Qorium
Real leather made without harming animals
Qorium creates real leather in the laboratory without harming animals, without using any animal products, without creating waste or polluting the environment.
Leather is loved. Leather is luxury. Leather is everywhere. Unfortunately, making leather is also polluting, challenging and controversial. Qorium creates beautiful, premium and authentic leather without compromise.
Traditional leather manufacturing is reductive. Through multiple, intensive processes, a cow’s skin is turned into leather with a great deal of waste along the way. Qorium's production method is radically different. Microscopic cells extracted from harmless biopsy from the best cows are replicated in a laboratory and then used to grow collagen sheets without the use of any animal products. Qorium partners with the best tanneries and global brands to turn these collagen sheets into premium leather. Qorium builds only what is needed and use the minimum inputs required to do so.
Industry
Materials
Location
The Netherlands
Year
2021
Website
Opportunity
100 bn+ market growing at 6% CAGR, with a need for sustainable solutions.
Leather is a global market finding use in a number of applications, and continues to grow in demand with limited supply. There is a call for sustainable solutions from the end of the value chain, which cannot be adequately met without cell-cultured leather or other alternatives.
Challenge
Manufacturing cost and scale
The challenge at the core of Qorium's development is to achieve the economies of scale needed to become a superior alternative to current leather sourced from animals.
Solution
Premium Leather: No other material offers the beauty, durability and character of leather. While other materials degrade and breakdown, leather improves and enriches over time. Nothing can compete with a beautiful leather jacket. Nothing can compete with a cozy leather couch. Nothing can compete with a killer pair of leather heels or a stunning luxury handbag. Nothing can compete with genuine leather and Qorium provides just that.
Sustainable: Qorium’s innovative manufacturing methods are the most efficient and sustainable available. Leveraging the incredible biology that Mother Nature provided, we replicate natural leather production in a precise, controlled environment and only build what is needed and nothing more. Dramatically reduced carbon emissions, no methane emissions, and little water and chemical usage.
Less Waste: Traditional leather manufacturing is reductive. Through multiple, intensive processes, a cow’s skin is turned into leather with a great deal of waste along the way. Our production method is radically different. Starting from microscopic cells, we build only what is needed and use the minimum inputs required to do so.
Animal Friendly: No cows are harmed in the making of Qorium’s leather. Yes, it is that simple.
Consistent Quality: Cow-derived leather is inherently inconsistent. Each cow is unique. Its hide varies in terms of thickness and quality, and its hide acquires blemishes and defects throughout the cow’s life. This can result in as much as 75% material wastage. Qorium’s leather is consistent, reliable, uniform and beautiful. Grown in identical sheets, manufacturing losses are minimal.
Tunable: As our science advances, we envision a world where Qorium leather is highly tunable to the specific application desired. Imagine a day when the core leather properties can be defined and delivered to exacting product specifications.
