18 INTERVIEW
years that you’ve been operating? FZ: Yes, I think these days you have to be a little bit faster to bring new things to the market as 30 years ago. And this is quite a challenge because the product documentation required to launch an active has increased significantly. So, you have to do more, you have to be quicker and the market has become more price sensitive. That’s a challenge!
PC: And in the past 15-20 years we’ve had the natural and green revolution in the personal care industry. That obviously played a part in Mibelle’s success? FZ: Twenty years ago a lot of food ideas could be transformed to cosmetics – for example, vitamins and special oils were very popular in food and food supplements. And then these ingredients came to cosmetics. Today we observe that a lot of concepts we have already established with cosmetics are implemented in food supplements like hyaluronic acid or collagen. Added to that, twenty-five years
ago also biochemical science was established in cosmetics, meaning that cosmetic ingredients activated cells or genes. So, we had to find natural compounds which delivered a biochemical activity proven by in-vitro studies on skin cells or 3D skin samples.
PC: And that developed into the derma cosmetics trend. Is that when derma cosmetics started? FZ: Yes, I think that biochemical approach gave the cosmetics industry a whole new perspective and things became very scientific. However, this change didn’t see the “natural” concept get left behind. “Natural” has stayed with us for the last thirty years and it will remain for a long time to come. Cosmetics science continued to become very exciting. New ideas from anti- ageing research such as stem cells, autophagy, telomer shortening or senolytics were very quickly adapted into novel cosmetic actives. The
“The challenge remains to transform scientific results into consumer claims which also meet regulatory boundaries.”
performance of these substances is proven by very sophisticated experiments with cell culture assays and the corresponding high-tech equipment. However, the challenge remains to transform these scientific results into consumer claims which also meet the regulatory boundaries.
PC: Would you say that the scientific approach has resulted in a noticeable improvement in the efficacy of the ingredients? Are they much more effective now than they were say 20 years ago? FZ: Yes, I think they have become more effective. The actives show an exciting efficacy in-vitro. But the main challenge is the penetration of the molecules to the living cells in the epidermis and dermis. Here again new carrier systems have improved the bioavailability of the substances significantly. Thus, the ingredients have become more effective and we can target many more applications.
PC: Would you be able to pinpoint a particular ingredient over the last 30 years that has been most
important to you and Mibelle? FZ: Mibelle Biochemistry made its name with the launch of the apple stem cell product PhytoCellTec™ Malus Domestica in 2008. The product introduced a new cosmetic trend to the industry called stem cell cosmetics worth about 2 billon USD in sales of finished products per year. The success is based on 3 pillars. First, a very special source based on a rare old breed of the Swiss apple Uttwiler Spaetlauber. Second, a new biotechnology to grow plant cells in bio-reactors in a sustainable way and third a new anti-ageing concept to use plant stem cells to rejuvenate skin stem cells
PC: And have you used the apple stem cell as a benchmark for how you create a new ingredient since then? FZ: Of course, we follow the concept of “inspired by nature - realised by science.” We are looking for interesting new sources of biological materials. We also invest into new technologies mainly in the field of biotechnology. So, we are now for example able to grow moss protonema tissue in bioreactors. And we investigate new anti- ageing concepts to introduce new biochemical concepts for cosmetics.
Stem cell of Malus Domestica. PERSONAL CARE March 2021
PC: Does the process necessarily take place in that order or can you have different starting points? FZ: I think it is always different. Sometimes you find a nice source - a nice plant material that you think is very interesting. Meanwhile, other times you have an idea about a new concept such as caloric restriction as a new anti-ageing concept. And then
sometimes you have a compelling marketing story that could be attractive to consumers. We obviously spend a lot of time on innovation. For this we have an innovation process, where we collect ideas from different endpoints. I’m talking here about ideas coming from different areas such as marketing, individuals, plants, papers, patents, universities, and related industries.
PC: You often use Swiss or Northern European natural plant life as your chemical palette. FZ: This is true. The development of new active ingredients has become more demanding due to regulatory constrains such as the Nagoya protocol and increased customer demands for sustainable sourcing. To meet these demands, it is much easier for us to investigate Swiss resources. Switzerland offers a lot of opportunities for interesting starting materials such as the old apple breed, ice wine or snow algae. We are a Swiss company working with Swiss ingredients and that’s usually quite attractive for customers for example in Asia.
PC: Yes, and that actually increased a lot in the past few years; there has been a trend towards northern European natural ingredients. FZ: Indeed. Plants and microorganisms which can survive under harsh conditions may contain valuable molecules to offer a protection of the skin.
PC: We’ve talked about the food industry as an area where there’s a lot of crossover. Are there any other areas that you keep an eye on for development trends? FZ: We have a collaboration with the ETH in Zurich with the department
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