The $500 billion personal care and cosmetics industry is alarmingly reliant on raw materials from livestock. The three most important proteins in skincare and haircare products—collagen, keratin, and elastin—typically come from bovine hides, chicken feathers, and meat processing byproducts, respectively. Thus, cosmetics contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, and deforestation. With two-thirds of consumers demanding cleaner beauty ingredients, the industry faces immense pressure to replace animal proteins with sustainable, cost-competitive alternatives.

Xias Bio has developed the world’s first molecular platform for creating multi-functional, animal-free proteins. Each one can do the work of three or more animal proteins. Xias licenses its proteins for manufacture to suppliers of global cosmetics, making industry adoption quick and easy. The Xias platform already has 2.6 million different proteins in its library, all of which can be made using the same modular, Lego-like base molecule and fermentation process. 

Founded in Glasgow, Scotland by Dr. David Harvey, Dr. Faadil Fawzy, and Alister Minty, Xias brings over  20 years combined experience in protein design. The company has licensed its multi-function proteins to major leaders in the cosmetics industry. Though currently focused on cosmetics, Xias aims to replace animal proteins throughout the bioeconomy, from pharmaceuticals and therapeutics to AgTech and the food industry.