Few areas of research into personal care have become more competitive than the quest to gain a deeper understanding of the microbiome – the layer of billions of bacteria, fungi and microbes that inhabit the skin’s outer layer.
No wonder. The balance and diversity of the microbiota we live with is of huge importance in developing more effective skincare and haircare to deal with major global concerns such as acne, eczema, atopic dermatitis, ageing and overall skin health.
Major beauty players have snapped up pioneering microbiome-friendly brands to extend their reach into the sector. Shiseido recently acquired Gallinee and Procter & Gamble bought Tula Skincare to build up their cred in personalised skincare. Every person’s microbiome is unique and the category is expected play a major part in formulating products to suit individual needs.
Beiersdorf, the parent company of Nivea, La Prairie and Eucerin, has purchased a majority stake in S-Biomedic, a Belgian life science company.
The German multinational acquired a minority stake in the company in 2018. Founded by Veronika Oudova and Bernhard Paetzold in 2014, the focus of the company’s research centres on active ingredients for cosmetic products incorporating living skin bacteria.
S-Biomedic will remain a separate organisation and will complement Beiersdorf’s own research in the microbiome sector.
As skin care experts, research has been at the heart of what we have been doing for 140 years, said Gitta Neufang, senior vice president of research and development at Beiersdorf. “Therefore the acquisition of S-Biomedic is an ideal strategic fit to drive our innovation power even further in line with our C.A.R.E+ strategy. Together with the pioneers of S-Biomedic, we are taking skin care to the next level and will foster the development of solutions for unmet consumer needs”.
Our vision since 2014, when we started S-Biomedic, has been to build and promote skin microbiome technologies and make them the new frontier in skin health, added Veronika Oudova, CEO of S-Biomedic. “I am very excited that together with the team we have achieved a very important milestone on that journey. By joining Beiersdorf our novel approach has its path to consumers all over the world.”
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