From lab to luxe: the rise of biotech in luxury beauty products

In August, luxury haircare company Olaplex Holdings, Inc. (Olaplex) acquired US biotechnology company Purvala Bioscience, Inc. (Purvala)¹ to expand the luxury brand’s R&D capabilities.  This is the first corporate acquisition by Olaplex and reflects a broader trend in the luxury sector, where brands are increasingly turning to biotechnology (biotech) to create high-performance, sustainable ingredients that meet evolving consumer demands.  We previously discussed this crossover between luxury and biotech in our article In Fashion: Biologically Engineered Luxury Goods and this acquisition is a further example of how biotech is reshaping the future of premium consumer products – blurring the lines between lab and luxury, and redefining the scope of innovation in this space. 

In this article, we take a look at Olaplex’s acquisition of Purvala, explore the role that biotech innovation is increasingly playing in the luxury beauty sector and touch on some of the legal considerations arising from this luxury/biotech crossover.

Olaplex and Purvala

Olaplex entered the market in 2014 with its proprietary bond-building ingredient bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate which repairs and strengthens hair by rebuilding broken disulfide bonds in the hair shaft. Since then, Olaplex’s offering has expanded to 21 products protected by various patents in the US and elsewhere.  Its net sales, which have seen a steady increase over the past decade, were recorded as $106 million for the second quarter of 2025.²

Purvala, established in 2020 by MIT chemical engineering professor Dr. Bradley Olsen, specialises in developing biotech-driven beauty ingredients and products.  Its research is largely concentrated on the study of macromolecules, including the design and synthesis of artificial protein polymers that can be used to treat damage or lock in shape and colour without the use of toxic chemicals.  Interestingly, Purvala had already transferred three patents related to "hair straightening and shaping" to Olaplex in 2023. 

The current technologies of Olaplex and Purvala focus on addressing hair damage in different ways – Olaplex’s products target the internal bonds, whereas Purvala’s technology is designed to repair damage from the outside.  By combining the two, and integrating Purvala’s R&D capabilities, Olaplex has the potential to expand and improve its product offering.

Market context

Olaplex is not alone in strengthen its ties with the biotech sector. Both the luxury beauty market and the biotech ingredients market have experienced steady growth over recent years, driven primarily by rising demand for premium, personalised and sustainable products.  To meet this demand players across the beauty sector, from global conglomerates to start-ups, are investing in biotech innovation in some shape or form. For example, in June, multinational cosmetics company, L’Oréal announced its acquisition of Color Wow³, a haircare brand producing science-backed, innovative products to treat issues commonly associated with coloured hair (such as frizz, dullness, thinning) using biotech-derived ingredients including amino acids, proteins and peptides.  The acquisition was announced less than a month after L’Oréal revealed it would take a majority stake in the science-focused dermatological skincare brand Medik8 to add to its Luxe division.⁴

Similarly, Unilever’s Prestige division has seen significant growth and transformation over the past decade through strategic acquisitions of premium brands including Dermalogica (a professional-grade skincare brand), Living Proof (a high-end, biotech-led haircare brand), and most recently, K18⁵(a brand using biotech and biomimetics to repair hair damage).  This strategy highlights the attractiveness of niche, science-led labels to the big players in the luxury beauty sector.

At the other end of the spectrum, a growing number of biotech start-ups focusing exclusively on beauty products are emerging.  Examples include OneSkin, a skincare brand founded by four scientists specialising in stem cell biology and skin regeneration, and Mother Science, a biotech developing products designed to address hyperpigmentation, fine lines, and skin barrier repair.

Elsewhere in the industry, beauty brands are accessing biotech-innovation through research hubs, such as BiotechXBeauty Labs, a formulation and contract manufacturing platform launched by Debut Biotechnology to broaden access to biotech innovation in the beauty industry.  Instead of investing in an in-house R&D function or acquiring a company with R&D capabilities, brands are able to use the product development and manufacturing services of BiotechXBeauty Labs to bring biotech-powered products to market in relatively short timeframes.

Research hub services, together with advances in engineering biology and fermentation technology which have boosted production efficiencies in the biotech ingredients sector, may mean that the use of biotech filters down into lower cost, mass market beauty products, rather than being confined to the luxury sector of the market where higher prices are better tolerated.

Legal and commercial considerations

The benefits of this interplay between luxury beauty and biotech are clear for consumers and brands alike, but what do the parties involved need to consider in order to ensure that these partnerships are successful?

