The strategic partnership will leverage their capabilities in rapid bioactive discovery and premium botanical cultivation to supply their cosmetic, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical partners with customized and consistent bioactive plants and ingredients.
"We are thrilled to partner with Botalys, whose advanced cultivation techniques perfectly complement Brightseed’s capabilities in rapid bioactive profiling and discovery of novel chemistries for product development," said David Brown, vice president of business development at Brightseed.
"Together we want to set the gold standard on what it means to cultivate health & wellness at the source by offering consistent, sustainable and traceable plant sources.”
Biomimetic Indoor Farming
Botalys, which works with leading global players such as L’Oréal R&I, operates a 40,000 square foot vertical farming facility where rare medicinal plants are grown hydroponically through Biomimetic Indoor Farming, an innovative, climate-controlled methodology which recreates ideal conditions that mimic plants’ wild biotopes.
Brightseed and Botalys will leverage the former’s proprietary Forager AI platform to measure, fine-tune and optimize the bioactive expression of Botalys’ plant supply.
Created by Lee Chae, PhD, Brightseed’s co-founder and CTO, the Forager platform systematically identifies natural bioactives and maps their connection to human health benefits. To date, Forager has mapped more than seven million compounds from plants, fungi and bacterial strains across 23 human health areas.
Brightseed has established other notable partnerships with the likes of ADM, Danone, Pharmavite, Ocean Spray and ofi (olam food ingredients).
"Brightseed's AI-driven approach to uncovering the hidden health benefits of plants aligns seamlessly with our mission to cultivate botanicals that set new standards in quality and efficacy,” said Pierre-Antoine Mariage, co-founder and CEO at Botalys.
“With our innovative biomimetic indoor farming technology, we can measure, control and mimic the ecological conditions which traditionally have spun nature’s most profound molecules for human benefit. This collaboration fills a much-needed gap for the industry to respond to climate concerns and consumer demand for nature-based ingredients that meet the highest standards of excellence and sustainability."
Accelerating R&D
According to a joint press release issued by the companies, their combined expertise will “accelerate the development of novel botanical ingredients that offer proven health benefits, including enhanced bioavailability and targeted efficacy”.