Entrepreneurship
Current Problems
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation, an often overlooked threat from nature nearly all population faces. UV rays from sunlight severely affect our skin: UVB, with wavelength of 280-310nm, may results in skin redness and inflammation; UVA, having 310-400nm wavelength, slowly causes deeper damages like skin aging, suntan, sunburn, and accumulation of free radicals. Both UVB and UVA can lead to DNA mutation and in severe cases skin cancer.
Figure 1: Damages UVA and UVB have on skin.
Figure 2: How different types UV radiation will affect human skin.UVA rays have a wavelength of 315-400nm that can penetrate the dermis of human skin, and UVB rays are about 280-315nm, which makes them only capable of penetrating the epidermis of human skin. (Almudena et al., 2018)
Consequently, sun protection is crucial and necessary for everyone. About 1 in of 5 Americans developed skin cancer in their lifetime, and the number of people with sunburn raised from 25% in 2020 to 33% in 2021, continuedly growing [1].
To prevent UV damages, functional skin care products like sunscreen becomes a demand for everyone. At a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.1%, the global market for sun care products is projected to increase from $11.98 billion in 2021 to $12.83 billion in 2022 [2].
Sunscreen Products
Sunscreens are divided into physical and chemical types base on the different mechanism of protection. There are also many products that mix physical and chemical sunscreen molecules and add additional functionalities such as beauty makeups and skin care.
Figure 3: The mechanism of sunscreens. Physical sunscreen reflects UV rays while chemical sunscreen absorbs and transforms the energy of UV rays (Tolan et al., 2018).
Physical sunscreens are mainly composed of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. These metal oxides have a high reflecting and scattering capacity for both visible and UV light, reducing the chance of UV exposure to the skin. However, oxide particles make physical sunscreens whitish, greasy and powdery. In addition to the poor skin feeling, it may also clog pores and cause allergies.
Chemical sunscreens, on the other hand, are made up of small molecules such as Oxybenzone and Octinoxate that absorb UV rays. These small molecules dissolve in water and are absorbed by the skin, resulting in a more comfortable texture as it is transparent and lighter. Yet, most chemical sunscreen substances slowly release oxidized free radicals after UV exposure, which can trigger collagen loss, chronic damage, and even cancer risks. The National Medication Products Administration (NMPA) has very strict dosage regulations for the use of individual sunscreen molecules. On top of that, most of the chemical sunscreen substances are toxic to marine life, easily causing fish and shellfish death, coral bleaching, etc. Currently, the use of chemical sunscreens is fully or partially banned for tourists in Mexico, the US (Hawaii, Key West, U.S. Virgin Islands), Bonaire, Aruba, and Palau.
According to our starting survey, consumers are mostly concern with its sun protection ability and texture when choosing sunscreen product:
Figure 4: Priority factors being considered when choosing sunscreen.
Figure 5: Top three dissatisfactions of sunscreens.
Introduction of MAAs
Mycosporine-like Amino Acids (MAAs), a class of molecules derived from microalgae and macroalgae, are also widely founded in fish, shellfish, and other mollusks. They can absorb ultraviolet light at a variety of wavelengths (280nm-380nm) and is considered to be the most powerful UVA-absorbing molecule available. MAAs do not produce free radicals when they absorb UV, and are therefore more gentle and healthy.
Figure 6: UV absorption range of four MAAs. Porphyra-334 and Shinorine mainly protect against UVA-2; Palythine is effective against both UVA-2 and UVB (Singh et al., 2021); Gadusol primarily protect against UVB.
The MAA family contains a large number of molecules with various absorbing wavelength – Gadusol which absorbs in the 280-300nm band, Palythine which absorbs in the 320nm band, and Shinorine and Porphyra-334 which absorb in the 333–334nm band. They absorb UV rays and release energy in the form of heat, making it more gentle than existing chemical sunscreens. Since it does not produce free radicals, its use is beneficial to skin health.
Figure 7: Different types of MAAs.
MAA’s water-soluble property allows it to be absorbed by the skin to achieve deeper sun protection. Moreover, it is proved that the accumulation of MAA compounds in larger organisms such as fish is attributed to being acquired from diet, thus using them for sun protection will promote a friendly marine environment.
Project UV-PRISMA
Despite the fact that algae naturally has the ability to produce MAA molecules, the production yield is only about 2-10mg/g. The growing rate of algae is also extremely slow, taking around 3-4 months to collect.
LINKS_China uses Saccharomyces cerevisiae to produce Shinorine, Porphyra-334, Palythine and Gadusol. S. cerevisiae can efficiently produce these MAA molecules using inexpensive media (glucose and xylose) while growing rapidly and completing fermentation and molecule production in about 5 days.
Figure 8: The titer of Shinorine and Porphra-334.
The experimental results showed that our edited yeast produced MAAs efficiently, with production rate up to 250-280mg/L.
Figure 9: UV Wavelength Absorbance of our yeasts' products after fermentation.
