Company · Event recap
1 September 2026A precision message that stopped traffic at in-cosmetics Global Paris
We took one question to Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. Over three days it became the question brand owners, formulators and Global R&D teams most wanted to talk about.
In this story: in-cosmetics Global, Paris, 14–16 April 2026
“Why use blunt antimicrobials on a living microbiome?” It was a provocation, printed large on our stand wall at in-cosmetics Global 2026 in Paris. It turned out to be exactly what the industry came to discuss.
The trade-off the category is done accepting
For decades the playbook for acne and body odour has been the same: act on the skin hard with antibiotics or broad-spectrum antibacterials, and accept the collateral damage as the price of a result.
The idea we brought instead is simple to say and hard to engineer: remove only the bacteria driving the problem, and leave the healthy skin microbiome intact. Over three days it drew a steady stream of teams already searching for their next-generation active.
The show, in three numbers
in-cosmetics Global 2026 was the largest edition the show has run, with 12,559 unique visitors across the three days. Against that backdrop, our stand recorded the following.
ArrowBiome stand activity, in-cosmetics Global 2026 — ArrowBiome internal record
398
unique company interactions
53
countries represented
40+
beauty & personal-care segments engaged
Breadth, not a niche
Those teams ranged across acne and body care, sensitive-skin and hygiene formats. The breadth of interest is the signal: precision is not a niche curiosity, it is becoming a default expectation for the next cycle of products.
Three questions, over and over
Whatever the market or the category, the conversations converged on the same three questions.
- “Can it be selective?” Yes. Our engineered lysins are designed to act on the target bacterium and leave the rest of the community in balance. Selectivity is the entire point of the platform, not a side benefit.
- “Is it formulation-ready?” Yes. Both actives are low-inclusion, antibiotic-free and designed to drop into formats your team already knows how to make.
- “Is there human data?” Yes. SmartArrow® and ArcherZyme® each have clinical results behind them, and one active is already in a launched product on shelves.
“Precision isn't a marketing claim. It's an engineering discipline — and the market is finally asking for it by name.”
Acne & blemish
SmartArrow®
A patent-pending precision active designed to disrupt C. acnes biofilm selectively while leaving beneficial skin flora intact. Works at ultra-low inclusion, with no antibiotics and no harsh actives.
Body odour & hygiene
ArcherZyme®
The first clinically validated lysin for underarm odour: rapid, selective action on odour-associated bacteria. It is the targeting engine behind SmartArrow®.
Recognition
Gold Award
The foundational targeting technology took Gold for Active Ingredient in the in-cosmetics Asia Innovation Zone, 2025.
| Active | What the clinical record shows |
|---|---|
| SmartArrow® | −35% excess sebum by Week 4; −79% in moderate facial redness; −72% in participants with facial swelling; zero adverse events (28-day dermatologist-supervised study) |
| ArcherZyme® | ~61% odour reduction at the first clinical reading, two hours after application |
Clinical figures describe the ingredient as a standalone active in a controlled, dermatologist-supervised study. They are evidence for the ingredient and are not therapeutic claims for the KINS BioRevive Gel Mask or any other finished product.
Why the timing matters
Precision is not only a consumer preference; it is where the science is heading. Antibiotic-resistant strains of C. acnes are being reported in the literature, and the tools used to study skin communities are getting sharper.
In April 2026, A*STAR's Genome Institute of Singapore published RNA-based methods in Nature Biotechnology that distinguish which skin microbes are present from which are actually active — a distinction that undercuts the old assumption that reducing more bacteria is better. In November 2024, Sanofi, A*STAR and the National Skin Centre signed a memorandum of understanding to advance acne treatment research in Singapore.
The direction of travel is unmistakable. Paris confirmed that the category is arriving.
What comes next
If you build products for acne-prone skin or body odour, we would like to continue the conversation we started in Paris. We can share the SmartArrow® and ArcherZyme® technical dossier, inclusion guidance and sampling options, and talk through where precision fits your roadmap.
Which of your products could go microbiome-precise?
Tell us the format and the claim you are chasing. We will come back with the technical dossier, inclusion guidance and sampling options.
Sources
- in-cosmetics Global delivers largest edition to date in Paris — Global Cosmetics News, 6 May 2026 (12,559 unique visitors)
- A*STAR Genome Institute of Singapore — RNA-based skin microbiome methods, Nature Biotechnology, 10 April 2026
- Sanofi, A*STAR and the National Skin Centre partner to advance research in acne treatment — 22 November 2024
- ArrowBiome — clinical evidence for SmartArrow® and ArcherZyme®
Stand activity figures (398 company interactions, 53 countries, 40+ segments) are ArrowBiome's own record of conversations at the stand and are not independently audited. Show-level attendance is as reported by the organiser via Global Cosmetics News.
The science behind this story