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Evonik Collaborates with Chinese Recombinant Collagen Company Jland Biotech to Develop New Products

German personal care giant Evonik has invested in Chinese vegan collagen manufacturer Jland Biotech as part of a partnership to develop new products. The collaboration with Jland will allow Evonik to supply significant amounts of collagen for use in skincare products like anti-aging and moisturizing creams. The newly developed collagen items, created through the partnership, are set to be released later this year.

Applications in skincare such as anti-aging and hydrating creams

Evonik has joined forces with Jland Biotech, a Chinese company, to promote vegan collagen for use in cosmetics and personal care. To fully capitalize on the advantages of a durable, enduring partnership, Evonik has invested in Jland Biotech through its Venture Capital division. This collaboration will empower Evonik to offer substantial amounts of collagen for skincare applications like anti-aging and moisturizing creams.

Evonik pointed out that the new collagen products, developed in partnership with Jland, are scheduled for release later this year, broadening Evonik’s current range of vegan collagen offerings. Evonik has recently introduced its vegan collagen product, Vecollage™ Fortify L, for cosmetics and personal care.

“We value Jland’s outstanding approach to innovation and look forward to helping our customers develop the science-based, sophisticated beauty solutions that consumers worldwide are looking for,” said Yann d’Hervé, Head of Evonik’s Care Solutions business line.

Jland Biotech, established in 2015 and based in Jingjiang, China, specializes in the production and advancement of collagen derived from non-animal sources. The company’s core expertise lies in a manufacturing process that prioritizes both efficiency and scalability. Jland’s collagen varieties cater to various applications in cosmetics, medicine, and food. Notably, its cosmetic collagen line is fully accredited by the Vegan Society.

Jland Biotech indicates its focus on the industrial design and application of biomimetic recombinant proteins, leveraging top-notch biotechnological techniques such as genetic recombination, microbial fermentation, and protein purification to establish scalable production processes for multiple functional proteins. Presently, the company boasts six brands spanning the cosmetics and medical aesthetics industries, all with independent intellectual property rights. It has achieved a complete industry chain platform based on recombinant functional proteins, covering gene design, strain construction, industrial design, large-scale capacity expansion, downstream application research and development, downstream product safety, and efficacy testing. Jland Biotech stands as one of the world’s largest suppliers of recombinant collagen.

Evonik has completed Series B financing for Jland Biotech. In September last year, Jland Biotech concluded its Series B financing round led by Cenova Ventures, with participation from Evonik through its venture capital arm. Jland Biotech indicates that this Series B financing will be utilized to enhance its technological innovation and research and development capabilities, improve domestic and international market layout, and construct intelligent factories. This will drive the development of more cutting-edge technologies and core products of recombinant collagen, broaden the application space in fields like cosmetics and medical devices, and lead the long-term sustainable development of the recombinant collagen industry.

The Chinese recombinant collagen market has experienced rapid development

Since the breakthrough in domestic recombinant collagen technology in 2000, recombinant collagen has acquired highly humanized characteristics, avoiding the biological risks associated with animal-derived sources while retaining the excellent properties of collagen. When used as an additive in cosmetics, recombinant collagen can exhibit repair, moisturizing, and whitening effects. Moreover, it has lower immunogenicity, better water solubility, and higher compatibility with skincare efficacy, making it poised to become one of the important ingredients in the field of efficacious skincare.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the compound annual growth rate for skincare products containing recombinant collagen is expected to reach 55% between 2022 and 2027. This growth rate surpasses that of hyaluronic acid (41.3%) and plant extracts (30.4%) during the same period. The forecasted penetration rate for recombinant collagen is 30.5%. Consequently, collagen is on track to become one of the primary core ingredients in skincare products.

As industry standardization and regulation intensify, the domestic market for recombinant collagen is experiencing a varied competitive environment. A growing number of companies are entering the fray, with notable players like Giant Biogene, Trauer Bio, and Jinbo Bio sequentially becoming publicly listed entities.

Giant Biogene, one of the leading global manufacturers of recombinant collagen, made its debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on November 4, 2022. Their recombinant collagen offerings are primarily focused on skincare, positioning them as pioneers in the large-scale production of recombinant collagen cosmetics worldwide. With a portfolio comprising eight major brands, Giant Biogene caters to a wide array of applications, including cosmetics, medical dressings, intimate care, oral care, and scar repair. Notably, CONFIME and COLLGENE stand out as the company’s flagship products, contributing to over 90% of its revenue.

In August of the previous year, Jinbo Bio, which went public on the Beijing Exchange, completed fundamental research on humanized collagen types I, III, and XVII. These have found applications in various fields including gynecology, dermatology, surgery, otolaryngology/dentistry, and skincare. The company aims to develop a total of 28 types of human collagen, accelerating the original development of recombinant humanized collagen.

