Global climate change has led to frequent extreme weather events such as droughts, heatwaves, and torrential rains, posing a severe threat to crop production and presenting immense challenges for agriculture. Traditional coping strategies face distinct difficulties at every stage of the supply chain: the cultivation end relies on chemical pesticides, yet issues like excessive residue levels and pesticide resistance persistently plague farmers; the retail end depends on chemical preservation and cold chain technology, yet must bear the burden of high costs. Ultimately, consumers bear the burden of these stacked costs through higher prices. As consumers increasingly prioritize safety, health, and environmental sustainability, the market demands for genuinely safe, green, and accessible agricultural products and their derivatives has grown intensely.

In response to these practical challenges, we have developed “light-regulated bio-manufacturing technology.” The core of this technology lies in precisely enhancing crops' inherent stress resistance through non-GMO methods by artificially adjusting light intensity to specific levels. Plant cuticular waxes serve as natural protective barriers, with their efficacy extensively validated by botanical research. Our technology enables crops to increase wax content during growth stages, thereby enhancing their resilience against drought, UV radiation, and pest/disease infestations while reducing reliance on chemical pesticides. In the post-harvest phase, high-wax fruits and vegetables exhibit improved water retention and antimicrobial properties, extending shelf life and reducing post-harvest losses. Additionally, purified plant wax can be supplied as a natural botanical raw material.

Our target market is twofold:

Global warming has led to frequent extreme weather events like droughts and heatwaves. Significant crop losses due to environmental stress and the clear limitations of traditional control methods have created a rigid demand market for technologies that enhance crop stress resistance.
Research from multiple sources, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), indicates that stresses like drought, high temperatures, and pests pose persistent threats to global staple crop production [1]. Post-harvest losses are equally severe compared to field losses, particularly for perishable horticultural crops. According to an authoritative FAO report, nearly 50% of global fruits and vegetables are lost to spoilage during storage, transportation, and sales—the highest rate among all food categories [2]. Subsequent data from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) further reveals that global food waste reached a staggering 1.05 billion tons in 2022 [3]. This represents not only a massive waste of resources but also exposes the limitations of traditional preservation and pest control methods in terms of effectiveness and sustainability.

The shortcomings of conventional agricultural practices further exacerbate market demand gaps. While chemical solutions like pesticides and fertilizers offer short-term efficacy, they result in produce being barred from international markets due to excessive pesticide residues. These methods also foster pest resistance, pollute soil and water bodies, and contradict the principles of green and sustainable agricultural development. Physical preservation technologies, such as low-temperature cold chain transportation and storage, are effective but constrained by high economic and environmental costs, with extremely uneven global distribution. According to an authoritative report by the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR), coverage in many underdeveloped regions commonly falls below 20% or even less than 10%. Furthermore, cold chains are energy-intensive systems with persistently high energy consumption costs, making traditional cold chains difficult to implement as a universal solution for addressing global post-harvest losses, particularly in developing regions where the need is greatest [4].

Against this backdrop, green stress-resistant and preservation technologies based on plants' inherent defense mechanisms can fill the gaps left by traditional methods. They avoid risks of chemical residues and environmental pollution while reducing reliance on high-cost physical technologies, precisely aligning with global agriculture's core demand for "green, efficient, and sustainable" solutions. Their market potential is significant.

Driven by both policy and consumer trends, agricultural policies worldwide—particularly in the EU and China—are shifting toward "dual reduction" goals: minimizing chemical fertilizer and pesticide use. This signals that "eco-friendly farming" has become a dominant trend. On the other hand, consumers are increasingly concerned about the safety and healthiness of their food, with many willing to pay for chemical-free, organic agricultural products. This market demand, in turn, compels agricultural producers to seek greener, safer alternatives to pesticides.

In the field of bio-based materials, market demand for natural, bio-based alternatives is experiencing explosive growth. Plant cuticle wax, as a natural lipid complex, aligns perfectly with this trend.

On one hand, in cosmetics, personal care, and premium food sectors, "natural origin" and "chemical-free" have become core demands of consumption upgrades. Plant waxes inherently possess hydrophobicity, biocompatibility, and film-forming capabilities, making them suitable as natural emulsifiers, moisturizers, or freshness-preserving coatings [5], aligning with market demand for green ingredients. Brand owners' urgent need for stable natural ingredient supply chains connects with our large-scale extraction of Benzoin tobacco wax using light-regulation technology, offering potential to bridge the gap in unstable natural ingredient supply.

On the other hand, plant cuticular wax, as a bio-based material, can be synthesized through green methods like light regulation, entirely avoiding chemical pollution and high carbon emissions. This makes it an ideal petroleum-based alternative. This "natural source + low-carbon production" technology not only responds to brands' sustainability demands but also aligns with global industrial policies promoting green transformation, offering vast market potential.

Provides growers with technologies and services for pre-harvest stress resistance and quality enhancement, as well as post-harvest freshness preservation and loss reduction.

