Denmark Biotech Startup Cellugy Secures €8.1Million Funding

EcoFLEXY is designed to replace carbomers—fossil-based ingredients considered harmful microplastics—commonly found in beauty and personal care products. By offering a natural, high-performance alternative, Cellugy helps reduce environmental pollution and limit the use of hazardous chemicals in the cosmetics industry.

The product not only improves texture and sensory experience but is also easy to manufacture at scale, supporting the beauty sector’s growing push toward sustainable innovation.

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Through the BIOCARE4LIFE project, EcoFLEXY is expected to prevent the release of 259 tons of microplastics annually, scaling up to 1,289 tons per year by 2034—the equivalent of eliminating millions of plastic-polluting products from shelves each year.

Beyond sustainability, the product also addresses health concerns, as studies show that microplastics from soaps and scrubs can enter the human body through inhalation, ingestion, or skin contact.

Dr. Isabel Alvarez-Martos, CEO and co-founder at Cellugy, explains: An alternative material that simply aims to be more sustainable is not enough; the critical challenge is about delivering bio-based solutions that actually outperform petrochemicals in performance parameters like texture, functionality, and user experience, while also being scalable and operationally efficient. Good intentions won't drive industry change; we need higher-quality alternatives like EcoFLEXY that make it easier, not harder, for brands to choose sustainability. Only when bio-based materials match or exceed the performance and economics of traditional ingredients will we see the transformation needed to protect both human health and our planet.

EcoFLEXY delivers a level of performance and functionality that existing biobased ingredients haven’t been able to match. The biofabricated cellulose material offers better stability, compatibility, and feel—key factors for cosmetics brands that need to maintain high product quality while responding to rising sustainability expectations.

By bridging the gap between the high performance of fossil-based modifiers and the eco-friendly benefits of natural materials, EcoFLEXY enables the development of effective and environmentally responsible personal care products.

To scale up production, the BIOCARE4LIFE project is backed by a team of experts in biotech, sustainability, and data management. The consortium includes The Footprint Firm (TFF), a consultancy focused on circular economy and environmental impact, and Sci2sci, a Berlin-based startup using data science and AI to optimise processes.

Will Nunn, Manager at TFF, said the initiative represents a major step toward more sustainable manufacturing in the personal care industry.

Our role is to validate the environmental impact and ensure the best alignment with circular economy principles. The project’s combination of technical innovation and sustainability validation positions EcoFLEXY very strongly for market adoption and supports the EU’s broader transition to a more resource-efficient economy.

Angelina Lesnikova, Sci2sci CEO, added: Scaling a biotech solution is never simple, but it’s where the real value lies. Our role is to optimize every layer of production, from fermentation parameters to supply chain predictability, so that EcoFLEXY can compete with petrochemical alternatives not just on environmental benefits, but on cost and performance metrics that matter to manufacturers. Together we have the potential to make sustainable chemistry economically irresistible as well as environmentally essential.

The €8.1 million funding will support key scale-up efforts, improve production processes, and validate the product commercially over the next four years.

About Cellugy

Founded in 2018 and based in Denmark, Cellugy developed EcoFLEXY – a breakthrough platform technology that helps industries around the world replace harmful microplastics with sustainable alternatives. EcoFLEXY allows companies to swap out petrochemicals in their products without sacrificing performance or slowing down production.