Personalised face creams combine effectiveness and sustainability

The C-Fusion project, led by GPH – Laboratory Services and co-funded by COMPETE 2030, aims to develop natural, personalised and more sustainable face creams without compromising their effectiveness. Luís Figueiredo, the company’s co-founder and CEO, explains how this innovative solution addresses environmental challenges and the new demands of the cosmetics market.

How can face creams become more sustainable without compromising on effectiveness? This was the question that led to the creation of C-Fusion.

The cosmetics industry currently faces a twofold challenge. On the one hand, European regulations are progressively restricting the use of very common ingredients, such as silicones and microplastics, due to their persistence in the environment. On the other hand, consumers are increasingly seeking truly natural products, without compromising on performance. With C-Fusion, we set out to address both issues at the same time, developing 100% natural, vegan face creams that are free from these compounds, yet offer dermatological efficacy on a par with the best products on the market.

The innovation goes even further, however. Our creams are formulated as powders and designed for three distinct age groups, each with specific needs. And they can be personalised by the consumer: various functional ingredients can be added to a cream base to address specific concerns (such as acne, dark spots, dry skin, rosacea or sun protection) and, optionally, a fragrance of their choice from the fragrance wheel. Instead of several products, a single cream tailored to each individual.

The powder form is, in itself, an environmental advance. A conventional cream consists of 60 to 70 per cent water. By removing it and leaving it up to the consumer to add, we drastically reduce the weight and volume to be transported, enable smaller and lighter packaging, and reduce the carbon emissions associated with the entire product lifecycle. Sustainability is at the very heart of the formulation, not just in its marketing.

The support from COMPETE 2030 has been crucial in turning this concept into reality. It has enabled us to bring together and mobilise a multidisciplinary team, gain access to advanced techniques for characterising and encapsulating ingredients, and drive the project from the initial concept stage through to a pilot trial in a semi-industrial setting. This is an R&D project involving a high degree of ambition and technical risk – precisely the sort of initiative that would be difficult to carry out, at the pace and on the scale at which we are currently implementing it, without this co-funding.

More than just an innovative product, C-Fusion represents, for GPH, a lasting strengthening of our research and development capabilities, the creation of our own intellectual property, and a leading position in a rapidly growing market. It is also a tangible contribution to what we believe in: a cleaner, more efficient cosmetics industry that is more attuned to the real needs of those who use our products.