Eastman and Kolmar Korea team up
Kolmar Korea has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with US-headquartered specialty materials company Eastman aimed at accelerating breakthrough sustainable innovations for the global beauty industry.
The collaboration will focus on expanding access to Eastman’s Esmeri technology, which includes Esmeri CC1N10, an advanced cellulose ester micropowder for colour cosmetics.
With over a century of expertise in cellulose esters technology, the company’s latest innovation is readily biodegradable according to OECD 301B guidelines, meeting EU biodegradation regulations (EU2023/2055) for synthetic polymer microparticles.
“Esmeri is a key solution to challenges that brands face today in meeting regulatory requirements and rising consumer demands for innovative products that continue to deliver exceptional performance.
“Kolmar’s end-to-end manufacturing capabilities and global reach will be integral in scaling access to Esmeri and other personal care innovations,” said Travis Smith, executive vice president at Eastman.
The partnership may also span Eastman’s portfolio of ingredients that serve applications across makeup, fragrance, and skin, sun and hair care.
On the other hand, Kolmar’s focus on sustainable manufacturing as well as expertise in human-centric user experiences and real-world problem-solving are expected to help scale Eastman’s applications in the beauty and personal care market.
“Through our products and brands, we continue to offer differentiated beauty solutions that integrate cutting-edge technology with sustainable practices, which is what makes Esmeri a great fit for our portfolio
“We are excited to collaborate with Eastman to combine their unique technology with our global consumer insights and deep expertise in K-beauty to accelerate sustainable growth for both companies,” said Han Sang-keun, vice president and chief technology officer of Kolmar Holdings.
Brenntag expands distribution agreement with Givaudan
Building on its distribution agreement with Givaudan, which first took effect in Thailand, Brenntag has expanded it to include Malaysia and Singapore.
With this addition, Brenntag will offer Givaudan’s active cosmetic ingredients and high-end specialties ingredients to an even wider customer base in the region.
In Malaysia and Singapore, Brenntag will work closely with its customers to meet growing demand for high-quality, efficacious, and sustainable beauty and personal care solutions.
This is supported by the company’s regional Innovation and Application Centers, which gives its customers access to technical expertise, formulation support, and market insights that help drive the development of differentiated, high-performing products.
“This expansion enables us to serve more customers with an innovative and trusted portfolio of active ingredients. Through our technical capabilities and formulation expertise, we help customers accelerate development and respond to evolving consumer expectations,” said Wissanee Ruangsorn, Regional President, Beauty & Care (Asia-Pacific) at Brenntag.
IMCD opens first facilities in South Korea
The Netherlands-headquartered IMCD Group has opened its first technical expert facilities in South Korea with the launch of a Beauty & Personal Care Application Laboratory and the IMCD Beauty Studio Seoul.
This move follows the acquisition of Seoul-based distributor Dong Yang FT in October 2025, with the new facilities marking a major step in strengthening local technical support for IMCD’s customers in one of the world’s most dynamic and influential beauty markets.
The laboratory is designed to support close collaboration with customers from formulation development and technical troubleshooting through to early-stage innovation. It is equipped for a broad range of cosmetic applications including skin care, hair care, colour cosmetics, sun care, and personal care.
Its key equipment include mixing and homogenising systems, and analytical and stability testing instruments, which enable IMCD Korea’s Beauty & Personal Care team to validate performance and specifications required for today’s market and regulatory expectations.
A hands-on innovation platform, the Beauty Studio acts as a product development accelerator that helps brands and OEMs move faster from idea to prototype. It reduces R&D time and risk, while giving customers direct access to local and global technical expertise as well as IMCD’s wider network of laboratories.
Using predeveloped chassis formulations with different textures and sensorial profiles, customers can customise formulations with active and sensory ingredients, and leave with a tailored prototype in as little as half a day.
In addition, these sites provide space for technical workshops, trend seminars and targeted training, reinforcing IMCD’s role as a long-term partner to the beauty and personal care industry in South Korea.
“This opening is about being closer to our customers and doing the work side by side. South Korea is a fast-moving and demanding beauty market, and our teams here understand what it takes to succeed. The lab and Beauty Studio give our supplier and customer partners a place to test, learn, and create together,” Dongjoon Lee, Managing Director of IMCD South Korea, commented.
bitBiome and Tojo Vikas combine strengths
Japanese synthetic biology company bitBiome, Inc recently announced a strategic collaboration with Indian ingredients supplier company Tojo Vikas International Pvt Ltd.
Under this partnership, the two firms will marry their strengths to jointly identify, develop, and commercialise selected products for applications in flavours and fragrances.
“Collaborations like this reflect our belief that meaningful innovation happens when advanced biology meets real market insight.
“By combining our discovery and biomanufacturing technologies with Tojo Vikas’ deep understanding of the flavour and fragrance market, we aim to accelerate the development of impactful, commercially relevant solutions. This partnership will be another critical step in focusing the bitBiome platform into products,” said Yuji Suzuki, CEO of bitBiome.
bitBiome has developed a proprietary technology stack that integrates the world’s largest microbial sequence database with state-of-the-art enzyme and proprietary strain engineering, and process development capabilities with scaled biomanufacturing. This platform enables efficient access to novel and affordable biological solutions.
Meanwhile, Tojo Vikas’s decades of ingredient supply experience and a strong global footprint would facilitate rapid translation of technical innovation into real-world applications.
“This collaboration reinforces our commitment to advancing next-generation ingredients through innovative but common-sense manufacturing approaches.
“Working closely with bitBiome allows us to jointly shape development programmes that are both technologically robust and commercially aligned with market needs, while addressing sustainable manufacturing of these ingredients,” Vikas Rishi, Managing Director of Tojo Vikas, added.
