Melt&Marble Launches Precision-Fermented ‘Designer Fat’ for Beauty & Personal Care
Swedish precision fermentation startup Melt&Marble has debuted Marble7, its animal-free “designer fat” for the beauty and personal care sector.
Months after securing clearance for the global sale of its precision-fermented fat, Melt&Marble is now launching the bioactive lipid for personal care companies.
The Swedish firm debuted its sustainable Marble7 fat at In-Cosmetics Korea last week, and has now partnered with digital ingredient discovery platform Covalo, which will expand the ingredient’s visibility among formulators and support faster evaluation by product development teams.
The animal-free fat received an International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient (INCI) name, r-Saccharomyces Butter, from the Personal Care Products Council in March, earmarking a European debut for the ingredient.
“Marble7 is our first commercial product for personal care and an important step in bringing precision-fermented designer lipids into real formulation use,” said Thomas Cresswell, chief business officer at Melt&Marble.
“For formulators, the opportunity is not only to replace existing lipid ingredients, but to access next-generation ingredients designed with specific performance, sensory and supply-chain needs in mind,” he added.
Melt&Marble’s fat alternative offers a three-in-one solution
Precision fermentation involves inserting specific DNA into microbes to teach them to produce the desired molecules upon fermentation. Melt&Marble uses the tech to create planet-friendly alternatives to animal and tropical plant-based fats.
It uses yeast as a cell factory and directs the microbes to convert sugars into fat instead of alcohol. It grows the yeast in fermentation tanks, feeding them sugars and nutrients to produce the fat compounds, which are then harvested using standard extraction steps.
Marble7, one of its flagship ingredients, is a “three-in-one” functional bioactive lipid designed for skincare, makeup and haircare formulations, featuring a similar fatty acid composition to human skin sebum. It stays solid at room temperature but melts upon contact with skin to deliver long-lasting moisturisation and a silky skin feel.
The lipid is rich in omega-7 and other bioactives for skin-barrier-focused formulations, provides structure, stability, and sensorial performance, and boosts skin barrier integrity, hydration, and elasticity.
These attributes allow companies to explore alternatives to lipids derived from animals, tropical plants or petrochemicals, while maintaining high performance, consistency and sensory appeal.
Animal fats come from an industry responsible for up to 20% of all global emissions and use up most of the world’s farmland and freshwater. And tropical plant-based fats like palm and coconut oil are linked to large-scale deforestation, wildfires, and threats to Indigenous populations and wildlife.
So adopting alternative fats can help companies decarbonise their supply chains. Melt&Marble also makes a food-grade lipid, MeltyMarble, which can replace saturated fats in plant-based meat and dairy, chocolates, baked goods, and snacks. It’s working with Finnish dairy giant Valio (an investor in the startup) on a “variety of alternative protein applications” with this ingredient.
Sustainable fats take over the personal care sector
To widen its reach, Melt&Marble is tapping into Covalo’s discovery platform, which will enhance product visibility and simplify access to technical documentation, formulation concepts and samples for evaluation.
“This collaboration with Covalo allows us to move beyond traditional availability and actively drive adoption through digital activation, product visibility, and sample accessibility,” said Juliana Mancini Gomiero, head of business development for personal care at Melt&Marble.
“After watching Melt&Marble’s innovation and rapid development from the sidelines, we are delighted to help the team accelerate their journey and add Marble7 to Covalo’s portfolio of ingredients,” noted Covalo CEO Yann Chilvers. “Melt&Marble’s precision fermentation ingredients answer a true need in the industry.”
Melt&Marble has raised over $17M to date, including an $8.5M Series A round in December. It is one of several fat alternative startups that have made commercial and regulatory breakthroughs in recent months.
California-based Savor, for instance, launched four carbon-derived ingredients that reduce emissions by 90% compared to tropical oils and address applications across skincare, haircare, over-the-counter formulations, and therapeutic care. C16 Biosciences partnered with Tower 28 Beauty to supply its yeast-derived palm oil substitute for a plumping lip jelly range.
Estonia’s Äio, which ferments industry byproducts into sustainable lipids, will roll out its cosmetics ingredients in the EU soon. France’s La Fabrique Végétale teamed up with US firm Checkerspot to bring the latter’s fermentation-derived algal oils to the European personal care market.
And UK startup Clean Food Group raised $7M and unveiled CleanOil for the beauty industry, leveraging food waste, yeast, and fermentation to present a palm oil alternative.