Furthermore, Marubi, a domestic beauty brand, has successfully engineered stable recombinant dual-collagen, comprising types I and III collagens with an amino acid sequence identical to natural collagen. This innovation offers benefits such as rapid absorption, efficacy, and high safety. Under its skincare brand Marubi, the company has expanded its product lineup significantly, with the latest dual-collagen series being the flagship product line leveraging recombinant dual-collagen technology.

In April 2022, Bloomage, a prominent domestic player in the hyaluronic acid sector, initiated its expansion into the collagen market by acquiring a 51% equity stake in Yikang. This strategic move marks Bloomage’s official entry into the collagen industry. Yikang specializes in the production of animal-derived collagen, with a primary emphasis on collagen sponges and artificial bone products.

As domestic policies undergo heightened standardization and regulation, competition among local recombinant collagen firms has diversified. The entrance of foreign investments and major players from the beauty industry into strategic positions signifies a swift growth phase for China’s recombinant collagen market.

Global beauty giants are actively deploying collagen

Due to the increasing popularity of collagen, international beauty giants are also beginning to strategically position themselves in the collagen industry.

As early as the end of last year, L’Oréal upgraded its core products and introduced the second generation of the Age Perfect series. Of note to the industry is that this marks the first time L’Oréal Paris Skincare has introduced recombinant collagen, launching the Collagen Lifecycle Anti-Aging System.

Simultaneously, L’Oréal Paris introduced the Collagen Lifecycle Anti-Aging System, revitalizing collagen, assembling collagen, and protecting collagen multidimensionally against aging. The formula is rich in recombinant collagen, Pro-Xylane™, Manuka honey essence complex, and four major peptides, revitalizing collagen regeneration, comprehensively combating collagen aging, and improving skin elasticity and firmness.

In addition, L’Oréal has also synchronized the registration of other products in the Age Perfect series (eye cream, face mask, lotion, toner, etc.), with the possibility of the entire series incorporating recombinant collagen in the future. It is worth mentioning that the supplier of the recombinant collagen ingredients for this initiative is the Chinese company Jinbo Bio, indicating the gradual recognition of Chinese collagen on a global scale.

Since 2023, there have been continuous developments in the Chinese recombinant collagen market. In the capital market, recombinant collagen companies such as Giant Biogene and Jinbo Bio have successfully gone public. Furthermore, several recombinant collagen enterprises have also garnered attention from international beauty giants. In August 2022, Shiseido launched its dedicated investment fund in China, with its first investment being in the recombinant collagen ingredients company, Trautec. In 2023, LVMH, the French luxury goods conglomerate, also participated in the investment in Trautec through its private equity fund, L Catterton.

In addition, Japanese beauty giant Shiseido has also made some research progress regarding collagen’s role in anti-aging. In 2022, Dr. Tomonobu Ezure, a researcher at Shiseido, delivered a keynote speech at the IFSCC conference held in London, United Kingdom. Ezure stated that Shiseido’s research work has identified and defined “tensional network ring-collagen” as a crucial part of how and why facial skin exhibits signs of aging. He explained that ring-shaped collagen serves as a “wrapping system of the face” or “skin tension organizer,” which can physically adapt exposed skin to the environment to maintain facial contouring (beyond the work of ligaments and muscles).

Ezure further stated that their research has found high expression of the Wnt-16 protein in the follicle cells of the skin, inducing the production of proteoglycans, hence it can be considered as an inducer of ring collagen. Subsequently, Shiseido has been dedicated to researching how to induce Wnt-16 expression to reconstruct ring collagen in aging facial skin.

In addition, on the ingredients front, companies are continuously introducing collagen-based ingredients.

In early February this year, Evonik launched Vecollage Fortify L, a biotech-based, vegan, skin-identical, and sustainable collagen for beauty applications such as anti-aging and hydrating creams.“The future of skin care is all about biotech-based collagen!” said Yann d’Hervé, head of Evonik’s Care Solutions business line.

In November last year, BASF collaborated with a US-based startup company called 3Helix, which specializes in specializing in collagen-hybridizing peptide (CHP) technology. The foundation of CHP technology lies in short, single-stranded peptides resembling collagen, capable of binding to compromised and altered collagen, thus facilitating advanced anti-aging assertions.

At the SCC77 conference last year, Trautec, a Chinese collagen company, described the production of 100% pure recombinant collagen with an identical sequence to natural human collagen, ensuring high bioactivity and tolerance. This ingredient demonstrated no cytotoxic effects, enhanced cell migration more effectively than human collagen, and stimulated basal membrane activity, aiding in the repair of dermal-epidermal junctions. A clinical trial involving a serum containing this ingredient revealed decreased hair loss and enhanced hair density and thickness after two weeks of microneedle treatments; significant improvements were observed after three months of microneedle injections with the ingredient. This indicates that recombinant collagen can play an important role not only in skincare but also in haircare.

In conclusion, not only beauty brands but also global ingredients companies are continually expanding their presence in the recombinant collagen market. Collagen plays a significant role not only in skincare but also in haircare. China is currently leading the global beauty industry’s collagen market.