Trevor Nicks

Surfactants (the molecules that power cleaning, foaming, emulsifying, and conditioning in everyday products) are entering a new era of innovation. Advances in bio-engineering are enabling the design of next-generation surfactants with enhanced performance and reduced environmental impact. By leveraging biologically derived and bio-inspired approaches, researchers and product developers are rethinking how these essential ingredients are produced and formulated. New pathways in fermentation, enzyme engineering, and green chemistry are opening opportunities to create surfactants that are not only more effective, but also better aligned with circularity and nature-positive design principles. This session will explore how bio-engineered surfactants are reshaping formulation science: from new production platforms to novel functional properties, and what it will take to scale these innovations into the next generation of sustainable consumer products.

Enzymes are becoming the precision tools behind cleaner, more efficient, and more sustainable production across both home-care and food manufacturing. In cleaning products, next-generation enzymes replace harsh chemicals with biodegradable, high-performance biocatalysts that work at lower temperatures and deliver superior stain, odor, and grease removal. In food processing, engineered proteases, lipases, amylases, and fiber-modifying enzymes are unlocking new textures, cleaner labels, better stability, and reduced energy use—reshaping how everything from dairy and bakery to beverages and plant proteins are made.