Bioweg
Developing sustainable cosmetic ingredients via fermentation by using waste from the food & wine industries.
PAIN POINT
Non-biodegradable, synthetic polymers in cosmetic and personal care products contribute to microplastic pollution worldwide. Microplastics accumulate and transport toxins from the sludge before readily entering the food chain, causing health and environmental issues.
HOW IT SOLVES IT
With the EU’s 2028 microplastics ban looming, BIOWEG has developed alternative fermented cellulose-based ingredients: micropowder and rheology modifier, that can entirely replace solid & liquid microplastics in cosmetics and personal care products. Combining biotechnology, materials science, and green chemistry, BIOWEG is revolutionizing circular production using food and spirits waste streams, to develop functional, sustainable and biodegradable alternatives to petroleum-based polymers.
USE CASE
BIOWEG was approached by a leading global cosmetic company to test the microbeads in their product formulation, with specific requirements for the bio-based ingredients to have equal functionality to PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate).
- Founder(s)
- Dr. Prateek MAHALWAR, Srinivas KARUTURI
- Creation year
- 2019