The global green agriculture market is experiencing rapid growth. According to the latest data from Allied Market Research, the global biostimulant market reached $3.64 billion in 2022. Driven by demand for sustainable agriculture, it is projected to grow to $10.56 billion by 2032, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.3% [6]. This indicates a growing market demand for green, efficient agricultural inputs. Our light-regulation technology, as a physical, cutting-edge biostimulation method, represents an innovative solution in this rapidly expanding sector.

China offers the world's most extensive application scenarios for our technology deployment. The nation's vast agricultural production system provides substantial scale for implementing light-regulation technology.

Definition: Natural plant wax raw materials extracted from plants, serving as alternatives to petroleum-based synthetic waxes for downstream industrial manufacturers.

Global demand for sustainable specialty waxes is growing rapidly. Grand View Research data indicates the worldwide specialty wax market is projected to reach tens of billions of dollars by 2030. Currently, this market is primarily dominated by mineral waxes, synthetic waxes, and Fischer-Tropsch waxes [7]. Natural plant waxes are in high demand due to their green and renewable properties. However, mainstream products like candelilla wax and carnauba wax face relatively high prices and unstable supply due to the scarcity of their plant sources. Though their market share is small, they are growing rapidly. Our project will overcome this supply bottleneck by utilizing plant wax sources from the Nicotiana benthamiana tobacco crop, which features a short growth cycle and mature agricultural cultivation techniques. Compared to existing plant wax sources on the market, this approach enables easier scaling and low-cost raw material supply.

Take cosmetics as an example: The global cosmetic wax ester market is a segment worth over $1 billion. Our plant wax can serve as a core ingredient in products like lipsticks and creams.

For food preservation coatings: The post-harvest coating market for fruits and vegetables in North America alone is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Our all-natural, edible coating solutions offer significant advantages in safety and environmental sustainability over synthetic coatings, aligning with the clean label consumer trend.

Policy initiatives are driving market expansion. China's "Rural Revitalization," "Agricultural Modernization," and "Dual Carbon" goals, alongside the EU's "Green Deal," provide substantial funding and tax incentives for green agricultural technologies and bio-based materials at the policy level.

Chemical pesticides face rising costs and diminishing efficacy due to resistance issues, while oil price volatility drives up synthetic wax expenses. Once scaled, our technology's low marginal cost advantage becomes increasingly pronounced.

Consumers are increasingly willing to pay for "healthy, safe, and eco-friendly" products, compelling brands to source green raw materials upstream and creating stronger market momentum for us.

We do not engage in direct price competition with traditional solutions but instead pursue a distinct path.
In the agricultural market: We are not pesticide or fertilizer sellers, but a technology service provider offering "lighting solutions that enhance crops' inherent resistance." We help growers reduce pesticide use and losses while producing higher-quality green agricultural products.

In the industrial market: We are not a traditional plant wax supplier, but a core raw material provider that utilizes a biomanufacturing platform to achieve stable, controllable, and scalable production of natural waxes. Our projects are not only green, safe, and low-carbon, but also enable stable supply at lower costs.

This project's technological innovation stems from moving beyond traditional approaches of creating transgenic plants to enhance resistance. Instead, it modifies a specific substance within plants through external environmental control, achieving a controllable effect with enhanced safety. This realizes a "non-transgenic, green, and controllable" technological pathway.

Using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing and gene overexpression techniques, we have conclusively validated the regulatory role of the CsHY5-CsCER1 pathway in epidermal wax synthesis within Nicotiana benthamiana. By utilizing light exposure as an externally controllable factor, this approach enables regulation of wax content within Nicotiana benthamiana. Compared to transgenic technology, this method is more readily accepted by the market, avoids genetic safety controversies, and involves minimal operational costs. This solution is also applicable to multiple crop species.

The photoregulation of wax synthesis achieves dual functions: enhancing crop stress tolerance and improving post-harvest preservation. Plant waxes, acting as natural physical barriers, enhance crop resistance to non-stress factors like drought, salinity, and pests/diseases. Simultaneously, their hydrophobic properties reduce post-harvest water loss and pathogen invasion in fruits and vegetables, extending shelf life. This approach overcomes the limitations of traditional stress tolerance and preservation technologies, elevating the comprehensive application value of the technique.

For agricultural cultivation, we developed the "Light Regulation Cultivation Solution." The equipment automatically adjusts light intensity and duration based on crop type, growth stage, and natural environment. For example, in fruit and vegetable cultivation, light regulation during flowering increases fruit epidermal wax content, reducing post-harvest rot rates.

The core value of this product lies in replacing traditional chemical pesticides and energy-intensive cold chains, providing farmers with a low-cost, green, chemical-residue-free stress-reduction solution, particularly suitable for underdeveloped regions.

Utilizing light regulation technology, large-scale cultivation of Nicotiana benthamiana serves as a raw material source for in vitro wax extraction. The extracted natural wax is applied in cosmetics, food, pharmaceuticals, and industrial sectors, meeting market demands for "chemical-free" and "naturally sourced" ingredients.

