INTERVIEW Richard Scott – Editor, Personal Care
Natural active ingredients have been at the forefront of cutting-edge technology developments in the personal care industry over the past ten years. We have seen companies harness the power of naturally-forming chemical compounds to not only deliver highly effective skin care actives, but also bring with them compelling marketing stories.
The ”green” movement in personal care has transformed the sourcing of ingredients and put a strong emphasis on natural INCIs, and more recently, on the sustainability profiles of these products. This has led in some areas to a move away from traditional harvesting methods, which can be destructive to delicate ecosystems, to new biotech methods that can produce naturally- derived ingredients without needing to repeatedly remove biological matter from its source. This has numerous benefits for ingredient suppliers, brands, and consumers. We are now seeing a coming
together of the utilisation of natural plant sources and a cutting-edge scientific approach to skin activity, delivering a whole new world of opportunities for brands operating in the skin care sector. Added to this is a greater understanding of how the skin ages at a cellular level and the impact of pollution on the ageing process and overall skin health, creating more consumer desire for natural actives that offer solutions. One of the companies leading
the way in this field is Mibelle Biochemistry of Switzerland, and to discover more about the advancement of natural active ingredients, we spoke to Mibelle Biochemistry’s founder and managing director, Dr Fred Zülli. He has invented a large number of patent protected actives based on different technologies for the cosmetic industry. He studied chemical engineering at the Technical Engineering School of Winterthur and continued his studies at the ETH in Zurich in molecular biology and biophysics. In his Ph.D. thesis at the ETH he investigated the thermostability of bacterial enzymes. In 1991, Dr Zülli, launched Mibelle Biochemistry and set out to develop high quality, scientific ingredients
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for the cosmetics industry based on novel biochemical concepts for the skin.
Dr Zülli is also a member of our
new Personal Care Global Editorial Board, helping to steer the editorial direction of the magazine.
PERSONAL CARE:Was science something that you were always drawn towards? FRED ZÜLLI: Yes, I think so. As a child, I was really interested in nature, and I liked playing by rivers and in the forest, and so forth. And then at the age of 16, I had the opportunity to start an apprenticeship as lab technician. So that meant from a young age I was going into a lab and getting involved in experiments. I really enjoyed that experience and after this, I continued with my studies.
PC: So, did you study chemistry? FZ: After the apprenticeship I studied Chemical Engineering. But then I became more interested in biology and I continued my studies in Molecular Biology and Biophysics. I did my PhD and then I ended up at Nestlé in the Research Center, where I worked on some basic research projects related to food.
PC: It’s interesting you started in food, because Mibelle now operates both in personal care and nutrition. FZ: About 3 years ago, we at Mibelle Biochemistry decided to start developing active ingredients for the food supplement industry. Our perspective is that food supplements are also a very interesting and dynamic sector including natural concepts into products. The food supplement industry has similarities with cosmetics, but in many ways it’s also quite different. I’m talking here about regulations, manufacturing
17
INTERVIEW
Dr Fred Zülli, Managing Director, Mibelle Biochemistry
and marketing being quite different. However, I believe “inspired by nature - realized by science” is a convincing concept for both industries.
PC: So from Nestlé, how did you move into personal care in the first instance? FZ: Well, while I was working for Nestlé I was offered the position at Mibelle Biochemistry to start a biochemical research team and develop active ingredients – and that was 30 years ago! Since then, I’ve been working
for Mibelle Biochemistry to develop the business of actives. I like this job in this fast-paced industry. By this
I mean that you have an idea, you develop an active, and then two or three years later you will find your idea realised in a consumer product on the shelf. So that’s what I enjoy about the personal care industry; it’s fast and it’s multidisciplinary. It’s about research and development but also production at large scale has to be considered very early in the projects. Claim substantiation, marketing and sales are other important pillars to be successful. These different elements make the job very interesting.
PC: Would you say that the speed of development is one of the main areas to have changed in the 30
March 2021 PERSONAL CARE
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