About Us

Biosurfactants Redefined: The Locus Ingredients Difference

Consumers increasingly demand clean-label products containing ingredients that are safe for their families and safe for the environment.

Locus Ingredients sophorolipid biosurfactants have been developed as safer, healthier, cleaner alternatives to traditional chemical surfactants. Our sophorolipids are USDA certified for containing 100% biobased material, readily biodegradable and made from renewable, responsibly sourced materials. All while continuing to deliver the highest levels of performance in formulations.

Want to create clean-label products? Our biosurfactants not only provide performance and sustainability, but their multifunctionality can allow for them to replace one or more other ingredients. They also make excellent co-surfactants, enabling the same high-performance levels at lower dosage rates.

So, why choose Locus Ingredients’ biosurfactants over others on the market? Because our ingredients are the top choice for TSCA-certified, US-produced sophorolipids.

Locus Ingredients at a Glance

Biosurfactant ingredient company

High-performance, sustainable sophorolipid biosurfactants for industrial and CPG applications

Fermentation-produced line of blendable ingredients for customized formulation solutions

100% of ingredients manufactured and shipped out of U.S.-based facility (Solon, Ohio)

Our Mission

Readily-Available, Sustainable Biosurfactants

To help companies create more profitable, sustainable and high-performing formulations. How? By providing them with clean ingredients that maximize product functionality while minimizing formulation complexity.

Our Vision

Bridging the Gap Between Profitability and Sustainability

Providing the industrial and CPG marketplaces with solutions that prove good environmental decisions can also be good business decisions.

Our Technology

Fermentation-Produced Sophorolipid Biosurfactants

Locus Ingredients’ biosurfactants are fermentation-produced sophorolipids. Using patented, modular production, Locus Ingredients can optimize the creation of high-performance, biosurfactant ingredients at cost-effective scale.

We also get our core scientific capabilities from our parent company, Locus Fermentation Solutions, an Ohio-based green technology powerhouse. Because of this, our process, team and partnerships are unmatched in the industry.

Our Team

David Anderson

David Anderson

SVP

Tim Kraemer

VP Global Business Development

Jason Clark

Jason Clark

VP Sales and Strategy

Ayenda Zemaitis

Ayenda Zemaitis

Technical Service Manager

Jeff Manthei

Jeff Manthei

Sales Development Manager

Megan Hopkins

Megan Hopkins

Marketing Manager

Powered By Locus Fermentation Solutions

At Locus Ingredients, we’re part of the award-winning Locus Fermentation Solutions family, a green tech powerhouse driving biological solutions across multiple industries. That means we get access to Locus Fermentation Solutions’ globally recognized scientists and top-notch financial support. We tap into their vast knowledge base and proprietary fermentation expertise to deliver high-performance, sustainable biosurfactant solutions.

  • 1400+ patent filings
  • 100+ employees
  • 9 offices across 3 states
ANDREW LEFKOWITZ Co-Founder, CEO & Chairman

Andrew Lefkowitz

Co-Founder, CEO & Chairman

Our History

July 2020

Locus Fermentation Solutions expands its award-winning green technology into the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) market with the launch of a new operating company that will replace toxic and palm-based chemicals and maximize product sustainability. Branded as Locus Performance Ingredients (now Locus Ingredients), the startup develops nature-derived, high-performance biosurfactant ingredients proven to outperform petrochemical surfactants and solve top challenges in personal care, home care and industrial formulations.

August 2020

Locus Ingredients launches its first product line to replace petrochemical surfactants in personal care formulations. Branded as Ferma®, the pure sophorolipid series of biosurfactants (INCI: Glycolipids) provide safer and more sustainable ingredient options for formulators.

October 2020

Independent Commodity Intelligence Services (ICIS), highlights Locus Ingredients as a high-achieving newcomer finalist in the World Surfactants Awards.

April 2021 

Locus Ingredients’ sophorolipid ingredients earns the USDA Certified Biobased Product label for containing 100% biobased, renewable content for all of the company’s sophorolipids ingredients. 

May 2021 

ICIS Names Locus Ingredients Top Newcomer in the World Surfactants Awards for Biosurfactant Innovations. 

June 2021 

Locus Ingredients launches TSCA-approved Amphi® M: the next generation of biosurfactants for household and industrial formulations. 

July 2021 

New biosurfactant-based personal care formulations library launched. 

August 2021 

Advisory board of leading CPG executives and entrepreneurs formalized to accelerate the use of sustainable biosurfactant ingredients in product formulations. 

September 2021 

Locus Ingredients and Genomatica join forces with Freelance Formulations to develop clean-label micellar water that eliminates chemical additives and outperforms the current leading brand. 

December 2021 

HCPA Panel Selects Locus Ingredients for Ingredient and Technology Innovation Awards at XPAND2021. 

January 2022

Dow announces exclusive agreement with Locus Ingredients to expand biosurfactant offerings in the global home care and personal care markets

May 2022

Locus Ingredients announces an expansion to its formulation library—adding a clean-label carpet shampoo and all-purpose cleaner featuring the novel Amphi® M ingredient.

ICIS announces the shortlist for its annual Surfactants Awards, naming Locus Ingredients as an innovation finalist.

August 2022

Locus Ingredients enters EU surfactants market with sophorolipids’ REACH registrations.

November 2022

EPA approves Amphi® M biosurfactant for use in Safer Choice-certified products and direct release applications with CleanGredients listing.

December 2022

Locus Ingredients expands its Amphi® line. New ingredients, Amphi® CL and Amphi® CH, join TSCA-registered Amphi® M to provide customizable biosurfactant solutions for broader use in industrial product applications, including institutional and industrial cleaning, metalworking fluids, CASE, agricultural adjuvants and more.

HCPA announces winners of the 2022 Innovation Awards, naming Locus Ingredients’ recently expanded Amphi® line of biosurfactants as top ingredient innovation to help transition the industry to a more environmentally and socially sustainable economy.

April 2023

Locus Ingredients and Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions announce exclusive collaboration to develop new sustainable water and process treatment additives.

May 2023

Locus Performance Ingredients rebrands as Locus Ingredients as part of parent company Locus Fermentation Solutions company-wide rebranding to reinforce commitment to a sustainable future.

July 2023

ICIS shortlists Locus Ingredients as a best product innovation finalist for its 20th Annual Innovation Awards.