01.13.22
Companies tapping into the skin microbiome came away the big winners in Colgate-Palmolove’s first pitch competition.
Colgate-Palmolive named the three winners in its inaugural Colgate Connect Challenge, designed for startups developing world-changing products to promote healthy futures. The challenge sought to connect Colgate with external startups offering innovative solutions in three areas: quantified health and analytics; smart and connected packaging and digital consumer engagement; and products and platforms for underserved populations.
Six finalists were selected from a large pool of applicants to pitch their ideas and answer questions from the panel of judges at the Jan. 6 event, which was held virtually.
Colgate said it originally planned to select only one winner, but the submissions from high-caliber startups pushed the judges to award additional cash prizes.
The grand prize winner, awarded $20,000, was Dermala. The US-bsed company uses the human microbiome and analytics to create personalized products for skin health and treatment of chronic skin conditions. The Colgate judges were excited about the potential to collaborate with Dermala to support the company’s growing skin health business lines and develop superior topical and ingestible products with a consumer-friendly digital engagement platform.
According to Lada Rasochova, founder and CEO, Dermala leverages scientific understanding of the human microbiome and data analytics to develop novel solutions for a variety of skin conditions including acne, eczema, and skin aging. The company has been awarded new patents for microbiome-derived postbiotics, as reported by Happi.com.
“We look forward to partnering with Colgate-Palmolive as we continue to develop more inn Rasochova ovative products that incorporate the microbiome in a novel, unique, and unexpected way,” Rasochova said.
The SkinDNA Company, a company based in Australia, won second prize ($15,000).
SkinDNA has developed a unique wearable patch for collection and subsequent analysis of the skin microbiome and RNA of skin biomarkers. The Skin RNAT product and platform facilitates targeted product recommendations and results tracking for consumers.
A special Judges Award ($10,000) went to Gennev, which provides an online clinic and coaching for women in underserved populations experiencing menopause. The company also offers products for sale via a direct-to-consumer store.
Collaborating with Gennev can potentially provide Colgate with valuable consumer insights to develop superior oral and skin care products tailored to this demographic, according to Colgate.
Additional finalists included Nutix (Switzerland), which developed a salivary multiparameter detection platform; FamilySelfCare (France), a DIY personalization system for skin and wellbeing; and Dentulu (US), a tele-dentistry hardware and software system.
“Open innovation and collaboration with the global startup ecosystem is incredibly valuable to our innovation efforts as we fulfill Colgate’s purpose to reimagine a healthier future for all people, their pets and our planet. We were extremely impressed with the field of competitors and congratulate all of the exceptional finalists who presented exciting innovative service and technology solutions to meet the future needs of our consumers,” said Raj Kohli, VP of global R&D and technology strategy for Colgate-Palmolive and one of the four judges on the panel.
The event—which was initially scheduled to be held live at CES—was hosted in conjunction with Plug and Play, a startup accelerator and venture capital investment company headquartered in Silicon Valley.
The other judges were Thomas Serval, serial entrepreneur and CEO of Baracoda, a startup collaborating with Colgate on connected smart toothbrushes, Will Decker - VP and head of the brand and retail at Plug and Play startup accelerator, and Dr. Maria Ryan, Colgate’s chief clinical officer.
Colgate-Palmolive named the three winners in its inaugural Colgate Connect Challenge, designed for startups developing world-changing products to promote healthy futures. The challenge sought to connect Colgate with external startups offering innovative solutions in three areas: quantified health and analytics; smart and connected packaging and digital consumer engagement; and products and platforms for underserved populations.
Six finalists were selected from a large pool of applicants to pitch their ideas and answer questions from the panel of judges at the Jan. 6 event, which was held virtually.
Colgate said it originally planned to select only one winner, but the submissions from high-caliber startups pushed the judges to award additional cash prizes.
The grand prize winner, awarded $20,000, was Dermala. The US-bsed company uses the human microbiome and analytics to create personalized products for skin health and treatment of chronic skin conditions. The Colgate judges were excited about the potential to collaborate with Dermala to support the company’s growing skin health business lines and develop superior topical and ingestible products with a consumer-friendly digital engagement platform.
According to Lada Rasochova, founder and CEO, Dermala leverages scientific understanding of the human microbiome and data analytics to develop novel solutions for a variety of skin conditions including acne, eczema, and skin aging. The company has been awarded new patents for microbiome-derived postbiotics, as reported by Happi.com.
“We look forward to partnering with Colgate-Palmolive as we continue to develop more inn Rasochova ovative products that incorporate the microbiome in a novel, unique, and unexpected way,” Rasochova said.
The SkinDNA Company, a company based in Australia, won second prize ($15,000).
SkinDNA has developed a unique wearable patch for collection and subsequent analysis of the skin microbiome and RNA of skin biomarkers. The Skin RNAT product and platform facilitates targeted product recommendations and results tracking for consumers.
A special Judges Award ($10,000) went to Gennev, which provides an online clinic and coaching for women in underserved populations experiencing menopause. The company also offers products for sale via a direct-to-consumer store.
Collaborating with Gennev can potentially provide Colgate with valuable consumer insights to develop superior oral and skin care products tailored to this demographic, according to Colgate.
Additional finalists included Nutix (Switzerland), which developed a salivary multiparameter detection platform; FamilySelfCare (France), a DIY personalization system for skin and wellbeing; and Dentulu (US), a tele-dentistry hardware and software system.
“Open innovation and collaboration with the global startup ecosystem is incredibly valuable to our innovation efforts as we fulfill Colgate’s purpose to reimagine a healthier future for all people, their pets and our planet. We were extremely impressed with the field of competitors and congratulate all of the exceptional finalists who presented exciting innovative service and technology solutions to meet the future needs of our consumers,” said Raj Kohli, VP of global R&D and technology strategy for Colgate-Palmolive and one of the four judges on the panel.
The event—which was initially scheduled to be held live at CES—was hosted in conjunction with Plug and Play, a startup accelerator and venture capital investment company headquartered in Silicon Valley.
The other judges were Thomas Serval, serial entrepreneur and CEO of Baracoda, a startup collaborating with Colgate on connected smart toothbrushes, Will Decker - VP and head of the brand and retail at Plug and Play startup accelerator, and Dr. Maria Ryan, Colgate’s chief clinical officer.