Innovation often begins with a single idea, and the right environment to help that idea grow. For Midwest Bioprocessing Center, that environment started in Peoria’s biotechnology ecosystem and has grown into a company developing cutting-edge ingredients for the global cosmetics industry.
Midwest Bioprocessing specializes in biotechnology-based ingredients used in personal care and cosmetic products. The company’s flagship innovation, FeruliShield, is gaining traction internationally as an advanced ingredient that enhances sunscreen and cosmetic formulations.
FeruliShield is created by attaching ferulic acid, a natural photoprotective compound found in plants, to plant-based oils such as soybean or coconut oil. The resulting ingredient blends easily into cosmetic products, boosts SPF performance, and helps protect other active ingredients from degradation.
“Our product is part of a new generation of biotech ingredients for the personal care industry,” the company’s founder, David Demirjian, explained. “It’s a functional ingredient that works the way cosmetic ingredients are intended to.”
After beginning operations at the Peoria Next Innovation Center, the company has now moved into a larger 11,000-square-foot facility, which has been converted into a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) production space. The company currently employs about eight team members, with plans to grow to 15–20 employees as production expands. This move allows Midwest Bioprocessing to scale production and supply ingredients to global cosmetic companies.
For early-stage biotech companies, access to laboratory infrastructure can be one of the biggest barriers to growth. For Midwest Bioprocessing, the Peoria Next Innovation Center made that growth possible. “When you’re a small startup, you simply can’t afford to build a laboratory from scratch,” the founder explained. “The infrastructure alone, fume hoods, specialized benches, air-handling systems, is incredibly expensive. Having access to an incubator facility like Peoria Next was huge.”
Facilities like Peoria Next are rare, particularly in Central Illinois, and the incubator allowed the company to establish operations locally rather than relocating to another biotech hub. “It was a big step for us,” the founder said. “When you’re a small company, you can’t build out a lab on your own. The fact that Peoria Next was there to begin with was huge. It’s one of the few incubator buildings like that in this region.”
The company has also worked closely with advisors in the Turner Center for Entrepreneurship at Bradley University. “Everyone we’ve worked with through the Turner Center, SBDC, and Peoria Next has bent over backwards to help us succeed,” the founder said. “Those resources made a real difference as we worked through the challenges of growing the company.”
The Turner Center advisors have provided support in several areas, including navigating international trade logistics and connecting the company with additional resources to support growth.
Midwest Bioprocessing has also developed a strong relationship with Bradley University, particularly through student internships and research collaborations. Students studying chemistry, engineering, and related fields have gained hands-on experience working with advanced laboratory equipment and biotechnology processes.
“It’s really a two-way relationship,” the founder said. “We’ve gotten a lot of benefit from the students coming here, they’re bright and talented, and it also gives them valuable industry experience.” Several students who gained experience with the company have gone on to careers with major companies in the region, while others have continued into advanced research roles.
As demand grows for biotechnology-based ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products, Midwest Bioprocessing sees significant opportunity ahead. FeruliShield continues to gain recognition in the industry and received the Turner Center for Entrepreneurship’s Small Business Award, the Innovation of the Year Award in 2023, highlighting the potential impact of the technology.
Looking ahead, the company plans to continue developing new biotechnology-based ingredients and collaborating with partners across the personal care industry. “The biotech side of cosmetics is really starting to boom,” David said. “FeruliShield is just our first entry. We see ourselves becoming a major player in this space in the future.”