Top 5 most-read stories December 2022: Unilever SPF patent, Weleda R&D future, biotech promise and fragrance mapping

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A round-up of CosmeticsDesign-Europe’s most-read news from December 2022 shows interest in Unilever’s patent on a two-step SPF method, a deep-dive interview with Weleda’s R&D chief and insight on biotech promise in collagen.

A round-up of CosmeticsDesign-Europe’s most-read news from December 2022 shows interest in Unilever’s patent on a two-step SPF method, a deep-dive interview with Weleda’s R&D chief and insight on biotech promise in collagen.

Innovation, innovation, innovation

International personal care major Unilever developed a two-step method offering high SPF and UVA protection via a wash-off cleanser and leave-on cream that could be offered to consumers in a kit. The team said there was a clear benefit to total UVAPF when combining these two steps.

Continuing on the innovation theme, Weleda’s R&D chief discussed the company’s future focus for innovation and product development in the coming years. Highlighting an internal startup-style team established in 2022, he said the goal was to speed up product development and market testing for the organic and natural Swiss beauty brand.

Biotech and smarter beauty

The VP of R&D at US biofabrication specialist Modern Meadow outlined the company’s recombinant protein made from yeast, inspired by Collagen type III, noting that it offered beauty companies a more sustainable alternative to traditional animal-sourced collagens. She said the proprietary recombinant protein had demonstrated biostimulation of an array of genes so far, including Collagen type III in human skin cells.

A look back at the patents of 2022 demonstrated key innovation and research priorities amongst beauty industry heavyweights Unilever, L’Oréal, Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Beiersdorf, Coty and Shiseido. All companies had filed important patents around smarter sun care, next-generation hair care and various digital devices and methods to improve beauty offerings.

Neurosciences and fragrance

An associate professor at the University of Portugal outlined ongoing research that aimed to build a database of brain responses to individual fragrances, quantifying emotional responses. He said the goal was to ultimately help industry better predict how consumers would respond to perfumes or scented beauty products – an area where there was still so much to be learned.

Click through to read more…

Top 5 most-read stories December 2022: Unilever SPF patent, Weleda R&D future, biotech promise and fragrance mapping
Top 5 most-read stories December 2022: Unilever SPF patent, Weleda R&D future, biotech promise and fragrance mapping

A round-up of CosmeticsDesign-Europe’s most-read news from December 2022 shows interest in Unilever’s patent on a two-step SPF method, a deep-dive interview with Weleda’s R&D chief and insight on biotech promise in collagen.

Innovation, innovation, innovation

International personal care major Unilever developed a two-step method offering high SPF and UVA protection via a wash-off cleanser and leave-on cream that could be offered to consumers in a kit. The team said there was a clear benefit to total UVAPF when combining these two steps.

Continuing on the innovation theme, Weleda’s R&D chief discussed the company’s future focus for innovation and product development in the coming years. Highlighting an internal startup-style team established in 2022, he said the goal was to speed up product development and market testing for the organic and natural Swiss beauty brand.

Biotech and smarter beauty

The VP of R&D at US biofabrication specialist Modern Meadow outlined the company’s recombinant protein made from yeast, inspired by Collagen type III, noting that it offered beauty companies a more sustainable alternative to traditional animal-sourced collagens. She said the proprietary recombinant protein had demonstrated biostimulation of an array of genes so far, including Collagen type III in human skin cells.

A look back at the patents of 2022 demonstrated key innovation and research priorities amongst beauty industry heavyweights Unilever, L’Oréal, Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Beiersdorf, Coty and Shiseido. All companies had filed important patents around smarter sun care, next-generation hair care and various digital devices and methods to improve beauty offerings.

Neurosciences and fragrance

An associate professor at the University of Portugal outlined ongoing research that aimed to build a database of brain responses to individual fragrances, quantifying emotional responses. He said the goal was to ultimately help industry better predict how consumers would respond to perfumes or scented beauty products – an area where there was still so much to be learned.

Click through to read more…

1. Cleanser + cream: Unilever files patent on two-step SPF protection
1. Cleanser + cream: Unilever files patent on two-step SPF protection (vgajic/Getty Images)

Unilever filed a patent on a two-step method it had developed that offered high SPF and UVA protection via a cleanser and cream that could be offered to consumers in a kit.

2. Weleda R&D chief: ‘We’re trying to switch our way of innovating’
2. Weleda R&D chief: ‘We’re trying to switch our way of innovating’ (EMS-FORSTER-PRODUCTIONS/Getty Images)

The head of research and development at Swiss natural and organic beauty brand Weleda discussed how the company is working hard to speed up product development and market testing.

3. Biotech firm Modern Meadow touts promise of yeast-based ‘biocollagen’
3. Biotech firm Modern Meadow touts promise of yeast-based ‘biocollagen’ (skynesher/Getty Images)

The US biofabrication specialist Modern Meadow had developed a recombinant protein inspired by Collagen type III from yeast that it said offered beauty a more sustainable alternative to traditional animal-sourced collagens.

4. Beauty patents 2022: Smarter sun care, next-gen hair focus and digital
4. Beauty patents 2022: Smarter sun care, next-gen hair focus and digital (Dilok Klaisataporn/Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A dive back through last year’s international patent filings from majors like Unilever, L’Oréal, Procter & Gamble and others showed a strong focus on innovative sun care, hair care and digital technologies.

5. University of Lisbon mapping brain responses to fragrance: ‘Sense of smell is the most mysterious’
5. University of Lisbon mapping brain responses to fragrance: ‘Sense of smell is the most mysterious’ (Tara Moore/Getty Images)

A team from Portugal’s University of Lisbon were working to build a database of brain responses to individual fragrances to help industry better predict how consumers would respond to perfumes and scented beauty products.