Welch's and Blue Marble Biomaterials team up on fragrance and cosmetic ingredients

13-Dec-2016 - Last updated on 13-Dec-2016 at 18:37 GMT

The grape juice maker has a plan to turn its side stream components into biochemicals for use in beauty product formulations; to do so Welch’s has partnered with petrochemical replacements company Blue Marble.

Founded in 2005, Blue Marble Biomaterials makes esters, sulfur compounds, thioesters, extracts, oils, carboxylic acids, and terpenes. The company’s “products abate carbon emissions and displace petrochemicals while maintaining quality and composition that is identical to conventional specialty chemicals” according to the Blue Marble site.

The company makes all these chemicals from organic waste such as coffee, tea, wood, fruits, vegetables, and algae.

New deal

Today, Welch’s announced that it has partnered with Blue Marble to make such chemicals from the matter leftover after the company produces its apple and grape juices.

“We have been working with Welch's for the past year to identify the numerous final products that we can manufacture from its side streams that normally are sent to compost or animal feed suppliers,” Colby Underwood, co-CEO of Blue Marble says in the media release. “Our natural chemicals offer manufacturers and consumers a better choice, and we are eager to explore commercial scenarios with Welch's to determine the most advantageous path forward.”

New niche

“We are excited to collaborate with Blue Marble and to do our part to create a more sustainable world,” Bradley Irwin, Welch's CEO, tells the press. “Welch's is owned by family farmers who have been growing fruit for generations. This partnership is an expression of their dedication to sharing what's good.”

Repurposed and recycled materials from nearly every industry find their way into beauty products, and increasingly more so now that companies are very actively looking for solutions that are both financially and environmentally sustainable.

Cosmetics Design recognized this shift in the industry earlier this year with our inaugural Best Ingredient Made from Recycled Materials Award. Numerous companies entered the competition, and the finalists were Alban Muller, Amyris, Lipotec, Active Concepts, and Amedeo Brasca. Read more and find out who the winner was here.