ÄIO, tilk! unveils skin booster face cream powered by bio-based lipids
The formulation took a few years of ingredient development, laboratory testing, documentation, and formulation work before the first commercial product was ready.
ESTONIA – Estonian biotechnology company ÄIO and natural skincare brand tilk! are taking their product development partnership a step further by launching a new Skin Booster Face Cream.
The product contains two ÄIO fermentation-derived cosmetic ingredients: Fermira™ RedOil and ZymaLipid Complex.
The product marks the second commercial skincare launch resulting from the collaboration between ÄIO and tilk!.
Their first joint product, the Skin Booster Serum with ÄIO Bio-Fermented RedOil, launched in April 2026 and sold out in one week.
The new cream goes a step further by combining two ingredients from ÄIO’s cosmetic portfolio into one finished formulation, showing how fermentation-derived lipids can move from biotechnology development into everyday skincare.
Even before its commercial launch, the Skin Booster Bio-Fermented Face Cream with ÄIO RedOil, ZymaLipid Complex and Bakuchiol was shortlisted for the European Natural Beauty Awards 2026, an international recognition programme for natural cosmetics.
The cooperation between ÄIO and tilk! began years before the first product reached the market. tilk! was among the early companies to formulate with RedOil while the ingredient itself was still under development.
For Lengi, cooperation between science and product development is fundamental when creating something genuinely new: “If you want to innovate and create something completely new, you need to work with scientists,” Lengi has said.
The new face cream combines Fermira™ RedOil and ZymaLipid Complex with bakuchiol and plant oils.
RedOil is a fermentation-derived active emollient containing naturally occurring carotenoids and other bioactive compounds, while ZymaLipid Complex is a high-purity fatty acid complex that provides emollience, structure, and sensory properties to cosmetic formulations.
The result is a rich but fast-absorbing face cream designed to support hydration, skin comfort, elasticity and the skin barrier.
For ÄIO, the launch proves that ingredients from a biotechnology platform can move through development, testing, and formulation into products consumers can buy.
Dr. Nemailla Bonturi, CEO and co-founder of ÄIO, stated, “For a biotechnology company, success is achieved when our partners can formulate with it, manufacture with it and ultimately create products that people want to use.”
“Our first product with tilk! showed that RedOil could make that journey. Today, we have two ÄIO ingredients together in a new commercial formulation, and the fact that the cream has already been recognised by the European Natural Beauty Awards makes all the work behind it meaningful.”
The new launch comes as ÄIO is expanding the commercial reach of its cosmetics business internationally.
ÄIO currently offers three commercially available fermentation-derived COSMOS- and Vegan-certified cosmetic ingredients: Fermira™ RedOil, ZymaLipid Complex and Encapsulated oil.
These ingredients are already commercially available through a growing network of distribution partners across key markets worldwide.
From Europe and the UK to India, South Korea, USA and Brazil, local distributors provide formulators, manufacturers and beauty brands with access to ÄIO ingredients, technical expertise and formulation support.
This global network is helping move ÄIO’s biotechnology from ingredient development into real formulations and commercial products worldwide.
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