It’s in our food, shampoo, and often in the fuel that powers our cars. Palm oil is sometimes called “the world’s flex crop” because it's a deeply versatile, high-performance ingredient. That versatility and high performance is why it's found in nearly 50% of products on supermarket shelves.
Palm oil is the reason that chocolate melts in your mouth (not in your hands!); it’s why soaps and detergents can remove those tough stains; and it’s why your peanut butter spreads just right on that slice of toast.
It's the most popular vegetable oil in the world for a reason!
The expansion of palm oil plantations has drastic environmental and societal costs. Rainforests from Costa Rica to Indonesia have been – and continue to be – slashed and burned, clearing the way for oil palm plantations. This deforestation releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, destroying habitats and polluting air and water streams. It's threatening the livelihoods of biodiverse ecosystems, of endangered wildlife, and of humans, too.
The rapid expansion of palm oil over the past 50 years has carried a high cost, but it doesn't have to be that way.
Historically, natural ingredients came from either animals or plants, both of which have been linked to highly extractive practices. Palmless™ leverages the fungal kingdom – we work with a naturally occurring yeast – to produce the next generation of high-performing natural ingredients. It’s the New Natural.
Our technology combines the best of nature and biotechnology. We leverage naturally occurring microorganisms and grow them using fermentation – a method that has been used for centuries to make food (kimchi and beer!), as well as beauty actives (hyaluronic acid!), medicine (insulin!), and more.
We’ve taken the best of fermentation and found ways to improve it – resulting in ingredients that are more precise, higher performing, and more sustainable.
Palmless™ is on a mission to stop deforestation and sustainably replace palm oil. Permanently. Will you join us?
Palmless™ Partnerships
