Signals

Australia – Sydney-based biotech company Vow is expanding beyond cultured meat into functional beauty with the launch of cultured exosomes designed to regenerate skin at a biological level.

The firm has started a new brand called Membrane[actives]. Its debut ingredient, exo[membrane], is produced using Vow’s 20,000-litre bioreactor system under food-grade, serum-free conditions – a scalable alternative to plant- or human-derived exosomes.

Vow’s move reflects the rise of Elastic Brands – companies defined by their ability to stretch beyond category boundaries and apply core expertise in new, adaptive ways.

Unlike single-molecule actives, exosomes act as cellular messengers, transporting peptides and proteins deep into the skin. Early trials show promising results: in a dermatologist-led study of eight participants aged 30–40, redness reduced by 34% and wrinkle width by 20% within seven days following micro-needling and application.

Vow frames this as a turning point for biotech beauty: ethical, standardised and clinically validated ingredients that ‘speak the same language as the skin’. This echoes analysis from our Accredited Beauty macrotrend report, in which we explored how consumers are increasingly seeking proof points on product quality, efficacy and sustainability in the beauty sector.