In 2015, Natura began a partnership with the German startup Amsilk, a company that developed technologies capable of producing silk polymers for use in textiles, medical products, and cosmetics. The main objective of the project developed with Natura initially involved a guiding principle: biomimicry, which seeks to find mechanisms and structures in nature to identify and enable technological solutions that bring benefits. In order to utilize the technology, Amsilk demonstrated its ability to scale the production of the biopolymer to an industrial level for use in Natura's new hair care line, Lumina.
The new technology incorporated into the product was named Pro-Teia, and it is a high-performance raw material proven to treat and repair hair, present in all Lumina products. In practice, the result is an intelligent cosmetic formula capable of acting on all layers of hair strands: from the deepest level (inside the strands) to the surface, regenerating from the inside out.
The results of using biotechnology for hair health are proven thanks to the use of micro-computed tomography for hair evaluation - a technique similar to the tomography used for diagnosis in medical examinations. The results indicated a 70% reduction in hair porosity.
Launched in September 2017, the technology project connected with a product development project, which in turn would launch Natura's new hair brand, Lumina, later that year.
The success of the partnership with Amsilk culminated in the startup receiving the QLICAR award in the Innovation in Technology category. The QLICAR is an initiative that recognizes the contribution and value of its partners within Natura.
This was the first time a startup won in this category, and it was attended by the CEO, Jens Klein, at the awards ceremony. The partnership represents a success story that contributes to Natura's innovation and elevates the level of technology in the Brazilian and global markets.
