Call for expressions of interest: bio-based functional agents

The issue of environmental impact has become a central concern for the cosmetics industry.

Among the most strategic resources for the industry are palm oil and its derivatives, widely used in cosmetic products to ensure essential functions of formulations, including foaming properties, emulsion stability, texture and application comfort.

However, the use of these derivatives raises increasing concerns among consumers due to the associated environmental issues, despite the industry's commitment to responsible and sustainable production practices.

In this context, COSMETIC VALLEY and FEBEA are today launching a Call for Expressions of Interest (AMI) aimed at identifying and mobilizing actors capable of proposing viable and sustainable alternatives to palm oil derivatives.

Eligible candidates

This call for expressions of interest is open to a wide range of actors in order to promote the emergence of solutions from both industrial and research environments.

Eligible include, in particular:

• Companies : start-ups, SMEs, mid-sized companies and large groups.
• Academic and research organizations : public or private laboratories, technical centers and specialized institutes.
• Collective structures : business consortia, cooperatives, associations or competitiveness clusters.
• Hybrid partnerships : collaborative projects involving industrial, academic and institutional actors.

Goals

The objectives of this call for expressions of interest are to:

• Stimulating the emergence of concrete solutions to diversify the sources of supply of bio-based functional molecules, while guaranteeing functional performance equivalent to or superior to that of palm oil derivatives.
• Highlight existing projects providing solutions for diversifying supplies, with an assessed impact on biodiversity, the environment and social aspects.
• To collectively define, at the industry level, the technologies to be promoted in order to develop viable solutions for the entire sector.

Application procedures

Applications must be submitted before February 28, 2026 , via the IDCosm platform:
👉 https://www.idcosm.com/en/pages/cei-bio-based-functional-agents-26.html

Contact

For any questions relating to this call for expressions of interest or for support in preparing application files, project leaders can contact:

• Nathalie Simonin – Head of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine branch
  [email protected]
• Édouard Champaud – Head of Biodiversity & Climate
  [email protected]