Debut uses biotech to remove the “ick” factor from beetle-based pigment production

In San Diego, a biomanufacturing startup is working on a replacement for one of the beauty and food industries’ grosser secrets: the use of ground up cochineal beetle for red pigment. By using enzymes and microbial production, Debut has achieved beetle-free production of the carmine pigment at pilot scale. The proprietary process is 100-times more efficient and eliminates contamination with a difficult-to-remove, skin-irritating protein often found in conventionally produced carmine.

“Carmine is one of the hardest molecules to innovate,” Joshua Britton, PhD, founder and CEO of Debut, tells vegconomist. “Many teams have tried to biomanufacture carmine over the years with no success due to the complexity and cost of inputs. It is only through the advancement of our biotechnology, Debut’s proprietary Bio2Consumer™ platform, and our differentiated capabilities in biomanufacturing that this innovation has finally come to life.”