Biotechnology

What is biotechnology and how is it employed by Croda Beauty?

Biotechnology continues to unlock a field of possibilities in the development of new, eco-responsible ingredients. As a world leader in the production of cosmetic active ingredients, microbial biotechnology in cosmetics is not a new topic for Croda Beauty. With more than 30 years of experience in the field, almost one-third of our cosmetic active ingredients are derived from biotechnology, where we have used microorganisms including yeast, bacteria, enzymes or fungi cultures to transform raw materials to high performance active and functional ingredients.

We develop biotechnology using marine sources through our Centre of Innovation for Marine Biotechnology, which has been part of the Croda Group since 2018, after the Nautilus Biosciences acquisition. Thanks to our intensive work researching marine microbial microbiology, we are continuously developing new innovative, patented active cosmetic ingredients for the personal care market.

Synthetic biology is a multi-disciplinary field of biotechnology that combines biology, bioinformatics and engineering to build and develop biological systems that do not exist in nature, or to reconstruct existing systems by modifying them. This novel approach allows us to develop production alternatives for molecules that may have been traditionally manufactured using particular chemistries that may have relied on solvents, catalysts or environmentally unfriendly materials. Synthetic biology also makes it possible to improve some manufacturing processes in terms of time savings, yields and therefore reducing consumption and costs.

Our activities in synthetic biology are guided by sustainability and how we can improve our practices to reduce our impact. We don't do this alone; we work closely with research institutes, high-tech companies, our customers and professional associations, because as we often say, alone we may go faster but together we will go further.

Plant cell culture and its uses in cosmetics

The use of plant cell culture combined with biotechnology is becoming a valid alternative to produce safe, sustainable and effective ingredients for cosmetics. As a leader in cosmetic active ingredient manufacturing, one of our main concerns is sustainability. As such, we have chosen to develop plant biotechnology to produce active molecules of interest, with substantiated efficacy and guaranteed reproducibility, whilst significantly limiting our impact upon the environment.

In July 2012, Croda acquired the Istituto di Ricerche Biotecnologiche (IRB), a forerunner in the development of plant cell culture actives for personal care applications. We now offer approximately fifteen active ingredients developed via plant cell culture with guaranteed efficacy, reproducibility, and absolute sustainability. These innovative ingredients have been developed to address consumer needs ranging from anti-ageing and environmental protection, to skin radiance, seboregulation, skin tone uniformity and eye care.

After 33 years of work in the field of biotechnology and more than 18 years on plant cell culture in particular, our expertise and the progress made in this area offers unlimited potential to produce molecules of interest for the personal care industry.