Consumers of cosmetic products rarely consider that, alongside manufacturers’ formulations and expertise, specialised ingredients developed by dedicated suppliers play an essential role in creating skincare, body care and haircare products. Active ingredients are particularly important, as they largely determine a product’s ability to address specific skincare, haircare or nail care needs. Latvian biotechnology company “Alternative Plants” operates in this specialised field, developing and producing active ingredients derived from plant cells and microalgae. The company’s customers include cosmetic ingredient distributors and manufacturers operating in various international markets. Sales in Latvia and exports currently account for approximately equal shares of the company’s business, while Poland, Italy, the United States and the United Kingdom are considered its most promising international markets.
“Alternative Plants” was founded in 2017, with the development and production of active ingredients as its core business. Unlike the base ingredients of a cosmetic product, active ingredients typically account for only around 0.5–1% of its formulation. Nevertheless, they are responsible for delivering the desired effects, such as moisturising and soothing the skin, stimulating collagen synthesis, regulating pigmentation or protecting the hair, explains company co-founder Anna Ramata-Stunda.
“We do not simply sell active ingredients – we also provide the data behind them: evidence of their chemical composition, safety, mechanism of action and efficacy. If we claim that an ingredient stimulates collagen synthesis or helps regulate pigmentation, this must be supported by reliable testing,” explains Anna Ramata-Stunda.
The company primarily uses plant cell cultivation technology. Rather than growing plants in fields or harvesting them from the wild, their cells are cultivated without genetic modification in bioreactors under controlled laboratory conditions. The idea emerged as the team explored ways to use medicinally and biologically valuable plants whose availability is limited. Some are rare or protected species, others grow very slowly or occur only under specific conditions, while some accumulate sufficient concentrations of active compounds only over many years. By cultivating plant cells in bioreactors, the company can obtain valuable ingredients without consuming the plants themselves in the production process.
This approach also addresses another challenge associated with naturally derived ingredients – variations in quality. The chemical composition of plants grown in nature is influenced by the season, weather conditions, soil and geographical location, whereas a bioreactor makes it possible to maintain consistent conditions in every production cycle.
When developing new products, the company pays particular attention to plants from northern regions with interesting and scientifically substantiated chemical compositions. The goal is not to create yet another widely available plant extract already offered by hundreds of manufacturers, but to identify unique natural resources.
“One of the most interesting aspects of our work is that the research and development teams of cosmetic manufacturers sometimes discover entirely new applications for our ingredients. We provide the data and guidelines, while the final product developer sees how the ingredient can be combined with other substances and adapted to a specific product,” says Anna Ramata-Stunda.
To make it easier to incorporate the ingredients into finished products, “Alternative Plants” and its distributors also develop ready-to-use cosmetic concepts. For example, the company’s partner in the United Kingdom has created several demonstration products for hair, facial, beard and body care. These solutions enable manufacturers to evaluate the ingredients in practical applications and shorten the development time for new products.
The main customers of “Alternative Plants” are regional cosmetic ingredient distributors, which in turn work with cosmetic brands, manufacturers and contract manufacturers. In the Baltic States, the company also cooperates directly with cosmetic manufacturers, including through involvement in new product development. In Latvia, for example, active ingredients developed by the company are also used in products by “MADARA Cosmetics”.
“Alternative Plants” has also used innovation voucher support from the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) to develop new multifunctional ingredients. In cooperation with Rīga Stradiņš University, the company carried out extensive chemical composition analyses as well as dermatological safety and efficacy studies. The studies confirmed that four prototypes developed by the company are suitable for sensitive skin and do not cause adverse reactions. Certain ingredients derived from juniper cells and microalgae were also shown to improve skin elasticity and hydration and help reduce uneven pigmentation. According to the company, without the innovation voucher these studies would have had to be carried out much more gradually and over a longer period. The support made it possible to complete a larger amount of work within a single project and obtain the data required for product development and cooperation with market partners more quickly.
At present, sales in Latvia and exports account for approximately equal shares of the company’s business, although future growth is expected to come primarily from international markets. Poland is among the company’s key target markets, with both cosmetics manufacturing and new product development expanding rapidly there. Italy is another promising market and one of Europe’s major cosmetics manufacturing hubs, where the company works with partners on prototyping and testing. “Alternative Plants” also has a distributor in the United States, where some of its ingredients are already being used in small commercial volumes.
“In this industry, the path to sales is relatively long. First, you have to find and train a distributor. The distributor then introduces the ingredient to its customers, followed by prototyping, testing and product development. Only after that do regular orders begin,” explains Anna Ramata-Stunda.
The company operates a pilot production facility on Podraga Street in Riga, where it both manufactures active ingredients and refines its technological processes. The “Alternative Plants” team currently consists of 11 people, three of whom work exclusively on research projects. The rest of the team is responsible for company management, cooperation with partners, new product planning, testing, quality management, regulatory compliance and production.
The company’s current goal is to continue expanding its portfolio of active ingredients, strengthen cooperation with distributors and increase international sales. At the same time, “Alternative Plants” intends to maintain its key distinguishing feature – using unique natural resources from northern regions and transforming them into scientifically validated cosmetic ingredients.
The programme is funded under Measure 1.2.1.4 “Support for Improving the Technology Transfer System” of Specific Objective 1.2.1 “Strengthening Research and Innovation Capacities and Introducing Advanced Technologies in Enterprises” of the European Union Cohesion Policy Programme 2021–2027.
