Clean Food Group’s CLEAN Oil™ 25 secures cosmetics approval unlocking new pathways for sustainable beauty
Milestone championed as an example of UK collaborative innovation in action at the BBIA UK BioFinance Summit
12th September 2025:
Clean Food Group, a leading UK food tech business, manufacturing sustainable oils and fats through fermentation, announces that it has received approval for its CLEAN Oil™ 25 product to be used as a cosmetic ingredient in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States. CLEAN Oil™ 25 offers a sustainable alternative to traditional oil and fat ingredients and was developed in collaboration with leading full-service beauty manufacturer THG LABS, the R&D and manufacturing arm of THG Beauty as well as Croda, a speciality chemical company. The partnership combines Clean Food Group’s biotechnology expertise with THG LABS’ 30+ years ofproduct innovation and manufacturing insight, alongside Croda’s ability to manufacture for theglobal personal care market, ensuring CLEAN Oil™ 25 is ready for commercial application in beauty.
The approval was unveiled at the BBIA UK BioFinance Summit 2025 event yesterday in London, attended by senior Government ministers including Lord Vallance, Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation. Speaking on a panel with THG LABS and Croda, Professor Chris Chuck, Technical Lead of CFG said: “The announcement of our cosmetics approval is a brilliant example of the pioneering biotech innovation being driven in the UK today, and the importance of collaborative innovation and partnerships across supply chains and manufacturing to bridge biotech innovation to commercial scale and success.”
The approval marks a major milestone in the commercialisation of CFG's proprietary CLEAN OilCell™ technology platform, unlocking access to the high-value global personal care and cosmetics sector, projected to grow to more than US$445.98 billion by 2030, ahead of the Group's planned entry into the food market. 1
With approval now secured, the breakthrough ingredient is positioned to accelerate the development of high-performance, sustainable products across skincare, haircare, and wider personal care categories and represents a significant step in bringing biotech-led innovation into the global cosmetics industry.
Alex Neves, CEO of CFG, said: “This is a pivotal step forward in our mission to provide sustainable solutions for global supply chains. In terms of the beauty industry and product development, it gives brands the confidence to adopt CLEAN Oil™ 25 in their formulations, supporting efficacy and responsibility without compromise. Our collaboration with an industry leaders like THG LABS and Croda has been instrumental, and we are thrilled that our CLEAN Oil™25 is now ready for market-ready formulations that will meet the growing consumer demand for sustainable cosmetics products."
Kristal Goodman, Head of Product Innovation at THG LABS, added: “Innovation has the greatest impact when it moves beyond the lab and onto the shelf. The beauty brands we partner with are excited by what’s possible, but they also want what’s practical. THG LABS formulation expertise has helped take Clean Food Group’s brilliant biotech breakthrough and prove it’s commercially viable with real-world product development and scalable manufacturing for the beauty and personal care industry – a true example of ‘Innovation with Purpose’. Backed by three decades of industry experience, our expertise gives brands the confidence to trust us from concept to shelf. ”
Damian Kelly, Vice President, Innovation & Technology Development at Croda, commented:
“Croda has a successful and proud history of supporting innovation partners and customers to develop and commercialise new technology. We have offered support to Clean Food Group since their inception and we are proud of their progress and look forward to continued collaboration to maximise the value of their new technology. Croda’s know how, as a global speciality chemicalcompany, in scaling and manufacturing new sustainable technology out of the lab has been of great value to Clean Food Group. This collaboration is a great example of UK industry, big and small, working together to solve global market challenges.”
The approval process was supported by Delphic HSE, whose regulatory and safety expertise ensured that CLEAN Oil™ 25 meets the rigorous compliance standards required for cosmetic applications. With this clearance, Clean Food Group and THG LABS will continue working together to scale the impact of CLEAN Oil™ 25 and help shape the future of sustainable beauty
1 https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/cosmetics-market Cosmetics Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Skin Care, Hair Care), By End-user (Men, Women), By Distribution Channel (Offline, Online), By Region (North America, Europe), And Segment Forecasts, 2024 - 2030
- ENDS -
FOR FURTHER ENQUIRIES:
Clean Food Group Via Burson Buchanan
Alex Neves, Chief Executive Officer
Tom Ellen, Chief Financial Officer
Hannah Du Beke, Chief Marketing Officer
Burson Buchanan
Henry Harrison-Topham / Jamie Hooper /
Abby Gilchrist
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7466 5000
CleanFoodGroup@buchanancomms.co.uk
www.bursonbuchanan.co.uk
THG Group
Sodali & Co - PR adviser
Russ Lynch / Maria Sizyakova
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7250 1446
thg@sodali.com
Croda
Mariana Wood, Croda Press Office
Tel: +44 (0) 7780987136
media.enquiries@croda.com
Notes to Editor:
About Clean Food Group:
Clean Food Group is a UK-based food-tech business delivering sustainable oils and fats solutions to the world’s food and cosmetics manufacturers, with the mission to deliver scalable, healthier, competitively priced ingredients that have a positive impact on the economic, environmental, and social health of the planet.
Clean Food Group is founded by a team with key experience in growing bio-tech, food industry, and retail businesses supported by established venture capital and family office investors with a track record supporting fast-growth start-up companies in highly regulated industries. Clean Food Group’s proprietary technology platform has been developed as a result of 8 years pioneering research by Professor Chris Chuck, technical lead at Clean Food Group, and the University of Bath.
About THG LABS:
THG LABS is a UK-based leader in beauty product development and manufacturing, specialising in bespoke formulations for skincare, haircare, bodycare, and suncare. Its multidisciplinary team of in-house beauty experts includes world-class cosmetic scientists, regulatory specialists, packaging technologists, and highly-experienced production professionals. The partner of choice for global names in beauty, THG LABS offers cutting-edge solutions at every stage of the product journey - from concept to consumer. Website: https://www.thglabs.com/
About Croda International:
Croda is a specialty chemicals company that creates high performance ingredients and solutions principally for Consumer Care and Life Sciences markets. Established 100 years ago in 1925 and headquartered in the UK, Croda is a FTSE 100 company with over 5,800 employees across 94 locations in 36 countries. Revenues in 2024 were £1.6bn. With a shared Purpose to use Smart science to improve lives™, and with around two thirds of its organic raw materials already from bio-based sources, Croda has committed to be the most sustainable supplier of innovative ingredients, becoming Climate, Land and People Positive by 2030 while providing solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. To find out more about Croda visit: www.croda.com