Production Cost Calculation
With the approximate MAA yield of 270mg per Liter of YPD, 50 grams of MAA only cost 135.5 dollars to produce in our edited yeasts. In contrast, Helioguard™ 365, a sunscreen based on MAAs extracted from red alga Porphyra umbilicalis, costs 263.20 dollars per 50 grams, almost doubled our price! Moreover, our production has a lot of room for improvement. By optimizing fermentation conditions, such as adding supplemental culture, 5-10 times the yield can be easily achieved.
SWOT Analysis
MAA's core strengths are that it is healthy, gentle, and natural. By highlighting these benefits for promotion, there is a significant advantage over traditional sunscreen skin care products. Environmental protection and sustainability can be a side benefit, and consumers will consider paying a premium for eco-friendliness if the product performs well enough.
MAA may coexist or combined with existing physical sunscreen ingredients and gradually replace some harmful chemical sunscreen ingredients. We will also modify the yeast to increase the yield of MAA and meet the market demands.
In recent years, with the support of policies, the review and approval of bioengineered raw materials in China has been accelerated. We are confident in completing efficacy and safety experiments and obtain the approval of special cosmetic raw materials as soon as possible.
Business Investigation and Opportunity Analysis
Interviews of Cosmetic Counters
We conducted interviews and research on existing cosmetic counters of major brands. The results revealed that high-end cosmetics brands have already added genetically engineered products such as biological enzymes. We also researched toward luxury cosmetic brand’s consumers’ tendency and habits and found that they would pay extra money for sustainable developments. These investigations further boosted our confidence in our products. They also benefit our development of business plan in product positioning, market advertisement, targeted customer, and public acceptance.
Figure 10: Team members are trying counter products
Surveys on Target Costumers
Starting Survey
In our analysis, we found that female users are the majority of sunscreen/skincare products customers group, and that women are primarily concerned with sun protection ability and skin health, which are qualities that MAA products focus on. Some may demand sunscreen to have the ability of adjusting skin tone, which can also be achieved based on the addition of physical sunscreen molecules and other ingredients.
Our investigation toward male population discovered that, men tend not to wear sunscreen, mainly because sunscreens are greasy and cumbersome to handle. We see that as a great potential opportunity, as MAA is highly water soluble, which means our product may be made into spray form, largely improve its conveniency and lighter the texture. However, before this market, more education about sun protection against male consumers needs to be made. However, a long-term education of male customers is needed before implementation on the market.
Participants were also inquired about biological sunscreen, which we described as natural sunscreen made with ingredients derived from organic sources. Their responses indicate interest in biological sunscreen that is comparable in cost and effectiveness to what they typically buy, although some were still hesitant about some aspects.
Figure 11: Participants’ opinions toward biological sunscreens
Additionally, our team has held several education sessions and promotion events to raise public awareness of UV protection and customer's degree of reliance, hoping to gradually increase customer numbers.
Education
Cooperation and Partnership
Figure 12: Lantern Company
We visited Lantern, a cosmetic company with 29 years of history and rich experiences in marketing and product advertisements. Their administrators in developments, manufacturing, and marketing departments gave us a lot of advice on cosmetic production, raw material declaration, and current market trends and demands.
From our discussions, we learned key points such as that customers care most about products' protection effectiveness, skin feeling, and safety instead of environmental friendliness, which causes us to reevaluate our market positioning and advertising slogans. We reached a verbal cooperation agreement with their CEO, as they showed great interest in our products.
Figure 13: The final group photo we took with the staff members, administrators, and the CEO
Special Cosmetic Raw Materials
According to Chinese law, sunscreen cosmetics are special cosmetic raw materials that need to be reviewed and approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) before it can be implemented in any product. Upon approval, the raw material is entitled to a 2-year period of exclusive protection in China.
We have consulted with NMPA officials about the rules for special cosmetic material applications and gain feedbacks on the registration of MAAs-related sunscreens. We hope to apply for and receive exclusive approval for this raw material within the next three years.
Future Plan
For the product itself, we aim to further modify Saccharomyces cerevisiae to produce more MAA and explore functions beyond UV protection.
On production process, our team want to continue improve the process of synthesizing MAAs and gradually raise the production yield to 60mg/g or even higher.
In terms of patents and approvals, we are currently applying for national patents, and will soon conduct more testing tests and apply for special cosmetic raw materials.
Commercially, LINKS_China will establish long-term relationships with major brands first, providing them with raw materials to make new sunscreen cosmetics. In the future, we seek the possibility of establishing our own sunscreen brand.
Business Plan
Citations
- 1. Dangerous tanning is on the rise, Suntan myths persist: Poll. (n.d.). https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-05-27/dangerous-tanning-is-on-the-rise-suntan-myths-persist-poll
- 2. Yahoo! (n.d.). Sun Care Products Global Market Report 2022. Yahoo! https://www.yahoo.com/now/sun-care-products-global-market-115500147.html