The beauty exec’s guide to biotechnology

This article is part of our Advanced Membership package. To enjoy unlimited access to The Long View from Vogue Business, The Fashion Exec's Guide and Market Insights Reports, sign up for Advanced Membership here. Biotech beauty is on the rise. Once, only established giants like Givaudan, DSM-Firmenich and L’Oréal Group could afford to explore how technology that harnesses natural and biomolecular processes could be used to increase product efficiency and/or sustainability, and to develop new ingredients. Now, biotechnology has reached a point of maturity and scale that has made it more affordable and accessible, opening it up to smaller brands. Today, OneSkin, Reome, Veriphy, Mother Science, Orveda and Deinde are among those tapping into the technology (for example malassezin, the new ingredient Mother Science developed as a less irritating alternative to vitamin C). This is partly thanks to research and development labs like synthetic biotech startup Debut’s BiotechXBeautyLabs, THG Labs (owned by UK-based e-commerce company The Hut Group) and Arcaea (founded in 2021 by bioengineer Jasmina Aganovic), which have emerged with the aim of reducing the upfront research and development costs for brands, while making biotech more accessible to the mass market. “Fact is, 99.9 per cent of beauty brands couldn’t invest numbers like $100 million in research and development to develop biotech ingredients and formulations,” says Joshua Britton, founder and CEO of Debut, which raised $34 million in series B funding led by L’Oréal in June 2023. Beauty giants are also leaning in further. In 2022, Shiseido announced a RMB 100 million ($13.8 million) investment in biotechnology company Jiangsu Trautec Medical, which develops ingredients such as animal-free collagen. DSM-Firmenich has developed ingredients such as dreamwood, which is akin to sandalwood oil. Both Givaudan and DSM-Firmenich have bioengineered perfume notes such as ambrofix (a replacement for ambergris, which is extracted from whales), akigalawood (substituting agarwood, which is often overexploited or traded illegally) and, this year, clearwood prisma as a replacement for patchouli essential oil given its potent strength seen to irritate skin. “Biotech opens the doors for new materials that expand a perfumer’s palette while discovering more sustainable ways of manufacturing key ingredients,” explains Dana Schmitt, perfumer at Givaudan. Aganovic, who alongside running Arcaea is also CEO and founder of perfume brand Future Society, agrees. “Without biotech, having different ingredient forms wouldn’t have been possible. Look at hyaluronic acid and its wider use cases in the aesthetic field with injectable fillers,” she says. Similarly, L’Oréal Group emphasises the importance of biotech when it comes to innovation. “Our commitment to 95 per cent bio-sourced, mineral-derived or circularly sourced ingredients by 2030 hinges on biotech’s power to create and source sustainable, high-performing and safe ingredients,” says Anne Colonna, the group’s global head of advanced research. A key achievement, Colonna says, was producing high-quality bio-ingredients like plankton and rose cells at an industrial scale without extensive cultivation of the land. More recently, the group has developed endolysin, a biotech-derived enzyme that targets the skin’s microbiome to address eczema. “It’s used in La Roche-Posay’s endobioma technology, offering a level of targeted performance previously unattainable,” she says. As biotech beauty hits the mainstream, consumers are gravitating towards it as a way of maximising routine efficacy with minimal effort, according to forecasting agency Mintel’s 2025 global beauty and personal care trends report. “Consumers will take control of their routines by hacking traditional practices, embracing biotech innovations and leveraging artificial intelligence for tailored, results-oriented beauty that matches marketing claims, emphasising individuality and long-term skin health,” says the agency’s global beauty and personal care analyst Andrew McDougall. In a recent report, influencer marketing platform Traackr noted a 69 per cent increase in “skincare biotech” mentions and a 22 per cent rise in engagement on social media when comparing the first half of 2024 to that of 2023. “Consumers have been craving deeper education about product ingredients and benefits while getting smarter at evaluating product efficacy and seeing through false marketing claims. Biotech beauty is one of the ways that the industry has responded to this shift,” says Traackr director of brand marketing Kayla Quock. There are considerations when exploring biotech, including quality control, allergic reactions and sensitivity to new ingredients. “The industry must proceed with caution, ensuring safety, ethical considerations and environmental impacts are carefully monitored,” says Sigrún Dögg Guðjónsdóttir, chief research and development officer at skincare brand Bioeffect. However, experts believe it’s relatively low risk versus the benefits it will bring to the industry. “If done properly and in a controlled manner, biotechnology allows for [the development of] more stable, gentle and biocompatible active [ingredients],” says Orveda’s scientific communication director Ulrich Katusevanako. Cost is another consideration. “Costs often range from hundreds of thousands to millions for research, ingredient development and manufacturing,” says Mother Science CEO Edna Coryell. But again, she says it pays off in the long run. “This [the cost] is offset by substantial returns, including the advantage of a proprietary ingredient exclusive to the brand, reduced customer acquisition costs driven by strong brand equity and improved customer loyalty reflected in high repeat-purchase rates and lifetime value.” For Coryell, and other beauty brands, these factors, combined with the proven efficacy of biotech formulations, set them apart in a competitive skincare market. Product personalisation and performance Biotechnology enables brands to gain a deeper understanding of the skin’s microbiome. In turn, this can be used to develop customised, tailored solutions to help address specific skin concerns. Skincare brands Deinde and Mother Science have leveraged biotech to create ingredients and products that tackle common skincare concerns. Deinde harnessed biotech to develop naringenin, a polyphenol (micronutrients that occur in plants) seen to outperform niacinamide and “reduce the effects of inflammaging by resetting skin back to a nearly neutral state”, says