C16 Biosciences Expands Palmless™ Brand with New Food and Beauty Ingredients

C16 Biosciences, the creators of Palmless™, have announced the launch of three new ingredients for beauty and personal care: TorulaSilk, Torula Butter, and the Torula Carotenoid Complex. This expansion comes alongside the introduction of the company’s first food ingredient, the Cocoa Butter Equivalent, bringing the total number of commercial ingredients in the Palmless™ platform to five.

“Palmless™ is no longer a single ingredient story. We’ve scaled the technology, launched ingredients, and now we’re expanding that portfolio to further drive our growth and impact,” said Shara Ticku, founder and CEO of C16 Biosciences.

The Cocoa Butter Equivalent signifies C16's foray into edible fats and oils. This next-generation cocoa butter, developed through precision fermentation, addresses longstanding issues in the chocolate industry, including performance variability, supply risk, and price unpredictability. Cocoa butter is crucial for chocolate, yet it often varies in quality based on factors such as bean origin and harvest conditions, leading to challenges for manufacturers.

“Cocoa butter is fundamental in making chocolate a luxurious experience: it’s responsible for the perfect snap on the first bite, the reason chocolate melts exactly at body temperature, and it leaves smooth aftertaste,” Ticku emphasized. “We brought all those sensorial properties to life, but from fermentation rather than industrial agriculture. Our process delivers products more consistently and more on-spec to the needs of chocolate makers.”

The chocolate industry has long utilized fermentation, which is essential in developing the rich flavors associated with chocolate. “Fermentation has long played a critical role in developing the flavor precursors in chocolate,” Ticku noted. “Now it’s a critical step in developing sensorial performance and functionality, too.”

By decoupling the ingredient from cocoa agriculture, C16 ensures a stable supply and pricing, turning sustainability into a commercial advantage.

In addition to the food ingredient, C16 has expanded its beauty and personal care lineup with the following new products:

- **TorulaSilk (Multiple Grades Available)**: This ingredient boasts a diverse fatty acid profile from C8 to C24, merging lightweight lipid elegance with the conditioning properties of heavier triglycerides. It offers excellent spreadability, rapid absorption, and a dry-touch finish, serving as a fermentation-derived alternative to D5/D6 silicones.

- **Torula Butter**: This butter delivers rich conditioning without the waxiness or scent typical of traditional butters. With a melt point of 32°C, it melts seamlessly at skin temperature, providing nourishment without a heavy residue. It also contains naturally occurring sterols that enhance the skin barrier.

- **Torula Carotenoid Complex**: This complex utilizes the robust antioxidant profile of the Palmless™ platform, featuring fungal-specific carotenoids that combat oxidative degradation and replenish skin nutrients depleted by UV exposure.

Despite the growing interest in precision fermentation ingredients, many have yet to achieve commercial viability. However, Palmless™ ingredients are already featured in numerous products across major U.S. beauty retailers and international markets.

“Torula Oil has become a go-to ingredient for formulators across skincare, suncare, bodycare, and color cosmetics,” said David Heller, founder and COO of C16 Biosciences. “These three new ingredients provide those same brands a full biotechnology-derived toolkit, from high-potency actives to functional emollients and butters."

C16 has achieved a significant milestone by producing all Palmless™ ingredients in 50,000-liter fermentation tanks, a feat accomplished in 2022, making it one of the few companies in this field operating at such a scale.

“C16 now offers a multi-ingredient portfolio commercially that manufacturers can formulate with today,” Heller concluded. “Palmless™ is not a single ingredient story. We’ve scaled the technology, launched ingredients, and now we’re expanding that portfolio to further drive our growth and impact.”

To learn more about the Palmless™ portfolio, including the 2026 Torula Oil efficacy data, please visit www.gopalmless.com.