Natura Cosméticos SA (NATU3) plans to launch products created using artificial intelligence next year, as part of the Brazilian beauty company's push to develop new uses for plant-based ingredients in its portfolio. The skincare products are being formulated through a partnership with San Diego-based Debut, a company that combines AI and biotechnology for the beauty category and counts L'Oréal SA among its investors. The companies are developing a proprietary ingredient for the new items.
The launch comes as Natura attempts to turn around its business amid weakening sales in the region. Consumers have pulled back spending in Brazil and across Latin America, making it crucial for Natura to identify growth areas and a pricing strategy for a range of budgets. The company will also need to adapt its products for a region where skincare routines are less developed than in other global markets.
"We need to put our weight as a company to continue building that routine," said Manuel Ríos Krauss, Natura's director of research, development, and innovation, in an interview. The company needs to "do market development" while bringing novelty and fresh ingredients to customers, he added.
In recent years, Natura has been unwinding an excessive global expansion and refocusing on Latin America. It sold non-core assets, including Avon's international arm, and has focused on cutting debt and costs. Natura's sales remain under pressure as the company works to reignite growth.
The brands that will include the new ingredient—a complex focused on skin aging—and product prices are yet to be determined. Ekos is among the brands under consideration. Over time, there will be opportunities to "explore different price points across the portfolio," Krauss said.
Debut launched in 2019 and counts North America, the UK, and Europe as its main markets. It has raised a total of US$85 million, including US$40 million in a Series B funding round led by L'Oréal in 2023. The partnership with Natura marks the company's entry into Latin America. It plans to have local teams in Brazil by the end of 2027, said Joshua Britton, CEO of Debut, in an interview.
The partnership between Natura and Debut began about nine months ago, Britton said. Debut's technology can reduce beauty R&D timelines to about nine months, compared to the typical five to seven years, he added. Debut's platform analyzed more than 40 Amazon-derived ingredients used by Natura to find additional functions for the company's products.
Source: Read the original report | Published: May 28, 2026