Modern Meadow and Evonik tap microbial fermentation for animal-free collagen and next-gen beauty solutions

03 May 2023 --- Pioneering biotech specialist Modern Meadow is harnessing microbes to create new sustainable solutions that replace conventional beauty ingredients. In a new partnership with German specialty chemicals giant Evonik, the company will be innovating a host of clean beauty products, including those based on animal-free collagen, using Modern Meadow’s precision fermentation technology Bio-Coll@gen.

Aside from introducing these new formulations, the partnership will work toward enhancing existing beauty products with their advancements.

“As consumers become more sustainability conscious, the world's beauty and cosmetic brands need products that align with their values. Modern Meadow's Bio-Coll@gen offers a solution that's safe, effective and sustainable,” remarks Ricardo Gobbi, head of indirect procurement at Evonik’s Americas business arm.

Reconstituting the collagen equation
Modern Meadow claims to have developed a green and scalable solution to a long-standing cosmetic and skin care challenge: finding a safe and scalable replacement for animal-derived collagen.

While animal collagen has historically been abundant and cost-effective, it has its drawbacks.

While animal collagen has historically been abundant and cost-effective, it has drawbacks, including the risk of infectious disease, viral vector transmission, allergenicity and unpleasant sensory qualities.

Existing alternatives have been unable to match the efficacy of animal collagen, until now, claims Modern Meadow. The company’s Bio-Coll@gen is precisely fermented as human type III collagen, which youthful bodies use to maintain healthy skin.

Because it is sustainably sourced from non-animal origins, Bio-Coll@gen is both environmentally friendly and bioactive. It boosts the skin’s natural ability to produce more Collagen III, promoting anti-aging factors.

The ingredient also has a bio-stimulation effect, increasing collagen production in the skin, and is certified as GMO-Free, Vegan and Halal. These properties make it an ideal solution for Evonik to create sustainable, effective, high-quality cosmetic and skin care products.

“As demand for sustainable products grows, the beauty industry must have access to the real, clean ingredients required to create animal-free beauty products to help support environmental safety and biodiversity,” comments Catherine Roggero-Lovisi, CEO of Modern Meadow. 

Strides in precision fermentation
The Modern Meadow-Evonik partnership join other recent industry partnerships looking to maximize precision fermentation. Last March, biotech company Debut entered an agreement with fine chemicals supplier DIC Corporation to biomanufacture and sell a large number of sustainably produced, rare and natural polyphenol ingredients through fermentation-based synthetic biology.

Another biotech firm, Cambrium launched its first product, NovaColl, in the same month. The fermentation-based ingredient is dubbed the first micro-molecular and 100% skin-identical collagen specifically designed for premium personal care formulations.

In a recent Special Report, PersonalCareInsights caught up with Mibelle Biochemistry about the benefits of fermented ingredients for the skin microbiome, while Amyris shared insights on how precision fermentation is further being used to scale “rare or endangered” beauty molecules.

Fermentation-forward beauty tech
Precision fermentation’s applicability in the beauty and personal care formulation extends beyond cleaner skin care production. A particularly promising avenue of research has been the discovery of new fragrance molecules through this bioprocess.

An example of such innovation is Dreamwood, which is 100% natural, renewable and biodegradable, made through fermentation. Dreamwood carries the olfactive character of Sandalwood, a tree originally sourced from India which is on the verge of extinction.

Last month, “biology-powered” innovator Insempra launched its first functional ingredient, a biotechnologically produced, 100% natural alpha-Ionone fragrance and flavor ingredient for  beauty and food market applications. The fermentation-based alpha-Ionone, initially developed by Phytowelt Green Technologies, is an EU-natural certified, vegan, food-grade ingredient.

In other developments, biotech supplier Amyris is upcycling bagasse – sugarcane waste – in powering its manufacturing plant in Brazil, which presents an upcycling solution for a more circular economy.

By Benjamin Ferrer