Givaudan “revolutionizes” hyaluronic acid production in sustainability “breakthrough”
10 Jan 2024 --- Givaudan Active Beauty introduces PrimalHyal 50 Life, and says it represents a “groundbreaking leap” in producing sustainable hyaluronic acid (HA).
With a 91% reduction in environmental impact, the ingredient is touted as “the most” sustainable low molecular weight HA in Givaudan’s portfolio.
Mathias Fleury is the head of Category, Actives for Givaudan Active Beauty and talks to Personal Care Insights about the company’s ability to completely reinvent its fermentation process for low molecular weight HA thanks to its “scientists’” work in strain engineering and molecular biology.
“Until today, the only way to reach low molecular weights was to first produce high molecular weight HA, then perform an hydrolysis. This means, of course, longer processes, more steps and a lower fermentation yield (as it is in fact limited by the high viscosity of high molecular weight HA),” says Fleury.
He further states, the new strain can be produced directly in one step “by possessing the ability to synthesize high molecular weight HA, and directly decrease its molecular weight before releasing it in the fermentation broth.”
According to a life cycle analysis, environmental milestones of PrimalHyal 50 Life include:
- 92% reduction in GHG emissions
95% decrease in acidification and eutrophication of water - 90% cut in non-renewable energy usage
- 75% reduction in water consumption
Win-win for sustainability and efficiency
Fleury points to the new production method as helping Givaudan obtain “a massive simplification of the process (less steps, less energy consumption, less substrates) and a great increase of the fermentation yield because of the lower viscosity.” 
PrimalHyal 50 Life boasts a 92% reduction in GHG emissions.
He believes the production process created a win-win situation with “the global footprint drastically decreased compared to the conventional process that we were using up to this point, which is used by the rest of the industry.”
The company sees the technology improving cost structure so it can offer its innovation with a “price positioning which is more competitive than the previous one.”
Givaudan’s sustainability goals
Fleury says sustainability is a top focus for Givaudan, with “...R&D programs dedicated to offering more sustainable solutions for some hero ingredients used today in the beauty industry (i.e., bisabolol, retinol, hyaluronic acid). All of our developments take into account a sustainability angle, making sure everything is done in the best way when it comes to the footprint of our sourcing, processes and impact we make on our environment.”
As an example, Fleury says all of Givaudan’s developments on the “botanical” side of its pipeline are based on upcycled biomass.
“At a larger scale, we have ambitious goals defined at the corporate level…for instance, a reduction of our operations’ carbon emissions by 70% before 2030 and being climate-positive for our whole business (scope 1,2 and 3) by 2050.”
Skin care for environmental care
Its latest ingredient innovation, PrimalHyal 50 Life, promises to provide deep skin penetration up to 120 μm.
PrimalHyal 50 Life, promises to provide deep skin penetration up to 120 μm.Additionally, it promotes tight junctions, which help to prevent transepidermal water loss. Tight junctions in the skin play the role of preventing water from escaping between cells.
After application, PrimalHyal 50 Life provides 72-hour hydration. Volunteers in a test reported improvements in skin texture, firmness and hydration. Within one month, the respondents reported a 66% reduction in skin roughness.
Three-decade journey
Givaudan Active Beauty’s researchers have been working on bio-fermentation for more than three decades, with the goal of improving both the environmental sustainability and production of HA.
The Center of Excellence, located in France’s Champagne region, employs white biotechnology, emphasizing precision fermentation of microorganisms and embracing a circular economy model through local carbon sources such as sugar from wheat or beetroot.
PrimalHyal 50 Life will be showcased this month at the Cosmet’agora trade exhibition in Paris, France.
Previously, Givaudan launched PrimalHyal Hydra[+], a cationic HA. Speaking to us at the In-cosmetics Global in Barcelona, Spain, the company said its ingredient “outperforms” the hydration benefits of standard HA by at least a factor of two, making it applicable to rinse-off and leave-on applications.
By Venya Patel and Anita Sharma
