Engineering Proteins to Disappear: Designing Water-Activated Cosmetic Packaging

Award-winning innovation often starts with a simple question. What if packaging could disappear exactly when it is needed? This conference presents the engineering process behind QPearl, a patented cosmetic capsule recognized with five international awards, including the European Product Design Award in the Sustainability category. Made from engineered proteins that remain stable in dry conditions and break down instantly upon contact with water, QPearl demonstrates how biomaterial science, protein structuring, and controlled solubility can enable plastic-free, single-dose packaging. The lecture concludes by showing how this biomaterial approach achieves 65,66% reduction in CO₂ emissions compared to conventional plastic cosmetic packaging, setting a new benchmark for sustainable design.