Did you know that white color dyes are the most used on the market? Cosmetic products of all colors, processed foods such as coffee creamer, paints and even medicine pills… All use artificial pigments, very often mixed with white.
The problem is that today this color is mainly synthesized from titanium dioxide (TiO2), a product containing heavy metals potentially dangerous for the environment and carcinogenic. This is where Seprify comes in. This Marlin start-up with fifteen employees is developing a natural white pigment based on cellulose, the molecule found in all plant cells and which is the most abundant biopolymer on earth.
“We observed how insects and plants produce their colors,” reveals Lukas Schertel, CEO and co-founder of Seprify. They were more specifically inspired by the Cyphochilus, a beetle covered in white scales. Seprify imitates the synthesis of this coloring using only materials of natural origin.
Strong demand
Based at the Marly Innovation Center (MIC), the young company was created a year ago and is a spin-off from the University of Friborg and that of Cambridge. Seprify does not yet sell its product on a commercial level and is in the research and development phase.
The start-up has already managed to receive several funds to develop, including 3.4 million in April 2023. Last February, they received a grant of 2 million francs from Innosuisse, the agency of encouragement of innovation by the Confederation. “We were able to raise this money because there is strong demand from our future customers,” rejoices Lukas Schertel.
From kilogram to ton
But the company is still looking for support to expand its manufacturing to commercial scale. “We produce by the kilogram for certain customers,” explains Lukas Schertel. “We are building a demonstration production line that will take us to the ton by 2025.” In a more distant future, the founder dreams of a first factory that could synthesize several thousand tons of pigment per year.
And where would their product go once commercial production begins? “In Smarties and M&M’s that we give to children, in toothpaste or even in skin creams, for example,” answers Lukas Schertel.