Taylor Oswald, director of ingredient and product innovation at the brand. Evolved by Nature’s activated silk peptide boosts the skin’s barrier and “replaces the need for petrolatum, ceramides encased in synthetic carbomers like silicone, and products that treat eczema-prone skin but cause damage along the way”, according to Evolved by Nature CEO Dr Greg Altman. Revla, a hair loss and skincare brand, used biotech and AI to develop procelinyl, which stimulates dormant hair follicles to overcome hair loss, and fibroquin to stimulate the skin’s collagen production. Cult haircare brand K18 recently debuted Airwash, a dry shampoo combining its patented peptide with biotech to eliminate the drying and starchy build-up concerns sometimes associated with such products. Future Society works with biotechnology company Ginkgo Bioworks and Harvard University to sequence the DNA of extinct flowers and transfer the biological data into aromas, pairing them with more traditional notes like bergamot and black pepper. New age products like these could be the solution to the consumer’s need for targeted and precise skincare solutions. As Colonna says, “It offers new horizons for product development and allows us to explore new territories that have previously been difficult to address, like sensitivity, acne and ageing.” “It [biotech] optimises the delivery of active ingredients to the skin, enhancing precision and minimising side effects,” says Dr Thivos Sokratous of London-based facial aesthetics practice Ouronyx. He highlights micrografting hair treatments, which use stem cell extraction (a biotech method) to remove and apply growth factors from stem cells to regenerate growth and stimulate dormant hair follicles. “The biotechnology advances enhance its effectiveness, making it a hybrid field between surgery and biotech-based regenerative practices.” There are also dermal fillers now made with biodegradable polymers (using biotech and polymer science) to release active ingredients gradually, providing controlled treatment effects. “We are seeing more complex, active ingredients and formulas than ever before, with a closer collaboration to the world of dermatology and that continues to drive the beauty industry to find something better and new,” says Guðjónsdóttir. Reducing the drain on resources Proponents say biotech can meet the demand for science-based and higher performance products while also helping to reduce the industry’s environmental impact. “Traditional beauty ingredient production often relies on resource-intensive farming, mining or chemical processes, which can harm the environment. Biotech methods, like fermentation or bioengineered plants to produce ingredients, have led to more sustainable and bioavailable alternatives,” says Guðjónsdóttir. Biotech can help to reduce the industry’s intense reliance on traditional processes and forms of extraction. “Biotechnological processes are generally carried out in water, using renewable feedstocks, as opposed to organic solvents from petrochemical origins,” says DSM-Firmenich head of data science Laurent Daviet. “These are inherent advantages resulting in lower usage of fossil carbon, avoidance to generate problematic waste and, overall, contributing to a more favourable environmental footprint.” It applies to fragrance, too. “There has been increasing pressure on the supply chain for many ingredients sourced from plants and nature,” says Aganovic. “For example, many have likely heard of the increasing pressure on the production of natural vanilla. Companies are currently working on a solution, and the technology here [at Arcaea] is very close. It means that we’ll be able to consistently produce vanilla through microbes rather than harvesting and extracting it from nature.” Givaudan and DSM-Firmenich have jointly bioengineered ambrofix, made from fermented sugar cane, as their solution to one of the most popular fragrance notes in perfumery: amber. “The fermentation-based method allows us to deliver the exact amount of the ingredient while needing less land to produce it,” says Schmitt. However, biotech is not a perfect solution for beauty and fragrance resource concerns. “Sustainability in biotech is complex,” says Altman. “While it can seem eco-friendly, brands have to remember biotechnology via fermentation methods relies heavily on massive amounts of sugar and starch — which usually comes from industrial agriculture — and this process requires carbon-intensive petrochemical fertilisers.” Some big players are working on solutions. Givaudan uses upcycled and renewable carbon to produce its bioengineered ingredients. L’Oréal uses biogas (a renewable energy source produced by the breakdown of food scraps and animal waste) in its fermentation processes alongside green chemistry and biomimicry (the imitation of nature’s processes) to minimise the carbon impact. Altman of Evolved by Nature says brands entering the space must investigate a developer’s fermentation methods, ensuring the solutions are made via carbon-renewable sources or using alternative biotech methods like stem cell technology or protein engineering. What’s next for biotech beauty? The industry is about to turn a corner. “Over the next three to five years, the current set of active ingredients will become obsolete and new ingredients only dreamt about will become mainstream,” predicts Debut’s Britton. He believes biotech, computational biology and AI will transform the beauty space, especially as consumers search for answers within the performance-driven arena. Hair, colour cosmetics and nutrition are expected to follow in the footsteps of skincare. “After that, we’ll see biotech enter over-the-counter beauty to provide solutions for acne, eczema and dandruff,” Britton says. Guðjónsdóttir expects advances in stem cell technology, plant bioactives and regenerative skincare to drive innovations in skin rejuvenation, while biotech solutions for sustainability, such as bio-sourced ingredients from plants, algae, fungi and upcycled materials, will help to meet the growing demand for ethical and eco-friendly beauty. Arcaea is already exploring biotech advancements in suncare, while Deinde and Orveda plan to double down and focus on chronic skin concerns like inflammation. “The field is currently buzzing with activity, fuelled by a dynamic ecosystem of innovative startups that is being joined by corporates,” says Colonna. “Now is the time for biotech to unlock its full potential at scale.” To receive the Vogue Business newsletter, sign up here. 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