Startup Tackles Inefficiencies in Personal Care Product Development
Five years ago, two executives from Clariant, Yann Chilvers and Timo von Bargen, identified a major issue in the personal care industry: lengthy product development cycles that often lead to failures. Approximately 50% of new products don’t succeed, primarily due to scattered ingredient data across the industry.
Typically, developing a single skincare product requires 35 to 40 different raw materials, each accompanied by about 20 documents related to safety, compliance, and sustainability. These documents are often found in various formats like emails and PDFs, making it hard for research and development teams to manage them. With new regulations, like the EU Green Deal, predicting that 80% of products will need reformulation by 2030, teams are overwhelmed with manual data tasks.
To address these challenges, their startup, Covalo, has recently secured a €3.5 million seed extension funding, led by Hi inov, with additional backing from HTGF and seed+speed Ventures. Covalo aims to transform from just an ingredients marketplace into a vital data infrastructure for the industry.
Transitioning to a Unified Data System
Covalo’s platform connects suppliers’ product information systems with brand R&D and lifecycle management tools, eliminating the inefficient workflows typically reliant on emails and spreadsheets.
When a supplier updates a compliance document, brands using that ingredient receive immediate updates. Likewise, approvals for new materials seamlessly integrate into formulation and purchasing systems. This real-time data sharing fosters collaboration and streamlines product development.
Currently, Covalo links 1,500 suppliers—including well-known names like Givaudan and Symrise—with over 6,000 brands, including PUIG and La Prairie, across more than 145 countries. This robust network is projected to drive an 84% increase in engagement in 2025, translating to approximately 1.3 million monthly interactions and a 145% net revenue retention. The company’s partnerships with TraceOne, Reed Exhibitions, and the B Corp Beauty Coalition further solidify its role as an unbiased industry hub.
Embracing AI for Future Growth
As of now, Covalo employs 23 people across 11 countries, with a strong emphasis on diversity, as eight women lead various departments including marketing and customer success.
The new funding will help develop industry-specific AI tools for automating requests, compliance checks, and improving data quality.
Moving forward, Covalo aims to enable faster product launches by facilitating seamless data sharing and introducing efficient AI solutions tailored for the personal care sector. As Alexander Kölpin, Managing Partner at seed + speed Ventures, mentioned, Covalo is addressing a critical roadblock in the industry: the need for reliable data flow among suppliers, brands, and their systems. Instead of getting bogged down in search issues, Covalo is focused on establishing a structured data foundation for the personal care industry.
