Greenitio: Chitosan mushroom tackles petrochemicals and microplastics in personal care
23 Sep 2025 | Greenitio
Didier Vermeiren, COO and head of strategy at Greenitio, discusses how the company is leveraging chitosan-based derivatives for sustainable personal care. The natural innovation looks to replace petrochemicals and microplastics in cosmetics by creating bio-based chemicals derived from chitosan.
This is Beatrice Vilander reporting for Personal Care Insights.
I'm here today with Didier Vermerian, COO and head of strategy at Greniio.
Welcome.
Hi, welcome, Beatriz.
Nice to meet you.
So, would you like to start and give a short description of yourself and the company that you represent?
Yes.
My name is Didi, so I am, a part of the GREniho team.
I'm a COO, here, and, GERnisio is a, new materials company that is focusing on the functionalization of, natural feedstocks, to create better derivatives of better, materials from those natural feedstocks.
All right, and can you also elaborate a bit on the application for cosmetics?
So Knishu is primarily focusing on functionalizing natural feedstocks for applications in cosmetics, personal care, and, home care.
We work with, different types of, of materials, but the most important one, for us at the moment is, chitosin, which is a polysaccharide that we extract from, mushrooms, and we functionalize that to create specialty bio-based, chemicals.
I can provide a little bit of context as you want as a, as, as.
So if you know the specialty chemical industry as it exists today, has been largely built on a single feedstock, petroleum, right?
So it's like a 600 billion plus market, that created, specialty chemicals that are used in every industry, every vertical that you can think of.
Now, they had a head start of over 100 years, right?
100, 150 years.
Now, only the last Maybe two decades, we see more and more natural ingredients being introduced in the market.
Now, of course, you cannot expect that these nascent natural new ingredients, these natural ingredients, have the same performance as the specialty chemicals, the specialty chemicals, they basically had a lot of resources to innovate on top of the petroleum to create all these kind of special, specialty, derivatives.
Now with natural materials, we pretty much at the Stage as where crude oil was 100, 150 years.
It's just a plain version one of a material.
Now what Iernisio is doing is we, innovate, basically we do engineering on top of those, natural feedstocks to modify them into better performing, derivatives, right, which can be very different in terms of the properties, that they, initially, initially have.
And the core, yeah, technology is the green chemistry, how we go about functionalizing those natural feedstocks using a method that, keeps and, the, the biodegradability of those natural feedstocks.
So we Use natural feedstocks.
We modify them using our green process.
We don't use any organic solvents.
There's no chemical waste being used.
The process that we use is also producing far less CO2, so it's a very Friendly, process, and these derivatives are far superior than these, yes, version one natural ingredients, so to speak, right?
So if you extract a material out of, yeah, let's say mushrooms or plants or, or, or, and you use that as an, as is material, our modified versions are like, yeah, 234 times better depending on the type of properties, right?
So that's in a nutshell what the Knisio is doing.
There's some computational, work that we do, because the goal and the premise of Knisio is not just to merely create biopolymers, but it's really to look at like, OK, what are like the synthetics, the, the Petrochemicals that we can replace, petrochemicals that today are still commonly used in, cosmetics, personal care, and home care products, because if you look at the cosmetic products, you have on average 1525 different ingredients that all work together, right?
So if you break down that product, The bulk of it is either water or it's either oil, hm.
From those other ingredients, you have, a bulk of it that is based part of the so-called base formula, the emulsifier, stabilizers, preservative, thickeners.
Those typically are ingredients that historically have a, a petrochemical, origin.
And then you have actives being added to these products like moisturizing, anti-age, antioxidant.
Those are like part of the narrative as to how brands and companies wishing to position the product, right?
Hey, this is a great moisturizer, this is a great, antioxidant or anti-acne, etc.
What we are trying to do is to see a kind of a OK, how can we also replace these base ingredients that historically never been kind of taken out of the formula, because Companies, they keep a base, they keep on innovating on, on the active side because the narrative, the positioning of a, of a product changes over time, but the base formulas like how you, you, you, you keep it stable, how to emulsify, the thickeners, all that is basically, un, unchanged.
So there's innovation happening now, but we at Carnis focusing, how can we replace those synthetics with With, bio-based alternatives.
So we use computational modeling to look at like kind of, OK, mm, these are the properties of, for instance, like a thickener or a film former, that we, that we seek to, to replace that we start from our, our polysaccharide the chitosin, and then we functionalize that material to create a speciality.
Chemicals.
So we play Lego basically on a molecular level where you have a long chain where we attach other molecules to it to create a derivative that is very distinct and very different from its original, right?
