Geno, a leader in sustainable materials, today welcomed global beauty company L'Oréal as the third and final founding investor in its venture to develop, produce and commercialize biotech alternatives to essential ingredients in the formulation of cosmetics, personal care and everyday household products. As the world's leading beauty company, L'Oréal's participation gives it access to the $571.10 billion beauty and personal care market, bringing the members' collective sales to more than $100 billion, with products that reach billions of people. Along with fellow founding members Unilever and Kao Corporation, the Geno-led company is committed to meeting the growing demand for sustainable ingredients by using biotechnology to improve the environmental profile of popular products and meet consumer demand for more traceable supply chains.

Geno will deploy its proven biotechnology platform, using proprietary microorganisms to ferment plant sugars that produce ingredients to make sustainable surfactants. These new ingredients will be used in a range of L'Oréal products, marking a key step toward L'Oréal's goals of 100% of eco-designed formulas that respect the diversity of aquatic ecosystems and 95% of ingredients from renewable plant sources or abundant minerals by 2030.

As part of its sustainability program, L'Oréal for the Future, the beauty leader has focused on partnering with proven biotechnology innovators, such as Geno, to explore, develop and manufacture more sustainable ingredients for the everyday products the world needs.

Christophe Schilling, CEO of Geno, said, " Welcoming L'Oréal to this incredible team of global brands signifies how important and urgent the need for traceable, resilient and sustainable materials is at scale. L'Oréal's commitment confirms Geno's ability to deliver products at scale and accelerates our drive to reduce global carbon emissions by more than 100 million tons in the coming years by targeting large-scale materials markets. We are excited to help L'Oréal achieve its bold 2030 goals of incorporating 95 % of organically sourced ingredients in formulations and using traceable and sustainably sourced packaging materials. This partnership will allow our project to reach the global scale necessary to meet the strong market demand for sustainable products" .

Barbara Lavernos, Executive Vice President of Research, Innovation and Technology for L'Oréal, said: "This is a great opportunity for L'Oréal.t L'Oréal, we believe that science has the power to create a better world, and we are committed to using our expertise to drive positive change in the beauty industry. That's why we've made Green Science, our new scientific and sustainable revolution, the cornerstone of our Research. We are delighted to partner with Geno, whose unique approach to the development of biotechnology-based alternative ingredients fits perfectly with our vision of a more sustainable future. By collaborating with others in the beauty industry, we can leverage our collective expertise and resources wherever our collective efforts can have a meaningful purpose" .

Sanford Browne, president of research and innovation for North America at L'Oréal, said, " This initiative not only supports our goal of providing consumers with responsible and innovative beauty solutions, but also strengthens our innovation ecosystem in North America. It is a clear signal of our willingness to collaborate with partners who share our commitment to sustainability and reducing our environmental impact to create beauty that transforms the world." 

More than 600 million euros have been raised by the first generation of French startups in the "Biomim Deeptech" sector, which draw their inspiration from the observation and analysis of living organisms (biomimicry) to develop breakthrough innovations. 

From research to market, biomimicry is becoming operational and is of increasing interest to investors, industrialists, public authorities and training organizations.

A new-generation camera inspired by the human retina that is energy-efficient and capable of better detecting movement (Prophesee - 127 million euros); Medical adhesives inspired by the adhesion systems of gastropods for suture-free suturing (Tissium, 121 million euros); Substitutes for pesticides by dispersing sexual pheromones to scramble messages (M2i, 100 million euros), the Top 3 alone show the potential and the astonishing sectoral diversity of applications!

This groundbreaking report profiles the Top 22 French bio-inspired startups, the history of financial transactions and the list of more than 100 investors and partners identified who are supporting what can be considered a new industry.

This report is also the starting point for the launch of Biomim'Invest, the collective gas pedal hub to better identify, evaluate and support the development of impactful bio-inspired innovations.

Methodology of the report: study carried out on the initiative of and by NewCorp Conseil, a strategy and innovation consulting firm, already at the origin of the creation of the Biomimexpo event, with its monitoring tool NewCorp Observer and by collecting financial information validated by the companies concerned. The result is an initial estimate - at least - of the market for fundraising for biomimetic startups over the last 10 years and will be completed and enriched regularly.

Founded in Paris in 1937, Saci-CFPA has been a key player in the distribution of ingredients for the cosmetics industry for decades. The acquisition of the company by the Japanese group Sumitomo Corporation in 2019 and, as a result, the merger with the Personal Care division of Summit Pharmaceuticals Europe, in Düsseldorf, Germany, has allowed us to expand our business in Europe and to collaborate closely with our counterparts around the world, such as Summit Cosmetics Corporation, Presperse, Cosmotec, ....

Today, a new page is turned for Saci-CFPA. Indeed, in a will to satisfy the customers by harmonizing the global activity of the cosmetic division of Sumitomo Corporation, the company becomes Summit Cosmetics Europeon 1^er April 2023.

Summit Cosmetics

Through its global network of suppliers, process innovation and operational excellence, Summit Cosmetics delivers value to its customers. With the unique ability to validate and demonstrate ingredient benefits, Summit Cosmetics combines global sourcing of materials, local knowledge and technical expertise to position its customers as leaders in a highly competitive global marketplace. As a trusted, long-term partner, Summit Cosmetics provides peace of mind to its customers and suppliers by guaranteeing to deliver on its promises.

With its global presence, Summit Cosmetics is able to source and deliver ingredients to all corners of the globe with quality logistics. Locally, it is expert in the regulatory requirements for the regions in which it operates. Summit Cosmetics has the flexibility and resources to meet the needs of its customers.

Its R&D, Marketing and Regulatory departments focus on originality, innovation and safety with a constant eye on trends, whether macro or applicable to the niche market. The applications laboratories work closely with our customers to provide the most appropriate solutions to your needs and those of consumers.

Backed by the Sumitomo Corporation Group, rooted for hundreds of years in business tradition and integrity, Summit Cosmetics is building a high naturalness portfolio of the best green cosmetic ingredients available.

Santanol, one of the world's leading producers and marketers of Indian sandalwood essential oil, announces the appointment of Ms. Holly Birch as the company's new Chief Executive Officer.
Previously Managing Director of Australia's Little Green Pharma, a global medical cannabis company, Holly Birch joins Santanol with extensive international experience in sales, systems, development, human resources and operations. Holly brings strong expertise in managing cross-functional activities, supported by a positive corporate culture with high performing teams.

" We are delighted that Holly is joining us to optimize Santanol's recent developments and guide the company into its next phase of growth." said Wolfram Ridder, senior vice president, Innovation and Government Relations, Mercer Group. Holly is an inspirational leader with a deep entrepreneurial spirit and expertise in empowering people," added Ridder.

" With Holly joining us, David Brocklehurst is retiring as General Manager. We thank David for his years of dedicated service and unwavering commitment to the success of operations. "he concludes.

" It is a privilege to join Santanol and build on a robust platform developed by a talented and committed team," said Holly Birch. I am delighted to take the helm at Santanol and build on our strong foundation of responsible, sustainable and ethical values. "she adds.