Just last week, California-based Amyris announced plans to expand its Biossance skin care line. Again in partnership with Sephora, the brand will begin retailing in Canada next year.
Amyris is taking its consumer brand into “over 60 Sephora locations across Canada in January 2018, according to the company’s press release, “marking the beginning of international expansion for Biossance.”
Biossance business
Caroline Hadfield, senior vice president of personal care at Amyris, tells the press that the consumer brand is doing well in terms of both sales and consumer satisfaction: “Biossance products continue to exceed consumer expectations and deliver outstanding sales results for Amyris,” says Hadfield, adding that “our commitment to sustainable ingredients and exceeding our consumer promise has led recently to Biossance achieving the best-selling eye gel as well as eye care product overall.”
She summarizes the Biossance business to date, saying, “We are bringing great cosmetics products to consumers that are better for them and the planet. We are very pleased with having achieved another record quarter that has significantly exceeded our expectations and we are continuing to build on the momentum of our strong consumer demand.”
Innovation curve
The initiative looks to be as much of a revenue channel for Amyris as it is a proof-of-concept project that’s also meant to educate consumers about ingredients made with biotechnology.
Biossance skin care is all made with squalane that Amyris produces with biotech. And the five products in the brand’s portfolio have been renamed to include ‘squalane’ prominently on the label. For instance, an eye product that was initially called The Illuminator is now known as Squalane + Peptide Eye Gel, and the beauty oil that was The Revitalizer is now simply 100% Squalane.
The brand’s website even has a page dedicated to explaining the ingredient’s function and sources, highlighting of course, that “Biossance, [has] created a 100% plant-based squalane sustainably from sugarcane.”