1. Structure of the arrangement: Luxury beauty brands looking to incorporate biotech need to consider how to structure their arrangements with the biotech company.  This could be through a corporate acquisition (as in the Olaplex, L’Oréal and Unilever examples discussed above), resulting in the brand owning and controlling (among other things) the IP, talent and R&D capability of the biotech and being able to incorporate these into its existing operations.  Alternatively, access to biotech innovation could be achieved through licensing arrangements granting the brand rights to exploit the technology for product development while allowing the biotech licensor to retain ownership and exploitation rights (depending on exclusivity arrangements). Other options include, using an outsourced R&D service provider or taking an assignment of patents and other key IP assets (know-how, trade secrets) to use in product development.  Each structure has different implications for cost, risk and long-term commercial strategy.
    
2. Due diligence: Whatever the arrangement, conducting thorough due diligence is key to understanding the risks and building mitigations into the relevant contractual documents.  For example, in the case of an acquisition, appropriate due diligence should look at all areas of the target, including its financial stability and existing contractual commitments.  The value of the biotech target company invariably lies in its IP assets and therefore the brand should consider the validity, lifespan and strength of the biotech’s patents and other key IP.
    
3. Commercialisation risks: While many biotech-produced ingredients such as bio-based hyaluronic acid and squalane are routinely used in cosmetic formulations, the products and processes of some biotechs operating in the beauty sector are still in development (as is the case with Purvala’s technologies) and therefore the commercialisation scope for these innovations remains untested.  As with all cosmetic products, a number of factors need to be addressed in order to bring the end product to market.  In particular, the luxury beauty brand must comply with applicable laws and regulations relating to the sale of cosmetic products.      In the UK, these include appointing a UK-based Responsible Person, compiling a Product Information File (PIF), and completing a Cosmetic Product Safety Report (CPSR) after having a safety assessment carried out by a qualified assessor.  Products must be notified via the UK Submit Cosmetic Product Notification (SCPN) portal and labelled in accordance with the regulatory requirements.  For biotech ingredients, additional safety data (and therefore assessments) may be required, especially if the ingredients are novel and have not been used previously in cosmetic products.  In addition to these regulatory requirements, the parties involved will need to ensure they have the ability to scale production beyond development batches without compromising quality.  Marketing strategy is also key and any claims made about the product’s performance or the science behind it need to be substantiated.  Ultimately, of course, commercial success hinges on consumer adoption, where again there are multiple factors at play, including perception of product efficacy, alignment of the product and brand with key consumer values such as sustainability, and endorsements by influencers and stylists. 
    
4. Reputational risks: Within the luxury sector, brand image and reputation underpin a brand’s commercial value.  Consideration should therefore be given to the reputation of the biotech partner, whether this aligns with that of the luxury brand, and what contractual or practical safeguards may be needed to prevent reputational harm.  This could include in the case of a licence or services agreement, a right to terminate where there is a likelihood of reputational damage due to the actions or inactions of the biotech partner, as well as contractual obligations relating to performance standards where a biotech is providing development services to the luxury brand.

Final thoughts

Recent acquisitions and wider market trends in the beauty industry demonstrate how biotech innovation is moving from the lab into the heart of luxury haircare.  By acquiring a biotech player, Olaplex has not only expanded its R&D capabilities and valuable IP assets but also contributed to a broader trend within the beauty industry, where products derived from cutting-edge scientific innovation are becoming as central to brand differentiation as heritage, marketing, or packaging.  As with all collaborations, thorough consideration of legal and commercial issues is key for both beauty brands and biotech companies to enable these cross-sector innovations.

For more legal insights on trends in the luxury sector, see our Spotlight On: Luxury Brands series.

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¹ https://ir.olaplex.com/news/detail/61/olaplex-acquires-biotech-company-purvala

² https://ir.olaplex.com/news/detail/60/olaplex-reports-second-quarter-2025-results

³ https://www.loreal-finance.com/eng/news-event/loreal-signs-agreement-acquire-color-wow-one-worlds-fastest-growing-and-most-innovative

⁴ https://www.loreal-finance.com/eng/news-release/loreal-groupe-acquire-majority-stake-medik8

⁵ https://www.unilever.com/news/press-and-media/press-releases/2023/unilever-to-acquire-premium-haircare-brand-k18/