Experiments that work: How top beauty brand Algenist came to be

A successful biotechnology company uprooting itself and trying to crack the beauty industry? For many, the idea is inconceivable. But, one man did think it was possible: Dr Arthur Grossman.

A plant biologist by training — he received his PhD from the University of Indiana and has been a professor at Stanford University since 1982 — Grossman had been studying algae for more than 40 years, as well as overseeing current research and development projects and strategic development as part of biotech company Solazyme’s management team.

Established in 2003, Solazyme’s main business focused on renewable energy. But, Grossman saw the potential in using algae to take the beauty and skincare market by storm, and brought the idea to Solazyme’s founders Jonathan Wolfson and Harrison Dillon. It turned out to be a game changer.

“One of the motivations to get involved with Solazyme was really the fact that algae haven’t been used as much to generate products,” explained Grossman. “When I first met Jonathan and Harrison over 10 years ago, I sat with them in a restaurant and we talked about what might be done with Solazyme and how it might go ahead. My orientation was really towards food, but I knew it would take a while to develop food and I thought, ‘Well, algae are also very high quality for making polysaccharides in oils for cosmetics and that’s something that we can do much more immediately. We can do that right away and be sure that we have a very good product’.”

Both Wolfson and Dillon took Grossman’s advice seriously and in 2005, Solazyme started looking into developing personal care.

Today, Solazyme has punctuated their success with Algenist, its personal care arm. Solazyme, which also produces products for the food and energy industries, reported US$12.6 million (S$17.3 million) in revenue for the first quarter of 2015.

Nonetheless, it took the company six years to unveil the Algenist that many of us know. It was not all plain sailing, Wolfson admitted, adding that there were times that he felt like throwing in the towel. For a start, they had different formulations for Algenist, with amazing ingredients. The problem was, they overlooked one important factor: Were they creating something that mattered?

Wolfson admitted that trying to figure that one out took a long time. “We formulated something that I thought was great and after three months, we gave out samples to people because we wanted feedback, but after three months, the bioactive ingredient separated out so it didn’t work anymore ... we had all these things that we didn’t know what to do with,” he said.

Then, there was the issue of convincing the company’s investors and board members of the new direction it was taking. “As a biotechnology company that was really focused on renewable energy, there were times that not all of our investors and our board members thought that working in personal care and cosmetics made sense,” said Wolfson.

What followed was years of discussion: Should it stay the course for personal care, or call it a day and go back to its roots in biotechnology? Wolfson said that deep down, he knew if they persisted and stuck to their guns, Algenist would be onto something grand. He knew that, ultimately, the quality of their product would come through.

Unlike other luxury skincare brands that claim algae as its star ingredient, the ingredients used in Algenist’s products are harnessed from microalgae, something which Wolfson proclaimed “was used very little in beauty products”.

“What (beauty brands) have been doing is they have been using seaweed in personal care and cosmetic products for quite a while. And what they started to do is to then say we’re using algae in personal care products. But they weren’t using microalgae; they were using seaweed. They weren’t lying. It’s true — they were using macro algae, but they were using seaweed,” Wolfson explained.

“I was talking to Arthur and others, and he said to me, ‘Even though people have talked about algae in cosmetics for a while, nobody has really done the work, the heavy science to explore the universe of microalgae. And nobody has really figured out how to grow them and isolate the unique bio-active ingredients that have an impact on your skin’.”

Grossman’s idea was that since the company was already doing a lot of screening to look for fuel, why not look for these important compounds?

“‘If you do,’ he said, ‘you’re gonna find amazing things’,” recalled Wolfson.

And they did. Scientists at Algenist discovered that alguronic acid, a compound that protects microalgae, allowed it to not only regenerate and replicate itself, but also thrive despite being exposed to extremely harsh environments.

Alguronic acid is known for its superior anti-ageing properties, a compound that diminishes the appearance of visible fine lines and wrinkles for a firmer, smoother and more radiant-looking skin. Microalgae, too, contains a cocktail of potent ingredients: Omegas 3, 6 and 9; antioxidants; amino acids; micronutrients and Vitamins A, B, D and E. (At Algenist, all its products are formulated without any parabens, synthetic dyes, sulfates, phthalates, triclosan and GMOs.)

These days, Algenist has gone from strength to strength, and it recently introduced two new offerings: The Power Advanced Wrinkle Fighter Serum (S$132) and the Power Advanced Wrinkle Fighter Moisturizer (S$125) that promise to eradicate pesky lines and wrinkles.

Besides containing the goodness of alguronic acid and microalgae, the serum contains a new peptide 3D complex that stimulates the skin matrix — the part that is responsible for the structural integrity, resilience and other properties of the body’s largest organ — for a three-dimensional reduction in appearance of wrinkles. The moisturiser also boasts an exclusive new algaprotein, which increases skin’s hydration, elasticity and firmness, while correcting the appearance of lines and visibly strengthening skin.

Benjamin Rodriguez, the training and education specialist at Algenist, said they have managed to make a difference with algae because they are working with the original source, which is something, he stressed, that has never been done before.

“From there, we extract the ingredients that we use,” he continued. “And the patented ingredient is alguronic acid, which is what protects the microalgae.

“Microalgae has the ability to live and thrive in any environment and the reason is this alguronic acid. This is the second reason we are different. Because when you think of products or companies using algae, they are using the whole plant, the whole algae. We have identified the microalgae, which is the parent, and then we have (gotten) into it and we separate the shield that’s protecting it.

“We’re not even using the whole cell. We’re only taking the ingredient that’s going to make a difference in our skin. Nobody has that. Nobody has been able to do that because it’s patented to us; we were the first to discover it, and no one can do that.”

Algenist is available at all Sephora stores.