COSME Tokyo 2025 live: Lucid Colloids showcases guar gum powder for beauty formulations

At this year’s COSME Tokyo 2025, companies are showcasing innovations in plant-based ingredients for personal care. Asian beauty trends that focus on holistic beauty mean companies that can leverage effective and minimally processed ingredients are standing out in the crowd.

Personal Care Insights spoke to Dr. Shuvo Datta, senior manager of tech and innovation at Lucid Colloids, an ingredient manufacturer that specializes in guar gum powder on the tradeshow floor. Our interview covered the company’s personal care offerings and the cultural foundation that drives its product.

Lucid Colloids is based in Mumbai, India, and manufactures guar gum derivatives, a plant-based ingredient derived from the guar bean. The company produces ingredients for use as food stabilizers and nutritional supplements but is showcasing its personal care applications at COSME Tokyo. 

“At Lucid, sustainability is our guiding principle. Rooted in India, we support guar bean farming through responsible sourcing and cultivation,” says Datta. 

“Guar beans are native to India and generally used as vegetables,” says Datta. India is the largest producer of guar gum, and the guar bean plants are primarily grown in the north-western parts of the country. Guar gum has inherent binding properties that are used to make emulsions and thicken formulations.

Datta identifies several prototype products Lucid has created to showcase its guar gum powders in action. The Lucid booth featured several assorted products, including a face wash, detangling hair serum, face serum, peel-off mask and conditioning shampoo. The ingredients can be used in leave-on or rinse-off products, adds Datta. 

Cultural foundations and sustainability

Datta says Lucid is responding to trends through the lens of consumer preferences for sustainability, technological innovations and regulatory and cultural relevance. This approach drives Lucid’s strategy for keeping up with the demand for natural and plant-based personal care products.Guar Gum in personal care prototypes at the Lucid Colloids booth.

Lucid offers plant-based hydrocolloid solutions that are natural and minimally processed to meet holistic skin care demands. From a production standpoint the company has achieved “zero liquid discharge” at all of its manufacturing facilities, says Datta.

“We empower farmers with education on best practices, promote soil health and reduce reliance on synthetic inputs. Collaborating with partners, we ensure ethical sourcing and traceability while championing water conservation in arid regions through projects like rainwater harvesting.”

Technological innovations plus functional advancements have helped Lucid stay current in trending textures. Lucid’s offerings include an array of sensory experiences, from lightweight to rich textures. According to Datta, the bioactive functional hydrocolloids are compatible with actives and support hydration and barrier function while maintaining the sensation of the products.

The products are also clean label compliant, an approach that is in line with the company’s “natural authenticity, rooted in Ayurvedic and Indian heritage,” he says.

“We position our products to stand out in the competitive Asian market by leveraging our unique strengths in quality, adaptability, innovation and sustainability that ensures our products stand out in the dynamic and competitive Asian market.”

Additional reporting from Alexandra Branscombe.