Sustainable skin care: Infrastructure, tech and holistic solutions to satisfy growing demand

07 May 2024 --- Sustainability demands continue to dominate skin care innovations and practices, spurring companies to create exciting tech innovations and expand manufacturing. Personal Care Insights connects with CP Kelco, BASF and Kao to learn more about their strategies for meeting and exceeding sustainability goals.

CP Kelco just completed an ambitious project to produce ingredients that satisfy client and consumer demand for environmentally and socially progressive products that are also efficacious. Alessandro Izzo, sales technical service manager at CP Kelco, explains why this is a guiding principle for the company:

“We take a holistic approach to our sustainability journey and always look for ways to improve. For example, in this past year, Kelcosens Citrus Fiber became the first citrus fiber on the market to be certified as upcycled by the Upcycled Food Association (now part of Where Food Comes From). Our citrus fiber utilizes a circular production process where we start with spent citrus peels, a byproduct of the juice industry, and return leftovers to nature as fertilizer and animal feed for farmers.”

The global leader of nature-based ingredient solutions just completed a US$60 million expansion in production capacity for its citrus fiber product line. The company points to robust customer demand and market potential as the motivation to grow and support its current and future customers’ citrus fiber supply needs.

The production line expansion for Nutrava and Kelcosens Citrus Fiber in the company’s facility in Matão, Brazil, increases the total capacity to approximately 5000 MT, helping make CP Kelco a leading citrus fiber supplier for personal care, food, beverage and consumer product manufacturers worldwide. 

Its citrus fiber products, launched in 2019, are seen as highly versatile and unique ingredients. As more consumers seek clean label, sustainable products, CP Kelco says its product addresses the need for nature-based and easily recognizable ingredients.

CP Kelco recently completed an expansion in production capacity for its citrus fiber product line.Science-based tech tools
CP Kelco also conducted cradle-to-gate life cycle assessments on a large part of its ingredient portfolio. Izzo explains:

“To enable change and innovation that supports improvement in our footprint, we must first measure and understand our product’s environmental performance. This science-based tool delivers insights into where we may want to focus resource targets. It will allow us to monitor environmental performance over time, all while complying with international standards specific to life cycle assessments.”

CP Kelco’s scientists collaborate with customers, start-ups and universities in areas that include “advancing the use of Genu pectin for films and reducing plastic, much in the way that it is successful for pimple and wrinkle patches as a protective covering and functional ingredient delivery.”

Izzo points to pectin as a good vegan alternative for companies seeking animal-free replacements for gelatin in beauty vitamin gummies. He also highlights the company’s biotech and R&D efforts:

“CP Kelco is a leader in microbial fermentation to produce specialty ingredients. We pioneered research into polysaccharide-producing bacteria, such as those used to produce diutan gum, gellan gum, xanthan gum and fermentation-derived cellulose. We believe in the role of fermentation for improving sustainability, as well as a tool for supporting the move from petroleum-based ingredients to nature-based ingredients in the personal care space.”

BASF helps product developers identify the right ingredients to meet regulatory requirements.Digital path to transparency
BASF recently unveiled a new digital tool that drives the transition of the personal care industry to greater transparency and more sustainable and ecologically conscious solutions. The new digital service is part of the cosmetic ingredient supplier’s “Beyond Beauty” campaign, where users can browse its formulation database, manage formulations and use the service as a digital lab. 

The cosmetic ingredients supplier says a growing number of standards and labels by retailers, regulators and certifying agencies are influencing consumers’ purchasing decisions for cosmetic products. It also acknowledges the challenges product developers face in identifying the right ingredients within the formulation process to meet the required criteria.

Franco Fischer, global head of communications and change management at BASF, tells Personal Care Insights that “Ingredients Revealed” helps developers of personal care products quickly identify ingredients and formulations with specific criteria like sustainability information, standards and labels.

“It is a key innovation we’re highlighting and bringing to market. Our platform, D’lite, gives our customers more transparency on cosmetic formulation, which drives them to the newest innovations and solutions for their consumers. Concerning innovation and sustainability, we are helping our customers and the market to gain more transparency in creating the newest solutions for the personal care industry.”

Kao believes physical and mental health are essential to achieving beauty.Holistic and clean beauty
Japan-based Kao is also zoned in on holistic and clean beauty. Yayoi Inoue, director of Kao Beauty Research & Creation Center, explains why the beauty company is laser-focused on health initiatives:

“The idea that physical and mental health are essential to achieving beauty is deeply rooted in Asian philosophies and healing practices. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of their health and inner well-being. As a result, a brand’s values are now conveyed through cosmetics and experiential content such as food, sleep, meditation and exercise.”

Kao launched its holistic brand, Athletia, in 2020 and said it is based on the concept of “balance your active/relaxing cycle.” It highlights that the products are based on botanicals sourced from sustainable farms and use environmentally conscious packaging.

Motivation behind innovation
Meanwhile, Izzo says CP Kelco has a 90-year history of supplying ingredients worldwide and believes quality control and compliance are paramount amid broader market and regional consumer preferences and differing safety regulations. 

“We get excited by the ‘wins’ when helping customers find new, more sustainable ways to achieve performance and functionality such as a formulation using less water to cut carbon emissions and shipping fees … Sustainability should not compromise indulgent, luxurious textures and the self-care aspect of skin care consumers desire. We offer a variety of ingredient grades for our product portfolio to help customers who want to formulate organic-compliant, COSMOS-certified, vegan and non-GMO products.”

By Anita Sharma