Prof. Artur Cavaco-Paulo, from the Center of Biological Engineering, created Khairpep, Inc. in 2013. In 2019, Khairpep, Inc. was acquired by Aquis, Inc. and rebranded K18 in 2021, as a premium biotech brand for hair care. In the past 5 years, the Center of Biological Engineering created a portfolio of patents which supported the exponential growth of K18. On the 21th of December, the Unilever Group has signed an agreement to acquire K18, which joined the group’s prestige brands. With this operation, Unilever owns 14.5 % of Solfarcos Lda., a spin-off of the University of Minho where 90% of their staff is graduated by this Academy.