Green Beauty Conversations by Formula Botanica Formula Botanica

In this ground-breaking episode of Green Beauty Conversations, we dive into the world of biotech beauty, a realm where the age-old practices of botanical extraction meet cutting-edge science.
For millennia, the natural world provided the raw ingredients for cosmetics. The early 1900s brought chemistry to bear on ingredient manufacture, but now, with the massive rise in demand for all-natural beauty products, we are seeing demand for plant-extracted cosmetic ingredients outstripping supply.
Factor in the costs to the natural world associated with growing, harvesting and processing plant-based ingredients, and you begin to realise that biotech could be the sustainable solution for the beauty industry. Biotech ingredients that mimic plant extracts like for like can scale, be created sustainably in a lab, reduce costs, claim efficacy and be high-performance cosmetic ingredient sources. Are we at the cusp of a massive shift to biotech in the cosmetics industry? Are we also about to see ingredient wars between the all-natural, plant-extracted camp and the biotech pioneers?
Our guest, Josh Britton, CEO of Debut Biotech, guides us through the revolutionary changes biotechnology is bringing to the cosmetic industry. Join podcast host and Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine Dallmeier as she uncovers how Debut Biotech is leading the charge in this new era, transcending traditional methods to create high-performance, sustainable ingredients.
To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website.

Growing up in the Netherlands, Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier learned the value of recycling plastic from an early age. However, the prevailing culture of single-use plastics Lorraine experienced in countries like the United Kingdom and the United States was in stark contrast to the practices she grew up with in the Netherlands.
Now, with her career in the cosmetics industry, and background as a Chartered Environmentalist and a biologist, Lorraine is finely tuned to any cosmetics firms’ claims about sustainable packaging, plastic-free alternatives and other green credentials. While many big players are moving towards more responsible packaging systems, a pressing question remains: what really happens to our recycled plastics? Is the labeling of certain plastic cosmetic packaging as recyclable, blindsiding us and akin to greenwashing?
In last week’s podcast, Lorraine interviewed Dr Suvi Haimi, Co-Founder and CEO of Sulapac, who brought to light the myth of plastic recyclability, revealing that some plastics can only be recycled once. In today’s Green Beauty Opinions, she explores this crucial issue.

To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website. 

In this episode, we’re delving into an issue that lies not only at the heart of the green beauty industry, but one that we raise in our conversations time and again on this podcast – sustainability and tackling plastic waste.
When we come across innovative answers and practical solutions to help reduce plastic waste in the beauty industry that are also within reach of small, indie beauty businesses, we are keen to explore them and spread the word about how they deliver on their promise.
Podcast host and Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine Dallmeier is joined by Dr Suvi Haimi, CEO and Co-founder of Sulapac, a pioneering company based in Finland that is on a mission to replace conventional plastic with sustainable alternatives.
We’re proud to say that some of our graduate beauty founders and brands are already using Sulapac’s packaging and contributing to a plastic-free future in the beauty industry.
If you wish to follow their lead, we encourage you to listen in to our interview with Suvi as we explore the innovative ways Sulapac is combating plastic waste and contributing to a greener planet.
To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website.
 

As the world’s number one online formulation school with award-winning courses, it is particularly validating to see how far and wide Formula Botanica teaching is spreading. Before the advent of online learning, cosmetic chemistry was taught only in a small number of universities, mainly in the UK and US, which meant formulation training was not as widely accessible as it should be.
Formula Botanica has changed that in a big way. Its teaching now reaches over 19,000 students in over 190 countries.
In this opinion episode, Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier sets out a vision for a better global cosmetics industry; one that sees it entirely normal for local, indie beauty entrepreneurs to create premium skincare brands to rival any of the global big brands out there today.  In fact, Formula Botanica graduate founders are doing just that, as we heard in the previous episode with self-made beauty entrepreneur Dewi Kauw. 

In doing so, they will be challenging the dominant, Eurocentric perception of beauty which should no longer be valid, and certainly needs to be changed.

To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website.
 
 

Imagine going from cafe owner to mother to cosmetic formulator, teacher and contract manufacturer in less than 10 years having created a beauty empire built on turning problems into solutions and roadblocks into opportunities.

In this episode, podcast host and Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine talks to Dewi Kauw, a school graduate and founder of Skin Dewi, an award-winning, Indonesian-based, organic skincare and bodycare brand.
What began as a mother’s quest to alleviate her baby’s skin issues has grown into a formulation and manufacturing empire with a mission to educate on lifestyle and wellness while helping its audience and customers care for a myriad of skin issues.
Dewi explains the trials and tribulations of not only launching a plant-based organic skincare line in Indonesia, but also the challenges she faced on a manufacturing front. She dared to dream of building her own manufacturing facility and with determination and creativity she made it happen. Tune in for an enlightening interview full of juicy entrepreneurial tidbits and wise advice on how passion and perseverance can move beauty mountains.

To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website. 

AI is being leveraged by the beauty sector to help increase productivity, reduce costs, automate task and improve decision-making. In last week’s guest episode, Lorraine heard how AI was impacting the beauty industry and what can be expected of this powerful technology in the future.
Taking a cue from her interviewee, Lorraine decided to take up the challenge of seeing how capable one commonly-used AI tool – tech darling ChatGPT – is of formulation. Could it help, for example, formulate a solid facial serum bar with vitamin C?
In this opinion episode Lorraine walks us through her experiment with ChatGPT, which went through a number of stages before ending with a stunning conclusion.
Listen in to find out if AI is able to formulate skincare successfully despite lacking that essential ingredient - “human-ness” - the Formula Botanica and indie beauty community bring to the equation.

To learn more about this episode, all of the links that were mentioned and anything else, please visit the show notes on the Formula Botanica website.