20 September, 2024 10:58:39 IST 
French cosmetics giant, L’Oréal and German chemicals firm, Evonik, have announced a joint investment in France-based biotechnology company, Abolis Biotechnologies, which specialises in the manufacture of ingredients derived from microorganisms for the cosmetics, pharmaceutical and nutrition markets.
The two firms participated in a Euro 35-mn fundraising round through its their venture capital arms - Evonik Venture Capital and BOLD - joining other investment firms like DeepTech & Climate Fonds (Germany), Clay Capital (Singapore), Icos Capital (Netherlands), and the transatlantic investment firm Liberset.
This funding will fuel the company’s expansion into global markets and accelerate its research and development efforts to bring microorganism-derived ingredients at the scale needed to satisfy the global demand for innovative and sustainable beauty and personal care ingredients.
The investment is accompanied by the signing of a new strategic industrial partnership between Abolis, L’Oréal and Evonik to bring selected innovations to market, for healthcare, cosmetic and chemical sectors.
The collaboration between L’Oréal and Abolis Biotechnologies began in 2019 and led to an extended lab set-up in 2022.
“This investment highlights our belief in Abolis’ potential to create a more sustainable future across various industries, including beauty,” said Ms. Samantha Etienne, CEO of BOLD.
“We are proud to invest in Abolis and expand our collaboration, working together as a tight ecosystem alongside our historical partner, Evonik,” noted Ms. Barbara Lavernos, Deputy CEO in charge of Research, Innovation and Technology, L’Oréal Groupe. “By mobilising our respective companies’ research, innovation and manufacturing capabilities and expertise, we are building an end-to-end value chain that we believe has tremendous potential to be a game-changer in bio-based ingredients for beauty,” she added.
Mr. Bernhard Mohr, Managing Director Evonik Venture Capital, said, “Abolis’ competencies in strain development and metabolic engineering ideally complement the expertise of Evonik in fermentation processes, downstream processing and scale-up for commercial production. The strategic collaboration of our Business Line Care Solutions with Abolis and L’Oréal alongside our investment will enable the access to a wide range of markets, including cosmetics, nutrition and healthcare.”