So we're able just to modify it, to create and, and to, to, to, to give it certain properties that the industry, needs, yeah.
OK, a lot of interesting points there, we will dive deeper into them in a bit, but first, can you explain why ketosin was used, like why that mushroom extract compared to other natural extracts, and what are the main applications for cosmetics?
The main reason is that, , it's, it's a, it's a material that allows us to, to functionalize it and to, to, to, to work with it, to basically play Lego with at a, at a, at a, at a, at a, yeah, in a way that, that we can do using our proprietary chemistry as, as.
But also the goal is that we want to replace a lot of those polymers, right?
So those long chain, , polymers, and.
Based on, on, on, on, on, on, on the work that we've done, Kay was a was a good candidate, but nonetheless, we've also worked with other natural, ingredients as , alginate, starches, many other, ingredients, but at some point also as a company you have to pick and choose, and, and chitosin is now, the backbone for many of the materials that we're working on at the moment.
All right, thank you.
And how does its properties work if you compare it to microplastics or petrochemicals, as I mentioned to like drive or this drive is a shift away from those unsustainable practices.
So in what way is it like a comparable alternative to microplastics?
OK.
So the objective and goal is Just to replace these synthetics one on one, right?
So if there is a, a particular use, is there a certain film former, use that we can replace with the, with the bio alternative, then that's, that's the goal and the objective.
So we look at the properties of the synthetic, of the petrochemical or the, the so-called microplastic that you're referring to.
And you see, what are the properties?
How can we mimic these properties in silicon?
And then from in silico, we, transferred it to how we synthesize, the actual material in the, in the lab.
And basically, the goal is just to create a formula at the end of the final stage once we have a, a, a derivative, we formulate it in a way that we say, hey, this is an, an application with the synthetic, and this is an application without the synthetic, but with our, with our, yeah, bio-based alternative.
The additional benefit that these biopolymers bring is that the Materials are coming from a natural source, so they also inhibit some bioactive properties that we can also functionalize, which means that when you think about a microplasma synthetic today, it is used for a very specific single function.
It needs to thicken, it needs to stabilize, it needs to co-mulsify, it needs to preserve, whereas, our biopolymer is synthesized, for instance, to be very Very good in, in film forming, but can also be good in moisturizing with some antioxidant or anti-acne benefits as, as , because we can functionalize both, , we synthesize it to replace the synthetic, but we can also functionalize it to create better performing, active properties as , which is a, which is also a, a big win, right?
If you look at like, OK, what I mentioned just before that we are at the beginning.
Of functionalizing these natural feedstocks similar to how specialty chemicals have functionalized basically petroleum, there's a lot of promise that a lot of these natural ingredients hold, right?
They, first off, are natural, are biodegradable, but at the same time, allowing us to functionalize these materials, we can boost, the performance, a multitude of it, right?
So you create Yeah, naturals that are, that are, yeah, more, more compelling, and can be as such, by use of, of the green chemistry and be, much more cost effectively produced as.
Thank you.
And is there also, do you also have measures to ensure that the, the final product is free from microplastics and petrochemicals as through partnerships, suppliers, packaging, like the, the finalized products, I'd say.
Yeah.
So, , we can look at like, OK, where we are in the whole value chain, basically, we are derivizing the natural feedstocks into A better bio-based derivative, but that material needs to be formulated in an end application, right?
That end application, yeah, that's been the, the big cosmetic companies, the big personal care companies were eventually are buying our ingredients and formulating that into their formulas, right?
So, and there it all comes together where you have a material in combination with 1520 other materials and in an end to packaging.
So, From our side, we have less impact on, on dictating like, OK, what, what these other materials can be and, and what the packaging should be, but The pull that we're getting from the market now are primarily still companies who are looking for these biodegradable natural alternatives that are not only sustainable but at the same time also cost-effective and, and, and better in performance as, as.
Interesting, and you mentioned that this is currently a trend in the market.
Are you seeing a big shift because of the EU deforestation regulation taking effect later this year?
Is there a bigger demand from the industry now for these type of, these type of ingredients for these type of technologies?
Yeah, there's definitely a demand knowing that some of the synthetics that are part of wash-off cosmetics like.
And personal care products, the, the, the, the lotions, the shampoos, things that you apply on a daily basis, but also wash up on a daily basis.
Those microplastics, caused by such products have a negative impact on the environment.
Those microplastic.
Plastics end up in, in, in, in water systems, eventually in our food systems, in our very bodies as.
