Unilever and Genomatica enter €114 million initiative to develop plant-based feedstocks
Global beauty and personal care supplier Unilever and biotechnology developer Genomatica (Geno) have launched a €114 million ($120 mn) venture to scale alternatives to palm oil and fossil fuels and seek sustainable ingredients for personal care product development.
Unilever and Geno have teamed up on the multi-million-pound deal to develop and launch plant-based alternatives to feedstocks such as palm oil or fossil fuels to produce core ingredients for everyday personal care products.
The duo behind the new initiative, of which Unilever is the first to support through investment, is expecting additional investors to join its goal of establishing sustainably-sourced palm oil in the personal care market. In addition, as part of the initiative, the companies are said to be striving to identify and deliver additional responsibly sourced palm oil alternatives to the industry.
Using biotechnology to find new ingredients
With biotechnology at the centre of the venture, the partnership marks Unilever’s largest investment to date in exploring possible biotechnology alternatives to palm oil. It is understood the initiative will focus on commercialising and scaling alternatives to palm oil and fossil fuel-derived cleansing ingredients by seeking options for prominent ingredients within personal care items that rely on cleansing by lathering and lifting dirt.