The European Natural Beauty Awards have just released the “Top 8 Natural Raw Ingredients of the Year” Shortlist for 2026, and it is a good excuse to remember that every part of a serum, balm or shampoo on the shelf started somewhere else – a field, a hive, a distillation tank.
Finished products get the campaigns and the packaging shots. The people actually growing, extracting and refining the raw material rarely get the same spotlight, even though nothing gets made without them. The ENBA’s Natural Raw Ingredients Awards exist so that the magnificent work made by these forward-looking companies can shine and be found by today’s and tomorrow’s leading brands.
Eight suppliers made the cut this year. Here’s who they are.
The shortlist
HAIRFORSENSE™ by CH-Bioforce Oy
HAIRFORSENSE® transforms upcycled Finnish oat husk into a breakthrough hairstyling technology, replacing fossil-based styling polymers with naturally derived performance.
Hydrol’X Hamamelis 10X by PY’STILL
Hydrol’X Hamamelis 10X is a witch hazel concentrate, hydrodistilled fresh from semi-wild and estate-grown plants in the Pyrenees, delivered as a 10X concentrate so formulators can dial in exactly the strength they need.
O-Leen 26 by Minasolve
O-Leen 26 is a fully bio-based ethyl hexanediol, fermented from upcycled sugarcane molasses through an integrated biorefinery, offering humectancy, emolliency, solvency and preservative-boosting power in one multifunctional ingredient.
OCEANBOOST™ LF by Origin by Ocean
OCEANBOOST™ LF is a high-purity bioactive for inflammaging defence and longevity support, upcycled from invasive algae through a regenerative supply chain.
Organic Lanolin (Wool Wax) by Naturamus
The first certified organic lanolin on the market, sourced from wool through a fully transparent supply chain.
Organic Salento Aloe Vera Pure Gel by N&B Natural is Better
Organic Aloe Vera, grown and cold-extracted at km0 through N&B’s fully integrated “From Plant to Beauty” supply chain, regenerates the local ecosystem it draws from.
Red Thyme Essential Oil by Zalabí
A native Spanish thyme oil, grown through regenerative agriculture and produced through a fully circular distillation process.
Sustainable Beeswax by Koster Keunen
Responsibly sourced beeswax from a natural wax specialist producing to GMPc standards since 1852, built to protect bee biodiversity while still performing where it counts in formulation.
Why to PAY ATTENTION TO RAW INGREDIENTS
It is easy to overlook the ingredients category when the finished products are what end up on your bathroom shelf. But the raw material is where sustainability and quality actually get decided: how something is grown, how it is extracted, and what gets left out.
The ENBA’s Natural Raw Ingredients Awards were created to invite conscious suppliers and brands into the same room.
What happens next
Awards for natural raw material suppliers will be given in two categories this year: Sustainable Ingredient of the Year and Ingredient Innovation of the Year.
The Sustainable Ingredient of the Year Award will be given for an ingredient whose most compelling story is environmental, social, and/or ethical — how the ingredient is grown, sourced, and what it leaves behind.
The Ingredient Innovation of the Year Award will be given for an ingredient where a scientific or functional breakthrough is the headline — new performance, new texture, or a new natural alternative to synthetics.
The awarded companies will be announced at the European Natural Beauty Awards 2026 ceremony in Paris, France, on September 29, 2026.