Ingredient Sourcing and Sustainability: The Growth of Vertical Farming and Biotech
Giorgio Dell’Acqua, NYSCC
Introduction
Climate change and environmental pressure have produced an unprecedented challenge to source natural ingredients through the classical supply chain, i.e. through standard plant cultivation or directly from the wild (1). This pressure has pushed farmers to cultivate crops and/or functional plants through the adoption of rotational agriculture and/or regenerative farming (based on soil preservation and biodynamic) (2,3), and it has increased the need to control and to regulate access for wild picking with the goal of preserving biodiversity. These practices are not only aligned with consumer desire for better quality and safer products but also with the increasing scrutiny of consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers toward their sustainability agenda when developing products.
However, more thoughtful farming as well as better management of natural resources won’t fully reverse environmental damage and curb climate change, which seems at the time being an irreversible process. While it is essential to protect and preserve the environment by better managing it to maintain a healthy ingredient supply chain, sourcing alternatives to the environment have started to appear in recent years. In this blog we will discuss vertical and cellular farming to produce natural ingredients into an indoor and controlled space as a modern as well as sustainable way.
Vertical Farming
Typically referring to indoor cultivation of plants, in stacked layers, with a controlled water, light, nutrients supply, and other factors (see Figure 1). Often hydroponic based, it is possible to optimize the growth as well as the chemical footprint of a plant for consistent results after each harvest. By changing the environmental equation and/or stressing the plant it is possible to achieve a specific chemical design and often to increase the number of specific molecules associated with specific benefits (4). Additional advantages are 1) plant conservation (plants that are currently struggling to survive in a changing environment can be saved in an indoor setting); 2) elimination of toxicity due to pollution or cultivation practices (heavy metals in soil, toxins, pesticides, etc.); 3) optimization of resources for cultivation (less dependence on the external environment and on soil quality); 4) fully circular and sustainable (it can be reproduced). Current challenges are the limitation of plants that can be grown (trees are not contemplated), the cost and the timing to optimization of scaling. In the cosmetic industry, we are starting to see some extracts that have been produced from plants cultivated using vertical farming, in particular flowering plants or plants known for the use of their roots, such as Ginseng.
Figure 1. Vertical Farming allows growing plants in a controlled environment.
Cellular Farming
Focusing on the production of plant extracts, this practice involves the isolation of plant cells mostly from plant meristems/calluses. The undifferentiated cells would grow in semisolid/liquid supports or reactors. The soluble fraction (mostly secondary metabolites) would then be extracted after centrifugation and separation of the non-soluble part. Introduced on the market several years ago as plant stem cells isolated from Apple, Ginger, Rice, etc., they became very popular and trendy. Characterized by their growth factors and polyphenolic content, these cells lysates have been often formulated at relatively low concentration in anti-aging/regenerative products (5). Advantages would be like Vertical Farming, i.e. dissociation from external environment dependence, lack of toxicity, better consistency in the finished product (less fluctuations due to the environment) and another way of producing relevant active ingredients in a sustainable manner. Challenge is still associated with costs and sometime physical characteristics (color, smell).
Most recently, the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in biotech driven plant farming, has allowed the effective production of molecules instead of plant extracts, avoiding the need for expensive purification from extracts (6). This technology consists in programming the cell line to specifically produce a specific molecule/ingredient. It will revolutionize the way ingredients are sourced, purified, and bring our industry closer to a pharmaceutical model, where safety and efficacy are not a trade-off.
Final remarks
Indoor Farming (both vertical and cellular) is a cleaver solution to produce plant extracts and molecules needed by the cosmetic industry. It will take some time to get these practices fully scalable and cost effective, but the demand is starting to grow, and the optimization gets better by the day. Indoor farming is also a way to reduce the pressure on standard farming and an environmentally independent solution when the environment is already struggling to provide the needs of a demanding supply chain. Biotech and Sustainability are aligned in this effort.
References
- Kostic A, Dell’Acqua G. Climate change, beauty’s influence and a sustainable path forward. Cosmet Toil 139(7): 30-40, 2024
- Horton P, Long SP, Smith P, Banwart SA, Beerling DJ. Technologies to deliver food and climate security through agriculture. Nat Plants 7(3):250-255, 2021
- Alexanderson MS, Luke H, Lloyd DJ. Regenerative farming as climate action. J Environ Manage 347:119063, 2023
- Cho KM, Lee HY, Cho DY, Jung JG, Kim MJ, Jeong JB, Jang SN, Lee GO, Sim HS, Kang MJ, Kim YL, Lee JH, Lim S, Son KH. Comprehensive Comparison of Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Panax ginseng Sprouts by Different Cultivation Systems in a Plant Factory. Plants (Basel) 11(14):1818, 2022
- Gardiki V, Pavlou P, Siamidi A, Papageorgiou S, Papadopoulos A, Iakovou K, Varvaresou A. Plant Stem Cells in Cosmetic Industry. Plants (Basel) 14(3):433, 2025
- Sears RG, Lenaghan SC, Stewart CN Jr. AI to enable plant cell metabolic engineering. Trends Plant Sci 29(2):126-129, 2024
Bio
Giorgio Dell’Acqua is a scientist, innovator and product developer. He worked at Nutrafol as the Chief Science Officer, where he led innovation and formulation. Prior to that, Giorgio led science at Kiehl’s and worked with several other brands and ingredients companies to bring to the market innovative products. After obtaining his PhD in Cell Biology in 1989, Giorgio worked in Academia for 15 years in applied medical research. Moving into the private sector in 2000, he has spent the last 20+ years as an executive and cosmetic scientist in the personal care industry. During his career, he has directed Research and Development, Innovation, Science, and Product Development at multiple companies. He has helped bring 300+ successful active ingredients and finished products to market, authored more than 95+ publications in medicine and cosmetic science, holds two patents and continues to act as a keynote speaker on clean beauty, natural ingredients, and sustainability. Giorgio is also the 2025 secretary of the US Society of Cosmetic Chemists (SCC), chair of the outreach committee for the NY chapter of the SCC, and founder and member of the NY chapter SCC scientific committee.
