At this year’s NYSCC Suppliers’ Day, Belgium-based AmphiStar showcased its microbial biosurfactants, highlighting their potential as sustainable, high-performing alternatives to synthetic and natural surfactants in personal care formulations. As an exhibitor at the show, AmphiStar also marked the public debut of its partnership with Kensing, a US-based supplier of plant-based ingredients, which was officially announced on June 2.
CosmeticsDesign spoke to Sophie Roelants, COO and co-founder of AmphiStar, and Denis Bendejacq, senior VP Global R&I at Kensing, for insights into their respective organizations and the potential impact of the partnership on industry stakeholders in the US cosmetics and personal care product industries.
Tailored molecules for specific functionality
According to Roelants, the company’s biosurfactants are designed for compatibility with a broad range of formulation needs. “AmphiStar’s biosurfactants are inherently mild on the skin and eyes, making them ideal in personal care applications,” she said.
“In addition, our biotechnology platform allows us to offer a wide portfolio of biosurfactants with slight adjustments in chemical structure, hence offering slight or severe differences in application potential.”
The company’s library currently includes over 80 biosurfactant molecules.
“Although there are sometimes only slight differences in chemical structure, the functional properties can be very different and hence this offers a wide array of functionalities within our molecules for our customers,” Roelants explained.
Sustainability through circular inputs
AmphiStar’s biosurfactants are produced via microbial fermentation using agri-food sidestreams, which supports both upcycling and carbon reduction. “Our products are biodegradable,” Roelants noted. “We don’t leave unpleasant chemicals polluting the environment before, during or after use.”
She added, “Our use of sidestreams as feedstocks means that we don’t need virgin crops; as such they avoid the generation of additional greenhouse gas emissions and require no extra land clearance, deforestation or use of resources like pesticides and fertilisers.”
Consistency and scale-up are top of mind as the company prepares for expanded production. “The main challenge was to offer a quite consistent stream to the micro-organisms to enable them to grow and produce on par compared to when off-the-shelf, virgin crop-based feedstocks, with a much higher impact on greenhouse gas emissions, are used,” she said.
To scale US production, AmphiStar is collaborating with the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant in Belgium and plans to establish an in-house manufacturing facility in the future.
Strategic partnership targets US market expansion
For Kensing, the partnership provides a path to expand its portfolio of natural, high-performing ingredients while aligning with long-term ESG priorities. “Kensing at first selected AmphiStar for their pioneering work in ‘second-generation’ biosurfactants upcycled from waste oils and sugars collected locally using proprietary fermentation processes,” said Bendejacq.
He continued, “This partnership enables Kensing to leapfrog into the next generation of biosurfactants—offering high performance, circularity, and independence from fossil or palm-based feedstocks.”
Building a US-based biosurfactant supply chain
Kensing and AmphiStar are jointly working to establish domestic supply chains using locally available sidestreams, including those from Kensing’s own operations.
“Kensing’s unique access to fatty acid-rich side streams generated by our Vitamin E production in the US and EU has the potential to help scale AmphiStar’s technology to a scale where access to large-enough volumes of waste will become strategic,” Bendejacq said.
The companies plan to begin by commercializing existing biosurfactant grades, with future plans to fully onshore procurement, feedstock treatment, and biosurfactant production in the US. “This will reduce transport-related emissions and build a decentralized, resilient supply chain,” he added.
Support for formulators seeking innovation and compliance
In addition to manufacturing and logistics, the collaboration is focused on formulation support. “Kensing and AmphiStar will work on formulations that not only serve as examples of use, but also deliver on consumer claims and market trends of value,” Bendejacq concluded.
The companies plan to co-develop new surfactant grades to meet the complex formulation needs of personal care brands, helping them address demands for mildness, biodegradability, and regulatory alignment.
