Innomost launches Betuinno.™ Betulin to beauty and surface industries to replace harmful synthetic white pigment ingredients
The Finnish startup that has created a portfolio of cosmetic ingredients utilizing upcycled birch bark launches a new product that can help a variety of industries replace titanium dioxide as the white pigment. Expansion to new markets and industries is supported by additional funding from existing investors, Metsä Spring and Innovestor.
Finnish startup Innomost has launched Betuinno.™ Betulin Top Quality Fine – a new ingredient for beauty, surfaces and coatings, and skin care industries. Betuinno.™ Betulin is a sustainable ingredient that is ideal for replacing synthetic white pigments, such as titanium dioxide. It has multifunctional benefits in cosmetics formulation, and it is a sustainable and biodegradable replacement for environmentally harmful white pigment colorants.
“We are delighted to bring this new product to the market, as consumer needs and new regulations demand that beauty products are truly sustainable and safe, while providing transparency to the end-users of what the products contain. The Betuinno.™ Betulin white pigment can be utilized in different use cases, which enables Innomost to enter new industries – our products are already loved in the cosmetics industry, so we are excited to bring wood-based solutions to other players, too,” says Sami Selkälä, CEO and founder of Innomost.
White pigment is widely used in multiple products: cosmetics, toothpaste, suncreams, coatings, and so on. Betuinno.™ Betulin has the potential to replace the current market standard, titanium dioxide, a white pigment ingredient that was already banned in food use in the EU in 2022 and in selected states in the United States. It is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Group 2B, as possibly carcinogenic to humans. Additionally, Betuinno.™ Betulin, together with non-nano zinc oxide, can replace titanium oxide in suncreams. Suncreams release significant amounts of titanium dioxide into the sea, polluting it and causing harm to wildlife.
Betuinno.™ Betulin matches the whiteness and reflectivity of synthetic white pigments. Biodegradable, vegan and non-toxic, it has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, helps skin to heal, regenerate, and has moisturizing effects, and is largely anti-allergenic. Betuinno.™ Betulin is produced from upcycled birch bark from certified forest industry side streams. Thanks to the in-house designed and patented production process technology, environmentally friendly and sustainable production solutions are used to lower the carbon footprint to the minimum.
The launch of a new product supports Innomost’s rapid international growth – its products are used on three different continents in beauty and cosmetic products, and its biggest clients include brands such as Lumene. To support the launch of a new ingredient together with a growing client base globally, the two existing investors, Metsä Spring and Innovestor, have invested an additional €1.4M in Innomost.
“Innomost has completed the greenfield pilot plant situated at Northern Europe’s largest inorganic chemical industry park in Kokkola, Finland. With this plant, Innomost can demonstrate its patented production technology and proceed towards commercial scale. We are next looking forward to expand the client base globally with applications in different industrial sectors,” says Erik Kolehmainen, Chair of Innomost and VP, Corporate Venturing at Metsä Spring.
“The cooperation with Innomost is highly valuable, offering locally sourced upcycled ingredients, as an example, we were able to formulate birch upcycled ingredients and phased out microplastic scrubbing particles with Barkinno Birch Bark Powder. In addition, as Innomost is continuously innovating, together we will continue exploring usage of existing or test new birch derived ingredients to increase the usage of upcycled & circular ingredients in our formulations. By increasing the usage of Birch derived ingredients in our portfolio, Innomost is key partner to ensure we are delivering on our strategy and vision of Leading in Circular Beauty,” says Dr. Alain Mavon, VP R&D and Sustainability, Lumene.
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Studies about betulin and its health benefits:
1. Anti-Inflammatory and Anticancer Properties of Birch Bark-Derived Betulin: Recent Developments - PMC (nih.gov)
2. Environmentally relevant concentrations of titanium dioxide nanoparticles pose negligible risk to marine microbes - Environmental Science: Nano (RSC Publishing) DOI:10.1039/D0EN00883D
For additional information:
Media kit with pictures
Press contacts:
Aino Erkinjuntti
Sales and Marketing Director, Innomost
+358 44 970 5284
aino.erkinjuntti@innomost.com
Sami Selkälä
Founder and CEO, Innomost
sami.selkala@innomost.com
About Innomost
Innomost is a Finnish startup founded in 2016 that develops and produces high-quality and renewable ingredients from wooden side streams. Our valuable bio-based products are suitable for a wide range of sustainable chemical industry innovations.
Innomost’s products are Barkinno., Betuinno, and Suberinno., which are being utilized in three different continents by various beauty and other industry brands.
Innomost has started the first one of its kind production pilot plant in early 2023.
For more information, visit www.innomost.com.