For the fruit and vegetable distribution chain, we developed a combined solution of "pre-harvest light regulation + post-harvest wax enhancement": pre-harvest light exposure increases the base wax content in fruits, while post-harvest application of natural wax coatings further extends shelf life. This approach reduces reliance on low-temperature cold chains and avoids health risks from chemical preservatives. It adapts to various supply chain stages, minimizing losses during transportation and waste in mid-tier sales channels.

Compared to traditional methods, this project's technology and products offer core advantages of "green controllability, low cost, and broad applicability":

Safety and Sustainability: Utilizing non-GMO technology eliminates risks of foreign gene residues. The production process relies on light exposure, minimizing chemical residues in products and aligning with food safety and environmental protection trends.

Cost Advantage: Compared to chemical pesticides and cold chain preservation technologies, our solution offers lower operational costs and greater scalability in resource-constrained regions.

Raw Material Scarcity: Natural plant-derived waxes with well-defined compositions—primarily long-chain fatty acids, alkanes, and esters—offer a scarce green alternative to petroleum-based waxes in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. These natural sources provide high-value synthetic esters.

Platform Technology Extensibility: This technology is not only applicable to tobacco model systems but also possesses significant potential for expansion to other high-value crops such as fruits, vegetables, and medicinal herbs, offering vast application prospects.

Sustainability: From crop stress resistance to raw material extraction, the entire chain aligns with green agriculture and carbon neutrality policy directives, ensuring long-term market competitiveness.

The project is currently in the laboratory validation phase. Therefore, our financial projections focus on the next three years—a transitional period from technological refinement to small-scale implementation. This phase will be characterized by significant R&D investment and limited pilot revenue. Conservative estimates are as follows:

Light regulation effects validated in laboratory settings may be compromised in complex field or greenhouse environments due to natural light interference, soil variations, and climatic fluctuations, leading to reduced wax synthesis efficiency and diminished outcomes. Wax synthesis pathways vary across crops. The validated CsHY5-CsCER1 pathway in Nicotiana benthamiana may not be applicable to certain economic crops, limiting the technology's universality.

Countermeasures:

Farmers may question the efficacy of light regulation as a pesticide alternative, favoring established traditional methods, making pilot implementation challenging. The cost of natural wax extraction may initially exceed existing market solutions during small-scale production, causing cost-sensitive enterprises to hesitate and prolonging market acceptance.

Countermeasures:

Continuous investment is required during R&D and pilot testing phases. Insufficient funding may halt critical trials, such as multi-crop validation and equipment iterations. As a novel agricultural technology, light regulation may face regulatory approval for promotion by agricultural authorities. Failure to be included in the "Green Agricultural Technology Catalog" could impact subsidies and adoption.

Countermeasures:

Monitor agricultural policy updates and prepare application materials in advance. Define funding requirements by phase: allocate ¥600,000 in Year 1 for laboratory refinement, ¥1 million in Year 2 for pilot testing, and prioritize government research grants to reduce financing pressure. Use pilot revenue from Year 3 to partially fund R&D.

Leveraging the core technology of "light-regulated plant wax synthesis," this project simultaneously achieves multiple sustainable values in commercial practice: In agricultural cultivation, it enhances crop stress resistance for stable yields and reduced losses, increasing farmer income while supporting food security. It also lowers reliance on chemical pesticides and post-harvest cold chain preservation, reducing environmental burdens at the production source. Low-cost lighting solutions lower the barrier to technological accessibility, enabling small and medium-sized farmers to adopt the technology.

In industrial applications, low-cost plant waxes substitute petroleum-based materials, expanding agricultural value chains while providing stable raw materials for green industries. This integrated solution combines agricultural loss reduction, environmental sustainability, economic inclusivity, and green manufacturing—transforming sustainable development from an aspiration into a profitable business practice.

[1] FAO. (2024). World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2024. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
[2] FAO. (2019). The State of Food and Agriculture 2019. Moving forward on food loss and food waste reduction. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
[3] UNEP. (2024). Food Waste Index Report 2024. Nairobi: United Nations Environment Programme.

[4] International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR). (2019). The Role of Refrigeration in Worldwide Nutrition. Paris, France.

[5] Heredia-Guerrero, J. A., Benítez, J. J., Domínguez, E., et al. (2017). Cutin from agro-waste as a raw material for the production of bioplastics. Journal of Experimental Botany, 68(17), 4789–4800.

[6] Allied Market Research. Biostimulant Market Report 2023–2032 [Updated][R/OL]. Portland, OR: Allied Market Research, 2023[2025-09-11]. Retrieved from https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/biostimulant-market .

[7] Grand View Research. Specialty Waxes Market Analysis Report, 2023–2030 [R/OL]. San Francisco, CA: Grand View Research, 2023 [2025-09-11]. Retrieved from https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/specialty-waxes-market .

[8] MarketsandMarkets. (2023). *Food Coating Ingredients Market by Type, Application, and Region - Global Forecast to 2028*.