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You may have heard Covalo described as "Google for formulators". In practice, that comparison only goes so far. Yes, you can type an ingredient into the search bar and instantly access a broad range of options. But where a traditional search engine leaves you to piece together information from countless sources, Covalo is designed to take you further: structuring data, surfacing insights, and supporting confident decision-making throughout the ingredient discovery process.
To illustrate how this works, let's walk through a practical R&D scenario.
Imagine you're researching adaptogens, a key ingredient category within neurocosmetics. Known for supporting the skin-brain connection, adaptogens are commonly associated with stress reduction, calming inflammation, and promoting overall skin wellbeing. Popular examples include Ashwagandha, Reishi mushroom, Rhodiola rosea, Holy Basil (Tulsi), and Licorice Root.
For this project, you're particularly interested in Reishi mushroom and want to identify the most suitable option for your formulation pipeline.
You could select the first result that appears – or, you could use Covalo's full feature set to find the ingredient that truly aligns with your formulation goals, brand values, and technical requirements. Here's how:
Once you've searched for Reishi mushroom on Covalo, you'll notice a comprehensive set of filters on the left-hand side of the screen. These filters allow you to narrow thousands of ingredient listings down to a highly relevant shortlist.
For example, if sustainability is a priority, you can filter by specific sustainability claims that align with your brand strategy. If performance is your main focus, you can refine results by targeted performance claims, such as anti-wrinkle, soothing, or anti-inflammatory.
In this case, you select anti-inflammatory and soothing. Instantly, your results shift from broad to precise, leaving you with a focused selection of Reishi mushroom ingredients that match your formulation intent.
As promising options begin to stand out, Covalo makes it easy to save them for later. By clicking the star icon next to an ingredient, you can bookmark it and return to it at any time, regardless of how many new searches you start.
After reviewing your refined results, a few Reishi mushroom ingredients clearly deserve a closer look. You bookmark them, knowing they'll be waiting for you whenever you're ready to compare or share internally.
Ingredient sourcing often comes down to subtle differences. Covalo's comparison feature allows you to select up to four ingredients and view them side by side, highlighting both similarities and distinctions.
By switching to the "show only differences" view, key differentiators become immediately clear. In your comparison ,one ingredient stands out — it not only supports anti-inflammatory and soothing claims, but also offers brightening benefits and collagen-supporting properties. Exactly what you're looking for!
At this point, you're no longer choosing between options; you're identifying a potential hero ingredient.
Great ingredients are only as valuable as the data behind them. Covalo brings together technical, regulatory, and commercial documentation into a single, structured ingredient profile, so you don't have to chase information across emails, folders, or platforms.
From the ingredient page, you can access available documentation such as SDS, TDS, formulation guidance, and marketing materials. If a document is missing, requesting it takes just a few clicks. Everything stays organized, up to date, and easy to share with colleagues or regulatory teams.
This is where confidence replaces uncertainty. With clear, complete information at hand, you can validate terms, assess compliance, and move forward knowing your ingredient choice is backed by reliable data.
Of course, data alone isn't the final step. To truly evaluate an ingredient, you need to experience it firsthand. Covalo makes sample requests straightforward. With a single click on the "Request sample" button, you can have samples delivered directly to your office or home address.
While you wait for your sample to arrive, your work doesn't stop – you can continue exploring complementary ingredients, refining concepts, or building out future formulations, all within the same platform.
If you're evaluating whether Covalo is the right platform for your Beauty or Personal Care R&D team, the decision often comes down to a few recurring challenges:
You spend significant time searching across multiple databases, emails, and spreadsheets to find ingredient information.
Covalo is designed to remove these bottlenecks. By centralizing ingredient discovery, comparison, documentation, and sample and quote requests into one structured workflow, R&D teams can move faster, reduce risk, and make more confident formulation choices.
Unlike generic ingredient databases, Covalo connects search, data, and action in a single platform, so you spend less time managing information and more time innovating.
For Beauty and Personal Care R&D teams asking themselves whether Covalo is worth using, the answer lies in outcomes. Covalo helps teams reduce time spent on ingredient sourcing, gain clearer visibility into ingredient data, and streamline the path from idea to formulation.
By combining intelligent search, structured comparisons, and easy access to critical documentation, Covalo turns ingredient discovery into a confident, repeatable process. The result: faster innovation, fewer sourcing roadblocks, and more space to focus on what matters most: creating exceptional products.
Ready to streamline your neurocosmetic ingredient discovery? Create your Covalo account now and start exploring today.