NYSCC Suppliers’ Day 2026 live: Kensing presents palm free biosurfactant innovation
20 May 2026 | Kensing
We discuss Regenyl with Denis Bendejacq, SVP global research & innovation at Kensing, during Suppliers’ Day. He reveals how the palm-free, upcycled biosurfactant is redefining surfactants in North America. Learn how its low-carbon, clean-label profile supports sustainable personal care, the challenges overcome with the company’s AmphiStar partnership, and how Regenyl meets rising consumer demand for eco-conscious ingredients across North America.
This is Sabina Waldeck for First Star Care Insights at New York Suppliers Day, joined by Denis Bondejoc, SVP of Global RNI at Kenzen.
Welcome.
Welcome, thank you.
So you're presenting Regenal here at Suppliers Day.
How is, how does it differentiate itself from existing surfectants on the North American market in terms of performance and sustainability?
So thank you for the question.
Thanks you, thanks for having me.
So in general, like besides the obvious fact that these are fermentation surfactants that are very different from what most formulators would be used to in the as workhorses of the industry which are the sulfates, the APGs, the CAPB, etc.
That specific line of products is made by upcycling waste into the manufacturer.
Through fermentation, so it's not the process doesn't involve any sourcing from petrol-based intermediates that are usually built into and necessary for the manufacturing of of the workforces of the industry we're 100% upcycled integrating waste into the manufacturing through fermentation of our surfactants.
And can you explain how the ingredients fully upcycled and low carbon profile benefits formulators aiming for clean label and eco-conscious products?
So I think that if you were to look at the other technologies on the market, including what is what are called the first generation surfactants, biosurfactants, they are made from virgin.
Heat stocks, their carbon impact is not much better than the regular workhorses of the industry again, so the amount of carbon that is generated per kilogram of active ingredient, it's still in between 3 to 4 to 5 or 6 kg of CO2.
So biosulfa is not necessarily.
The solution to having something that is less impactful from a carbon footprint, it's only once you integrate waste that you see dramatic decrease in terms of carbon footprint, together with other types of claims that you can make as a, as a formulator and as a.
Manufacture of of consumer products like decrease environmental impact, biodiversity, decrease on water usage as , or and land use of course because everything is palm free so we sort of bypass that issue that the industry has been having with the sustainability.
Of the sourcing of the fatty part of most surfactants, which is palm in general, so we bypassed that issue by sourcing a waste that is completely certified palm-free and integrating into the manufacturing of those biosurfactants.
And what were the biggest challenges in bringing a palm-free virus infectant to North America, and how did your partnership with AMAStar help overcome them?
So I, I think it's true for North America, but it's also true for the other countries.
I think one of the, no, it's not a challenge, it's a barrier, it's how to have governmental bodies and particularly regulatory bodies catch up with that new type of innovation and product.
There are very established processes by which you certify that a SLES or CAPB or an EPG are compliant with REACH or compliant with the EPA.
But the regulatory bodies need to be educated and we're developing in real time the processes by which we will make sure that.
Upcycled biosurfactants are not just greenwashing that we can trace back to the origin of the waste and really certify the claim of being upcycled and so there's, I think that's a barrier that we're cracking down slowly, educating the the regulatory bodies, especially in the US but also in Europe, to make sure that in the future we have a way to trace just like with PKO palp kernel oil for the existing surfactants.
That we have a way in the future to track and trace and certify that a product is really upcycle and that it's not just greenwashing.
Yeah, and then are there specific North American consumer trends driving the demand for upcycled and low carbon surfectants in personal care?
I think among our customers for sure, the, the ESG commitments by 2030 are really driving more and more the purchase of our customers, and they tag along really with consumer trends like natural is still very strong, but natural is not really making it anymore.
It's like it, what is beyond natural and so the sourcing and the upcycling is really a really good solution for the future.
To be able to develop products that are really more sustainable, it's not just because something is bio-based or bio-made through fermentation that isn't necessarily better from a from a carboard footprint standpoint.
So consumers are more and more sensitive to this and sensitized to this narrative, and I think they are catching up on the fact that the manufacturing of the products they use every day is impactful, even if it's simply a shampoo or a hand soap.
It has a carbon impact, and the more Reduce that carbon impact, the better it is for the planet.
So how do you see Regeneral fitting into the broader shift towards sustainable and circular grid sourcing in the US, Canada, and Mexico?
Yeah, so beyond the existing grades that we have today, we have, together with our partner MCSA, we have access to a whole database of molecules that we need to see through and and test together with customers to find those potential replacements for the workhorses of the industry in the future.
Right now the grades that we have are good solubilizers and emulsifiers, and there are so many other functionalities that need to be developed today and having access to that very special and broad database that MFISA has been, creating over the years through their skill in manipulating and, and controlling the microorganisms to make them do exactly what we want them to do.
It's a huge opportunity to create those new market references in the future that will be able to compete in terms of foaming, in terms of performance with the workhorses of the industry, and then eventually move the needle in a very subs substantial way in the future to reach those ESG targets I was talking about before that are very ambitious and that the industry really releases in the future.
