ÄIO and tilk! launch award-shortlisted face cream featuring two fermentation-derived ingredients!
The new Skin Booster Face Cream brings Fermira™ RedOil and ZymaLipid Complex together in a commercial skincare formulation, and has already been shortlisted for the European Natural Beauty Awards 2026.
TALLINN, Estonia (08 September 2026). Estonian biotechnology company ÄIO and natural skincare brand tilk! are taking their product development partnership a step further with the launch of a new Skin Booster Face Cream containing two ÄIO fermentation-derived cosmetic ingredients: Fermira™ RedOil and ZymaLipid Complex.
The product is available from today and marks the second commercial skincare launch resulting from the collaboration between ÄIO and tilk!. Their first joint product, the Skin Booster Serum with ÄIO Bio-Fermented RedOil, reached consumers in April 2026 and the first production batch was sold out in one week.
The new cream goes one step further by combining two ingredients from ÄIO’s cosmetic portfolio in one finished formulation, demonstrating how fermentation-derived lipids can move from biotechnology development into everyday skincare.
Even before its commercial launch, the Skin Booster Bio-Fermented Face Cream with ÄIO RedOil, ZymaLipid Complex and Bakuchiol was shortlisted for the European Natural Beauty Awards 2026, an international recognition programme for natural cosmetics.
The cooperation between ÄIO and tilk! began years before the first product reached the market. tilk! was among the early companies to formulate with RedOil while the ingredient itself was still under development. As tilk! founder and CEO Pille Lengi has explained, the collaboration required patience as initially only a small amount of the new oil was available for testing, and it took a few years of ingredient development, laboratory testing, documentation and formulation work before the first commercial product was ready.
For Lengi, cooperation between science and product development is fundamental when creating something genuinely new: “If you want to innovate and create something completely new, you need to work with scientists,” Lengi has said.
The new face cream combines Fermira™ RedOil and ZymaLipid Complex with bakuchiol and plant oils. RedOil is a fermentation-derived active emollient containing naturally occurring carotenoids and other bioactive compounds, while ZymaLipid Complex is a high-purity fatty acid complex providing emollience, structure and sensory properties to cosmetic formulations. The result is a rich but fast-absorbing face cream designed to support hydration, skin comfort, elasticity and the skin barrier.
For ÄIO, the launch proves that ingredients originating from a biotechnology platform can progress through development, testing and formulation into products that consumers can buy. “For a biotechnology company, success is achieved when our partners can formulate with it, manufacture with it and ultimately create products that people want to use,” says Dr. Nemailla Bonturi, CEO and co-founder of ÄIO.
“Our first product with tilk! showed that RedOil could make that journey. Today, we have two ÄIO ingredients together in a new commercial formulation, and the fact that the cream has already been recognised by the European Natural Beauty Awards makes all the work behind it meaningful.”
The new launch comes as ÄIO is expanding the commercial reach of its cosmetics business internationally. ÄIO currently offers three commercially available fermentation-derived COSMOS and Vegan certified cosmetic ingredients: Fermira™ RedOil, ZymaLipid Complex and Encapsulated oil. These ingredients are already commercially available through a growing network of distribution partners across key markets worldwide. From Europe and the UK to India, South Korea, USA and Brazil, local distributors provide formulators, manufacturers and beauty brands with access to ÄIO ingredients, technical expertise and formulation support. This global network is helping move ÄIO’s biotechnology from ingredient development into real formulations and commercial products around the world.
For additional information:
Mariane Barrier, Head of Commercial, ÄIO (äio tech OÜ), +372 523 9688, mariane@aio.bio
About ÄIO https://aio.bio/
ÄIO is an Estonian biotechnology company developing a new generation of fats and oils through fermentation. ÄIO has developed a fermentation platform that turns low-value industrial side streams into high-value fats and oils. The company has moved from laboratory scale to industrial-scale production, has three commercially available cosmetic ingredients (Fermira™ RedOil, ZymaLipid Complex and Encapsulated oil) with INCI names, COSMOS and Vegan certification, and has established distribution across major international markets. Its technology addresses a huge existing fats-and-oils market rather than creating a completely new consumer category.
About tilk! https://tilk.bio/
tilk! is an Estonian natural cosmetic brand focused on creating effective, clean, and thoughtfully formulated skincare products inspired by nature. With a strong emphasis on sustainability, local sourcing, and high-performance ingredients, tilk! combines traditional knowledge with modern formulation expertise. The company is known for its hands-on approach to product development, continuously testing and integrating innovative ingredients to deliver visible results while maintaining a transparent and environmentally conscious philosophy. More details about Skin Booster Face Cream with Bio-Fermented ÄIO RedOil, ZymaLipid Complex and Bakuchiol on tilk! Website.
About Euopean Natural Beauty Awards https://www.europeannaturalbeautyawards.com/
ENBA is a European recognition programme for natural beauty, highlighting products that meet high standards for natural formulation, performance, sustainability and transparency. Products entering the evaluation must contain at least 99% natural-origin ingredients and pass an expert INCI review before progressing to extensive real-life testing by an independent European jury representing industry experts, certification bodies, retailers, beauty media and consumers. The selection of the new Skin Booster Face Cream for the 2026 shortlist stands out as it provides independent international recognition for a commercial formulation containing two fermentation-derived ÄIO ingredients and demonstrates how biotechnology-derived ingredients can successfully become part of high-quality natural skincare.
