Circular beauty: Probi and Symrise unveil upcycled fermentation broth for skincare

12 Apr 2022 --- Probiotics manufacturer Probi and fragrance supplier Symrise have released SymFerment, a skincare ingredient made from Probi’s upcycled Lactiplantibacillus (Lactobacillus) fermentation.

Symrise unveiled the skincare product at the in-cosmetic global trade show in Paris this month. The SymFerment is touted as boosting skin moisturization.

“By upcycling the byproduct from probiotic fermentation, Probi is reducing its environmental footprint, while Symrise is offering an ingredient to the cosmetic market,” Léa Schmidt, global product manager of Symrise, tells PersonalCareInsights.

“The joint research allows Symrise to determine how to best integrate new scientific data into innovative cosmetic products for our customers. Symrise benefits from the fact that the Swedish manufacturer can access databases of bacterial strains and supply large quantities of probiotics.”

“Upcycling delivers an increasing sustainability vision for manufacturers. Also, consumers are expecting more environmentally friendly approaches from companies. They’re willing to accept ingredients from side streams in some categories such as beauty care,” Tom Rönnlund, CEO of Probi, also tells PeronalCareInsights.

Andy McShea, chief operating officer, Probi, comments: “By using a by-product from our regular production, our waste is upcycled and processed into new products. Therefore, part of the amount of water we use in production can be reused. This is good for our gross margins in production and the use of resources in terms of water consumption.”

Environmental endeavors and probiotic upcycling
Probi will also benefit from this new skincare business opportunity to increase production profitability and lower its environmental footprint. Additionally, it will commercialize a new ingredient by upcycling useful fermentation media from probiotic fermentation.

Symrise will repurpose Probi’s fermented broth to create a skincare product.Symrise and Probi have already collaborated on several projects in the past, resulting in developing the new skincare ingredient. SymFerment is a moisturizing active ingredient based on Probi’s extensive microbial knowledge.

The two companies co-developed the ingredient based on a by-product of Probi’s probiotic dietary supplement production. Probi has a turn-key supply commitment, from extracting the by-product obtained from Lactiplantibacillus (Lactobacillus) fermentation to the completed format delivered to Symrise.

According to Probi, the probiotics field has grown dramatically. The impacts of probiotics on the skin have been increasingly examined as the skin microbiome has become a major area of consumer interest.

Upcycled beauty moves
More companies and brands have been tapping into this growing trend as upcycled ingredients are becoming “industry standard” in the cosmetics and fragrance sector.

Recently, Frezzor New Zealand, a nutritional products company, launched vitamin D3 made from upcycled sheep’s wool. In an exclusive interview with PersonalCareInsights, an Upcircle Beauty exec stressed that “brands need to take the next step” in upcycled beauty.

In other developments, Dow created a line of sustainable ingredients and products made from upcycled corn and rice as part of the company’s ECOllaboration line.

Mibelle Biochemistry has also unveiled its SLVR’Coffee for skin moisturization, made from upcycled coffee silverskin – the outermost skin of roasted coffee beans. The silverskin is upcycled using a supercritical CO2 extraction technique. 

Similarly, skincare brand Honestly utilizes upcycled coffee grinds for its biodegradable all-in-one body wash, exfoliator and moisturizing scrub powder.

By Nicole Kerr