Advanced 3D printing technology makes it possible to create small capsules that become a cosmetic product, allowing us, the consumers, to take an active part in protecting the environment.
By: Ruth Molcho Aharonovich, Zavita – Science and Environmental News Agency
We've probably all found ourselves standing in front of long shelves of cosmetics at the supermarket, looking at rows of colorful plastic bottles, in different shapes and sizes, searching for the product we want from all the different types. But have we ever thought about the environmental impact of all those bottles? The plastic pollution It is one of the greatest challenges of our time, and the cosmetic industry contributes a significant share to the problem. According to the United Nations About 36 percent of the plastic produced in the world is used for packaging, most of which is intended for single use. The production processes of plastic packaging pollute the air, emit greenhouse gases, and consume enormous amounts of energy and resources relative to the time the products are used.
Is there a way to enjoy all the benefits of our favorite skincare products without leaving behind more and more empty bottles? Israeli Society Capsule Minimal Offers a creative and green solution: small capsules that allow us to prepare the same products at home.
It all started in Beit Shean
The story of Capsule Minimal begins in a plastic recycling plant in Beit Shean. Although the plant is no longer active, its influence seems to continue to this day – it is where Yael Geta, Ami Krupik and Hagar Adler, co-founders of Capsule Minimal, met and worked together. In Beit Shean, the three worked on streamlining plastic recycling processes in order to save on resources that the process requires, such as fuel for transportation, energy to change the state of aggregation of the plastic, and more. "It was a long process of many years of thinking about the issue of plastic pollution combined with the madness of all the logistical processes involved in transporting the products and their components in their supply chain," says Yael Geta, a biotechnology engineer, co-founder and CEO of Capsule Minimal. Working alongside her are Krupik as Chairman of the Board and Adler as VP of Operations. "We fought this problem every day, with all kinds of plastic, and at a certain point we moved from thinking about how to optimize recycling processes to thinking about how to prevent its production, as well as almost completely eliminating all unnecessary processes in the structured logistics of water-based products."
For example, they decided to find a way to transport and store a significant portion of the liquid products we consume on a daily basis in a solid and compact form without the need for polluting packaging. In 2022, Geta, Krupik, and Adler founded Capsule Minimal Ltd., a startup also located in the Beit Shean Valley. Their main idea is that instead of buying plastic bottles – filled with shampoo, conditioner, body soap, and the like – we can buy small capsules that contain a concentration of all the active ingredients of the product. To use the product, we simply insert the capsule into a reusable bottle, add water from the tap, and the capsule will dissolve and create the desired product. “The advantage of our product, unlike solid soap, is that in the end it becomes a liquid product because that’s what consumers like. 95 percent of people like liquid soap, and we are developing technology that fits what we have identified as a real market need,” says Geta.
One of the benefits of using capsules is the reduction of waste. The plastic – Because the same bottle can be reused instead of being used once. Another significant advantage is the reduction in water transportation – many products contain a large amount of water. By using capsules, the need to transport large amounts of water is eliminated, which contributes to reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
Sounds great? Yes, but not easy. It turns out that producing a capsule that replaces the manufacturing process in factories is not an easy challenge. "We saw that if you 'throw' all the active ingredients into a bottle, you don't get the desired results. The ingredients don't dissolve properly, and you don't get a stable product with all the required properties. We tried to think and understand how we could produce a single capsule that could simulate ordered and complex processes when placed in water," explains Geta. "After searching and researching, we found the appropriate methods. After we built the chemomechanical structure of a capsule that works under laboratory conditions, we asked ourselves - how are we going to produce this capsule in large quantities? And then we came to the world of printing," she says.
Yael Geta, biotechnology engineer, co-founder and CEO of Capsule Minimal. Image courtesy of Capsule Minimal
Print a toothpaste capsule
During the development of the Minimal Capsule, the team discovered that the technology they needed did not yet exist. "We had to develop the 3D printing of the powders so that it could produce the special structure of the capsule, and we discovered that there is no such thing, that there is no possibility in the world of printing active ingredients using powders, each with different properties, in an ordered and predetermined structure," says Geta. "Minimal Capsule has technology for 3D printing compressed powders using dynamic molds," says Dr. Isabel Apriat, a chemical engineer and PhD in materials engineering, a consultant to the company for cosmetics products. "When the capsule comes into contact with water, the chemical processes begin and the release of the ingredients occurs sequentially - step by step, layer by layer according to the design of the capsule," she explains. "The technology is in very advanced stages, and the company is currently facing the upscaling stage, of mass production. "The process went through all the stages of pre-production testing, and a large number of people have already used the product successfully," says Afriat.
3D printing is often used to produce products that require extremely high levels of precision, such as in the worlds of medicine, defense, and automotive. Such printing can produce objects that are customized or specific to a particular need. "There are many companies in the country that are engaged in the development of printing polymers, metals, and ceramics," says Dr. Vladimir Popov, director of a printing center at the Faculty of Engineering at Tel Aviv University. "You could say that Israel is advancing these technologies in the world. There is investment in development, but there is a gap in terms of use," he explains. Several of the largest cosmetics companies, such as L'Oreal and P&G, are already investing in innovative moves in the world of printing. This technology allows them to produce customized cosmetic products, lower production costs, and provide customers with products that are more precisely tailored to each individual's personal needs.
A step towards a circular economy
Over the past two years, Minimal Capsule has raised funds from various investors, such as the i4VALLEY investment fund, and has won grants of millions of shekels from the Innovation Authority. The company is expected to complete the construction of its first factory based on the technologies in the coming weeks. The factory is located in Kibbutz Maoz Haim in the Beit Shean Valley and is planned to have a production capacity of millions of products per year. At the same time, business contacts are taking place with leading commercial entities for the purpose of collaborations and launching the products as early as next year under existing brands. The technologies developed by the company can be used in many industries and sectors that deal with water-based products, including care products and cosmetics, cleaning materials, paints, agrochemicals, pharma, and more. In the first phase, the company developed capsules for body, hand, face and shampoo soaps, and it will soon begin manufacturing them. After that, the company will move on to the development and production of additional care products such as hair conditioners, toothpastes, deodorants, lotions and creams. In the third phase, the company plans to develop products in the field of household cleaning products, such as dish soaps, fabric softeners, floor cleaners, sanitary ware cleaners, and more.
As part of the global fight against plastic pollution, a UN report was published in 2023 called "Turning Off the Tap: How the World Can End Plastic Pollution and Create a Circular Economy"The report calls for systemic change through reducing the use of unnecessary plastic, redesigning products and packaging, and moving to a market based on a circular economy. One of the ways proposed in the report is a new design for familiar products and a shift from liquid to dry products that reduce packaging and weight. The Minimal Capsule Company represents a significant step towards a sustainable future, and will allow each and every one of us to take an active part in protecting the environment.
In the latest round of crowdfunding that recently ended, they managed to raise more than 100 percent. "We want to raise more, build a community and ecosystem that is as big as possible. We see that there is impact and interest, and everyone has a common interest in making this story successful," concludes Geta.
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