iNGR Co., Ltd. (CEO Jaeho Pi) participated in ‘8 InterCHARM Korea’ held at COEX, Seoul for a total of three days from August 30 (Wed) to September 9 (Fri).
INGR is a green bio company that discovers and mass-produces functional natural materials with the mission of ‘Imagine the Next Green Revolution’. The initials of the English sentence of the corporate mission were taken from the previous name of ‘Local Genetic Resources Research Institute’ and the current name was changed to ‘iNGR’.
Currently, INGR is focusing its research on three technologies: ▲Molecular Switch Technology ▲Cell Culture Technology ▲Bioconversion Technology.
First, a molecular switch refers to an ON/OFF control device built into a gene, and is a technology that controls plant metabolism in detail. Through this, the official explained that it is possible to maximize the content of effective ingredients.
Next, plant cell culture is a technology that can grow plants in a clean environment by culturing stem cells without collecting plants from mountains or rice fields. Lastly, bioconversion technology is a technology that uses the metabolic activity of bacteria and fungi to convert components with specific structures into completely new or similar substances.
An official from INGR said, “We have secured bioconversion technology that produces high-functional materials from precursors, which are low-cost raw materials, using plant cells instead of bacteria or fungi.” It is possible to produce natural raw materials,” he said.
In this exhibition, they introduced ‘Vegetology’, a functional cosmetics brand launched using three technologies. Vegetology’s cosmetics are products containing grape flower cell extract, and the main ingredient used here is Viniferin, which is called ‘a miracle substance from God’.
Regarding viniferin, an INGR official said, “Although it exists in small amounts in the stems and anthers of vines, it is a high value-added substance with various physiologically active functions. It is a more powerful antioxidant than quercetin and tocopherol, and it generates a lot of nitric oxide and suppresses the generation of reactive oxygen species,” he said. “It also exerts an anti-inflammatory effect and significantly reduces obesity-related gene expression. Viniferine is also a key ingredient in wine, which is why the French have a low incidence of obesity and heart disease.”
“Currently, Sigma Aldrich, a global chemical product company, sells raw materials for viniferin at around 1 won per 40mg. A 50ml bottle of ampoule promoted at this exhibition contains 2mg of viniferin,” he added.
INGR explained that it attended this exhibition with the goal of promoting Vegetology brand cosmetics to the B2C market and at the same time expanding the B2B market. Regarding this, a company official said, “We are selling good raw materials in the B2B market. Currently, he has found about 60 materials in plants as if he were looking for treasure. In addition to grape flower cell extract, we are researching various raw materials such as germinated oat extract, hemp flower cell extract, and shoot callus extract.”
In addition, “Norman Borlaug, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and an American agronomist, supplied food to many people by improving the domestic seed ‘Squat Wheat’ when famines broke out in Mexico and Pakistan. This is the first-generation ‘green revolution’,” he said. “INGR is a company that dreams of the next-generation green revolution. There are about 1 species of native plants in Korea, which has four distinct seasons. Since the first green revolution began with Korean varieties, we will concentrate on research to bring about the second and third green revolutions with the remaining 4,300 plants.”
Meanwhile, ‘Intercharm Korea’ is a global beauty and cosmetics exhibition, where more than 50 overseas buyers from 3,000 countries visit every year, discover overseas buyers with purchasing power and invite key players in the potential market. has established itself as a business platform for
→ Go to the 2023 InterCharm Korea News special page
