US contract formulator KKT Labs, founded by cosmetic chemist Krupa Koestline, has broken ground on a 16,000 square foot innovation hub in Orlando, Florida, Koestline toldThe Business of Beauty.

The facility will allow KKT Labs to produce next-generation biotechnology ingredients, as well as expand its services from creating formula to full product development, including devising concepts and securing intellectual property. Koestline estimates that the project, to be completed in the fall of 2026, will cost $5–$6 million.

“As we’ve grown, we keep coming back to innovation. We don’t want to be a contract manufacturer,” Koestline said. Beauty brands that want to market on truly new-to-market ingredients but lack the internal research and development capabilities can pay KKT Labs a membership fee that will grant them access to the new facility, which will host laboratories for specialist techniques like fermentation and tissue cultures.

“If you’re starting a brand and you’re like, ‘I want real innovation, I want to be the next Olaplex,’ there is no place for you to go,” Koestline explained. Ingredient suppliers can grant exclusivity on a particular technology, but tend to do so in exchange for a high purchase volume, which often price out indie brands. Koestline aims for KKT Labs to resemble an innovation centre like the ones used by L’Oréal or the Estée Lauder Companies, but focussed on biotechnology ingredients and accessible to smaller labels.

KKT Labs was founded by Koestline in 2020, and has produced formulas for skincare brands including Rhode, Tower28 and Kopari; other clients include conglomerates like Unilever and Procter & Gamble. Koestline is one of a rising class of cosmetic chemists, like Rhode collaborator Ron Robinson, who engage with the beauty press and social media public to become industry figures in their own right. KKT Labs is self-funded and currently staffs seven full-time employees, though Koestline plans to double headcount in the next year.

“There is a big hunger” for biotechnology ingredients, Koestline added, “especially for existing brands that want to establish themselves as more science-leaning.”

Biotechnology is a growing area of investment for the greater beauty industry, as companies seek to create more powerful active ingredients and also protect them from supply chain- or climate-related contingencies. Companies like Oddity and Olaplex have recently acquired biotech companies to advance their R&D capabilities. In 2023, L’Oréal’s BOLD Ventures invested in Debut, a US biotech firm that launched its own contract manufacturing business, BeautyXBiotech Labs, in 2024.

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