L'Oréal has announced the completion of the acquisition of Lactobio, a leading Danish company specializing in probiotics and microbiome research. Founded in 2017 and based in Copenhagen, this company enables L'Oréal to reinforce two decades of advanced research on the microbiome, deepen its knowledge of microorganisms living on the skin's surface and consolidate its leadership in this field. With Lactobio's expertise in the microbiome and its substantial portfolio of patents, new prospects for the development of safe and effective live bacteria-based cosmetic solutions are now possible.
Søren Kjærulff, Ph.D. and Charlotte Vedel, Ph.D., the founders of Lactobio, have developed a unique and exclusive platform for exploring the microbiome, as well as a screening method for selecting the most effective and safest strains. These precision probiotics, created from a vast biobank of lactobacillus bacteria, will be used to develop formulations for topical applications based on living bacteria. The ambition is to offer skin and hair benefits inspired by nature.
Anne Colonna, International General Manager of Advanced Research at L'Oréal, said: "The integration of Lactobio into our advanced research is highly complementary to L'Oréal's scientific and technological advances. The group's expertise combined with Lactobio's optimal formulations, based on living ingredients, will considerably strengthen and accelerate our microbiome research dedicated to beauty. By joining forces, we aim to develop a new generation of cosmetics that will incorporate cutting-edge innovations to achieve precision probiotic and postbiotic products with unprecedented levels of performance."
Søren Kjærulff, founder and scientific director of Lactobio, added: "Denmark has a long history of innovation in living microorganisms applied to food, agriculture and health, and it was against this backdrop that we came up with the idea of creating Lactobio. I'm incredibly proud of what our team has achieved, and excited about what the future holds for us within the L'Oréal group, where together we can apply microbiome research to new areas of cosmetic innovation serving women and men around the world."
