Symrise introduces SymFerment®, a sustainable cosmetic ingredient for skin care providing moisturizing and smoothing benefits for consumers. The producer of cosmetic ingredients has collaborated with Probi, a leader in manufacturing probiotics for the healthcare and food industry, to develop the ingredient. The partners have used upcycled valuable side-streams and turned them into an effective cosmetic ingredient. The fermentation broth, formed as part of the production process, provides the skin with micronutrients. This allows for immediate skin benefits in various cosmetic applications – from face and body care to dermocosmetics.
“With SymFerment®, we have once again demonstrated our innovative strength,” says Léa Schmidt, Global Product Manager at Symrise. “The ingredient combines a high degree of efficacy with a reduction of environmental impact thanks to the upcycling process. This allows us to expand our portfolio of sustainable cosmetics, which consumers are increasingly demanding, while we assume responsibility for our society and planet.”
The cooperation with the Swedish biotechnology company Probi has facilitated the development of SymFerment®. With the probiotics manufacturer’s expertise, Symrise was able to select specific Lactobacillus strains that promote gut health and are used in dietary supplements. The biofermentation of these strains produces a strong supernatant, the fermentation broth. This byproduct contains many health-promoting micronutrients that the bacteria produce and allow them to grow. Symrise recognized the potential it harbors and is creating value from it. In an upcycling process, the Holzminden-based group processes the side stream into the micronutrient shot SymFerment®. This also helps reduce waste in the food and beverage industry.
Combining both efficacy and sustainability, SymFerment® delivers on the overarching goal of developing innovative cosmetic ingredients for customers. The efficacy comes from numerous micronutrients that the Lactobacilli produce, including amino acids, proteins, minerals, and organic acids, which supply the skin with micronutrients. These strengthen the skin barrier, moisturize, and have a smoothing effect. Overall, the skin instantly feels much better cared for. This makes the ingredient the ideal candidate for numerous applications, like face and body care or dermocosmetics.
SymFerment® shows high efficacy proven in two in vivo studies
Symrise researchers have proven the benefits of SymFerment® in two in vivo studies. Following traditional skin hydration measuring techniques, Symrise used a Corneometer® to assess the moisturization on the hands of volunteers. The results showed remarkable changes in the moisture content of their skin over time proving the instant moisturizing benefits. Furthermore, the researcherstranslated the data into a visual representation to accurately show the evolution of the skin moisturization via color mapping. In the second study, an innovative skin camera device helped assess skin roughness and microrelief on volunteers’ hands also revealing that SymFerment® can smooth the skin texture significantly.
Symrise collaborates with Swedish biotech company in product development
Symrise and Probi have been collaborating successfully on probiotic-based cosmetic ingredients since 2019. The field of probiotics continues to grow exponentially, and scientific studies related to the skin microbiome have also proven the positive impact of probiotics on the skin. The joint research, focused on probiotic Lactobacillus strains, allows Symrise to determine how to best integrate new scientific data into innovative cosmetic products for its customers. Symrise benefits from the fact that the Swedish manufacturer can access an enormous database of bacterial strains and supply large quantities of probiotics at a consistently high quality.
“Our new active ingredient, SymFerment® results from a strong collaboration based on principles that deliver the key to our product development like sustainability and innovation,” says Schmidt. “Together, we can use our joined scientific power to bring effective cosmetic ingredients to market.”