L2M-Blue Beauty Innovation: Sustainable Seaweed Bioactives for Cosmetics and Skincare

Title “Blue Beauty Innovation: Sustainable Seaweed Bioactives for Cosmetics and Skincare”
This project explores the potential of using natural compounds extracted from sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima), a seaweed that grows abundantly in Atlantic Canada, as safe and effective ingredients for skincare and cosmetic products. Around the world, consumers and companies are looking for cleaner, more environmentally friendly alternatives to synthetic chemicals traditionally used in beauty formulations. Sugar kelp contains valuable bioactive compounds including proteins, lipids, polysaccharides, minerals, and powerful antioxidants such as polyphenols, phlorotannins, and fucoxanthin that may offer benefits including skin protection, hydration, and anti-aging effects. However, it is still unclear whether these seaweed-derived ingredients meet the actual needs of cosmetic formulators, and whether there is a strong market demand for them. To address this, the project focuses on gathering market insights. Through interviews with businesses, researchers, clean-beauty brands, ingredient suppliers, potential customers, and other industry professionals, the project will seek to understand what cosmetic companies require from new ingredients, what challenges they face with current synthetic options, and whether sustainably sourced kelp bioactives could serve as a suitable solution. This includes learning about performance expectations, regulatory needs, pricing considerations, and supply-chain concerns. The results of this work will guide future product development by identifying where sugar kelp ingredients could realistically fit into the beauty market and what evidence would be needed to move forward. For the partner organization, the project offers meaningful benefits: it provides a clearer picture of customer needs, commercial opportunities, and potential early adopters in the cosmetics sector. It also outlines the next strategic steps required to bring an ocean-friendly, Canadian-sourced cosmetic ingredient closer to market readiness. Ultimately, the project supports both sustainable innovation and economic growth within Canada’s emerging blue-beauty and marine biotechnology industries.

Faculty Supervisor:

Deepika Dave

Student:

Partner:

Springboard Atlantic Inc.

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Biotechnology; Natural Resources; Clean Technology

University:

Memorial University of Newfoundland

Program: