ÄIO wins Sustainability Start-Up of 2026 at the Sustainable Beauty Awards in Paris
Two days of inspiring discussions, valuable connections and new perspectives on the future of sustainable cosmetics ended with a wonderful surprise: ÄIO was named Sustainability Start-Up of 2026 at the Sustainable Beauty Awards!
The award was presented on 27 October in Paris, alongside the 18th European edition of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit, organised by Ecovia Intelligence. It recognises start-ups developing groundbreaking sustainable ingredients, products and solutions for the beauty industry.
Sustainable beauty: from ambitions to real solutions
The Sustainable Cosmetics Summit brought together cosmetics brands, ingredient manufacturers, researchers, sustainability specialists and industry leaders to discuss the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of beauty. This year’s programme focused on four major themes: sustainability developments, green ingredients, sustainable supply chains and customer impacts. Discussions explored the growing pressure on conventional raw materials, the importance of responsible sourcing, new sustainability regulations and the opportunities offered by biotechnology, fermentation and green chemistry.
Speakers from organisations including Imperial College London, Davines Group, Croda Beauty, Lubrizol, AAK, Lush and Beiersdorf contributed different perspectives on how the industry can move towards more sustainable and resilient production. The industry needs functional, commercially viable ingredients that can deliver performance while reducing dependence on resource-intensive supply chains.
ÄIO on stage: sustainable alternatives to vegetable oils
Dr. Magdalena Koziol, ÄIO’s Head of Cosmetics Development, presented “Sustainable Alternatives to Vegetable Oils” during the summit’s Sustainable Supply Chains session. Vegetable oils and tropical butters play an essential role in cosmetic formulations, providing texture, structure, emollience and skin-conditioning properties. However, their production often depends on extensive agricultural land, natural resources and supply chains exposed to climate-related and geopolitical risks. ÄIO is developing another way. Using proprietary yeast fermentation technology, we transform industrial and agricultural side streams into high-performance fats and oils. Instead of relying exclusively on conventional agricultural production, our process uses controlled fermentation to produce functional lipid ingredients with consistent quality and traceable origins.
Our three cosmetic ingredients, Fermira™ RedOil, ZymaLipid and Encapsulated oil, are commercially available and COSMOS and Vegan certified. Through biotechnology, we aim to offer formulators and brands new possibilities for creating effective, high-quality cosmetic products while supporting a more circular and resource-efficient beauty industry.
Magdalena’s presentation highlighted the potential of fermentation-derived lipids to complement or replace conventional oils and butters, bringing new options to cosmetic formulators and ingredient supply chains.
One of the highlights of our visit to Paris came during the Sustainable Beauty Awards ceremony. Established in 2013, the awards recognise organisations contributing to sustainability in the cosmetics and personal care industry. The Sustainability Start-Up category celebrates emerging companies introducing innovative solutions that can help transform the sector. We thank all members of the Sustainable Beauty Awards jury for recognising our innovation and the work behind it and Ecovia Intelligence for organising the summit. While our expertise is in fats and oils, we have discovered that we also have a particular appreciation for glass trophies!
