environmental responsibility.”

By 2025, Future Origins hopes to start building its first manufacturing facility on a commercial scale while continuing to develop new products. It is anticipated that full-scale production will start three years later, in 2028.

“We look forward to meeting and working with industry partners interested in gaining early access to these sustainable products and reserving capacity in the commercial scale plant,” says Dr. Priti Pharkya, SVP of Business Operations at Future Origins.

How it began
In June 2022, in partnership with Geno, Unilever invested in its “largest” collaboration in biotechnology alternatives for unsustainable ingredients with a sum of US$120 million. “Alternative ingredients will be used in addition to the sustainably sourced palm kernel oil that Unilever currently purchases,” Slater previously told Personal Care Insights.

Geno welcomed Kao to its venture to scale and commercialize plant-based alternatives to palm kernel oil by September, joining Unilever as the founding member. In March 2023, L’Oréal linked up with the initiative.

By Venya Patel

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