The partnership was forged in July 2016 when Lucas Meyer bought a 51% controlling stake in the start-up business that has been built around exploring active extracts from a variety of barks that are all discarded by products from the Canadian forestry and logging industry.
The new line up is called Borealine and include the Borealine Expert, an anti-aging active, Borealine Hydra, a hydration-boosting ingredient and Borealine Protect a proctective active that fights damage caused by UV radiation.
How the partnership works
Cosmetics Design caught up with Bio Forextra CEO and founder Dr. Mariana Royer at this week’s California SCC Suppliers’ Day event, in Long Beach, to find out more about the partnership and how it has given a boost to the company’s development pipeline.
“I started the business in Quebec back in 2013 with a mission of building a bridge between the forestry industry in Canada and the cosmetics industry,” said Dr. Royer.
“Basically we develop active ingredient from wood biomass that is otherwise discarded by the forestry industry. In particular we have been focused on extracts from bark, a part of the tree that is high in bioactive compounds because it develops to protect the tree against the harsh Canadian climate.”
Her work in this area began with PhD and post doctoral studies that led her to work with Canadian authorities on a project to discover economically viable ways of putting wood by products and residues to good use.
Transforming wood residues into cosmetic ingredients
This led to the business start-up and since then Dr. Royer and her team have been investigating and developing ways to transform wood by products into active ingredients for skin care products. Thanks to increased investment from the Lucas Meyer partnership, that research has now culminated in the line of three active ingredient, with more ingredients said to be in the pipeline.
“The Borealine product portfolio is the result of many years of work and clinical trials. Expert is extracted from red maple bark, which is the emblem of the Canadian flag and also happens to contain very powerful anti-aging actives,” Dr. Royer said.
“Borealine Protect comes from black spruce tree, the only species that can survive in the far north of Quebec and which has also been found to be a new and sustainable source of resveratrol, a great means of providing skin protection.”
“The final Borealine offering is Hydra, which is a mix of four different bark extracts, which also includes red maple and black spruce, with the addition of yellow birch and jack pine, to provide long-lasting protection and hydration.”
But these three ingredients could be just the start, as Dr. Royer points out that her team is currently working on 15 different tree extracts and there are a number of other new ingredients in the pipeline.