Bill Gates-backed biotech company, C16 Biosciences, just launched Palmless. This oil created with yeast rather than palm is relevant across a wide range of consumer packaged goods applications, from food and home care, to beauty and personal care. The first products containing Palmless as an ingredient will be launched in the beauty sector as early as 2023.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, palm oil can be found in more than half of the packaged products Americans use including soaps, detergents, lipstick and ice cream. However, using palm oil in products has long-lasting effects on the environment, as farmers in developing countries burn rainforests to make way for palm oil plantations, removing a crucial carbon sink and reducing biodiversity in the process.
To make its palm oil alternative, C16 Biosciences uses a wild type yeast microbe that only
requires a seven-day fermentation process to make a functional equivalent. It’s a very robust, scalable method to produce a very similar type of material, according to co-founder David Heller. He told CNBC: “What we are building is a platform technology that can produce all different kinds of microbial oils. So it’s definitely possible that we’re able to make other kinds of vegetable oil replacements in the future.”
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