16 INTERVIEW Tim Probert – Editor, Personal Care Global
Òscar Expósito is the co-founder, chief executive and chief scientific officer of Spanish plant-based cosmetic active ingredient maker Vytrus Biotech. Here, in conversation with editor Tim Probert, Òscar shares his vision for the Barcelona company and the cosmetic active ingredients of the future
Tim Probert: What’s the story with founding Vytrus Biotech? I believe it was a university spin-off. Òscar Expósito (OE): I’ve always loved plants and trees since I was a young boy. I studied biology, specialising in botany and ecology. I did my PhD at the University
of Barcelona, in the pharmacy faculty, studying plant stem cell technology. I did my PhD working on ways to increase production of a unique molecule with anti- cancer properties from the yew tree. It was there I met Albert
Jané Font, the other co-founder of Vytrus Biotech. Albert and I realized that the plant stem cell technology had extremely good potential. Our first thought was to apply
the technology to pharmaceutical ingredients. We wanted to cure cancer. Hey, we were young! I finished my PhD in March 2009 and in June 2009 I started Vytrus with Albert. During my last year, I was not just writing my PhD thesis, we were writing business plans.
TP: You didn’t waste any time! Of course, Vytrus Biotech makes cosmetic ingredients, not pharmaceuticals… OE: When we started, we realised pharmaceuticals would be a difficult and expensive market to enter, so we started to consider other applications. We quickly realised that
cosmetics, dermatology and topical treatments could be a very interesting alternative.
TP: That’s a familiar story, actually. OE: We have never forgotten about
PERSONAL CARE October 2025
pharmaceuticals, and we still think that we can get there. But, for the moment, we will
strengthen in personal care and, in fact, rather than applying plant stem cells to other sectors, we are developing other technologies than plant stem cells for personal care.
TP: Such as? OE: Recombinant proteins, microalgae, micro-organisms, synthetic biology. Plant stem cells give us a lot of comparative packages, but we think that by using other technologies, we can provide more solutions to the personal care industry. Some customers don’t always
want to use ingredients from plant stem cells, for example, and we have realised that we can apply our innovation to other technologies. We are eager to invest in these
technologies, or to collaborate with other companies in order to give us more options in the market. Biotechnology and
sustainability are our two non- negotiables. We are not going to invest or develop something that is not a sustainable biotechnology. But we are looking at, and
INTERVIEW
Growing new shoots
seeking, projects or technologies that we think have great potential for harnessing our platform of the development of cosmetic active ingredients.
TP: How long is it until we start to see other types of ingredients for sale from Vytrus? OE: Next year we will see the first examples. We have been working on some new technologies, like for example, in recombinant proteins. We started working on this about six years ago. Because of confidentiality and
stock market rules, I cannot say it too much. But I hope next year you will see new products from Vytrus that are different from plant stem cells.
TP: Vytrus Biotech’s share price has nearly trebled since the beginning of the year. Could you be a takeover target by a bigger
company?
OE: The share price rise is very nice. I’m not exactly sure why this
is happening now, we have been delivering good news for many years, but the market did not react. That said, we have seen a 70% increase in turnover, and the market is reacting. As for being a takeover target,
we receive several offers of interest every year. But we love what we do, and we have the objective of making Vytrus a big company. We have investors and a good board giving support to us to achieve that. For the moment, we want
to make our own pathway, but we know it is difficult to be competitive in this market. There are whales in the market and every year the whales seem to get bigger and bigger. For the moment, we are independent, and we want to keep as it is. Approaches and offers are healthy. They are a signal that we are doing things right.
TP: Albert Jané Font is also listed as CEO of Vytrus, as you are. How does that work? OE: Albert has moved, as I like
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