So these are being banned in, in Europe and that ban is expanded to include also synthetics that are part of Levon cosmetics, I think I call it cosmetics, etc.
So you see that brands which increasingly more are supplying for a global market, need to take that into consideration are looking for alternatives are formulating with these, yeah, the alternatives that we, that we are creating.
So you see that whereas in Europe, you have this regulation kicking in, it will have its impact throughout the rest of the world as.
Might be a bit of a gap, but at the end of the day, it's a lot of work just to formulate a product for every different market.
As a brand, you say, hey, I make a product once, needs to be good, needs to be performing, needs to be aligned to, the mission of that particular company, and they wish to, to, yeah, produce that a product that can be, bought across, across the world, right?
So yeah, we see that.
It's important, to have this regulation, and for us as an ingredients supplier, it's important that we then, yeah, can benefit from that, but also need to work on getting all our materials fully approved and registered, so that they can be adopted, globally, as, as.
And what do you expect from the natural cosmetics industry in the future?
Like, do you think that there will be a time when the industry is moving to dominantly natural ingredients and natural products?
I think there's an, a trend that will continue and will only, grow the more we learn on how just to functionalize and improve the variety of natural feedstocks into creating better, derivatives.
I think that's, that's the future.
If you see what the specialty chemical industry did over the course.
Of a, of a century.
There's of course a lot to expect also from these new nascent materials that are being introduced and the potential that this can, can bring, starting with cosmetics, personal care, home care, pharma, foods, agri.
So the, the future specialty chemicals, yeah, it should not be harmful to, humans, health, environment, planet, etc.
So this is a trend that is, that is unstoppable, yeah.
And have you noticed a shift from consumers that they look, that they prioritize natural or environmentally friendly ingredients over performance or is performance still higher prioritized?
I think, across the board, I think consumers are more aware, more knowledgeable about what goes into these products as.
I think part of the trend is like kind of buying products that don't contain any of these, synthetics, but come because customers or consumers.
We're also looking for products that bring performance as.
So you'll see brands who are disclosing more about what ingredients they're using, the concentration of the ingredients that they're using, so that the customers, yeah, buy, For value, right?
They, they want to buy a product that, that, that, that work.
It's, it's, and the customers are more and more also looking beyond the narrative, right?
So if you say, hey, there is a certain ingredient that brings a good the age or or or moisturization, companies are also looking for, I'm sorry, I'm talking about companies, but, customers.
For consumers, I'm thinking more or less as a company here because we're not interacting B2C, we're interacting B2B.
So, consumers, in the end, yeah, they will also buy based on, on, on, on, on performance, sustainability.
But also increasingly just more and more brands, so the sustainability aspect is, is key and critical in, in, in, in Europe, but here in Asia, the performance is still very important, right?
So if we can deliver on a, on, on better SPF boosting performance or deliver on a better moisturization or better antioxidant, in a cost-effective way, it, it is, it is important.
Thank you.
And you recently received $1.5 million in funding, so what's the next step and what are you mainly gonna use it for?
Yeah, so the company got created a few years back, so in the past few years, there's a lot of R&D that's been done on how we can functionalize, how we can optimize basically the whole proprietary process that we use, and now we've tested, the materials, in, in a few markets, particularly cosmetics, personal care and home care, where we're Able just to demonstrate very good performance.
We're really talking about, if you think about a very common hyaluronic acid, for instance, that has been used as moisturizing, which is used, produced using bacterial fermentation, we're able just to kind of create a product far cheaper, way more, , effective, I'm talking about 3 times better, 3 times cheaper.
So there is a lot of potential.
That the technology that we have to truly, yeah, bring a new generation of bio-based specialty chemicals.
So the goal for us now as part of this funding is to make sure that we get these products that have been created in the lab, in bio production and, into, into the hands of, of, of the cosmetic companies, personal care companies so that they can formulate with it.
So we now In this transitioning phase where we've moved from, from lab to pilot stage, production, and the funding allows us just to kind of ramp up overall productions and get more of these materials, yeah, to, to where they need, right, into the, , personal care and home care and cosmetic products that everybody uses on a daily basis.
Thank you.
Do you have any other comments?
No, thank you for, for giving us, the opportunity to share a little bit more about Cho.
So, yeah, happy just to invite anybody who's interested to learn more, to reach out to us as.
So whether it's like if you're interesting to receive a sample, or just to learn more about Green I issue, and what we can do, whether you're a cosmetic company, personal care, home care, or, or, or formulation, company, yeah, happy just to, to engage and, and to share, more one on one.
